Human Rights Education A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions To perform this role effectively, NHRIs need to understand how the media operates, the different audiences they reach, the limited knowledge some journalists may have about human rights, the multiple pressures they can face when reporting on certain issues and the constant demand to be the first with “breaking” news. While NHRIs communicate with the public in a variety of ways, media outlets are “the most powerful gatekeepers between these organizations and the wider public”.159 The challenge for NHRIs is two-fold. The first is to present human rights issues in a way that will engage the media and result in accurate and compelling coverage. The second is to work cooperatively with media outlets and individual journalists to support informed reporting on human rights. “It is no longer the priority of human rights organizations today to generate new information or establish its credibility. There is usually more than enough information and it is all too believable. Their real priority is to understand and improve what is done with this information.”160 161 The World Programme for Human Rights Education focused its third phase (2015-2019) on strengthening the implementation of the first two phases and promoting human rights training for media professionals and journalists.161 The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) submitted a 2017 report on its efforts to promote human rights training for media professionals and journalists in Afghanistan. AIHRC held 33, three-day workshops and 44 half-day training sessions for the media professionals and journalists from January 2014 to January 2017. The total number trainees reached to 1680. Among others, topics covered included: • peace and human rights journalism, and how to report in a conflict-ridden society • ethics of journalism and how to report human rights violation cases • ways of cooperation and sharing human rights cases with the AIHRC • the role of media in promoting human rights values • vulnerable and minority groups that media can raise their voice. The AIHRC has also engaged and supported the media and journalists by: • signing a MoU with the committed media outlets through its 14 regional and provincial offices so that to promote human rights values in the country through radio, TV and print media • supporting writers’ groups to write and publish issues on human rights • providing media partners with relevant reading stuff and needed materials • organizing press conferences and media talk shows on relevant and serious HRs issues and concerns • assessing the overall published articles by local media. 92 159 Journalism, Media and the Challenge of Human Rights Reporting; International Council on Human Rights Policy; 2002; p. 18. 160 Ibid; p. 17. 161 A list of resources on human rights education of media professionals and journalists are available online at www.ohchr.org/EN/ Issues/Education/Training/WPHRE/ThirdPhase/Pages/TrainingOfMedia.aspx.