National Union of Somali Journalists - NUSOJ, Source Somali Journalists Mark Human Rights Day ahead of International Human Rights Day Mogadishu, 6 December 2014 The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) today held an event to mark the Human Rights Day ahead of the International Human Rights Day December 10, 2014 to highlight the violations against the Human Rights Defenders, especially the attacks against the press in Somalia including harassment, intimidation, unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention. The event attracted forty participants invited from the media organizations, human rights organizations and government representatives was supported by the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Somalia (UNSOM) with this year’s theme, “Human Rights 365”. “Human Rights 365” encompasses the idea that every day is Human rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as global community with the same ideals and values. The Secretary-General of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Mohamed Ibrahim, in his opening remarks thanked the participants for accepting their invitation at this important event as we address today the violations against HRDs in Somalia. The Secretary General paid tribute to journalists and media workers killed in line of duty with latest casualties include Abdulkadir Ahmed Mayow, a correspondent for Somali Channel Television and Mohamed isxaq Barre, a cameraman for Kalsan TV and reporter for Star FM Radio, who were among 12 killed on December 5 on attack at a café in the town of Baidoa and prayed Allah to have them rewarded Jannah and All wounded colleagues for immediate recovery. Mr. Ibrahim noted that across the country the journalists receive threats to life or are assassinated, because of their work or the information they disseminated with increased impunity. This is however is compromising the journalists’ ability to independently report freely on what’s happening on the ground without fear of reprisal. Its encouraging step that the Somali government executed last week the murderer of Photographer Sakariye Mohamed Mohamoud, who was killed in 2012 in Mogadishu, making the murder cases resolved to three out of 35 killed since 2012. The government has to do more to break this cycle of impunity. On the occasion of the human rights day, the union’s Secretary- General appealed to the Somali government to either bring them the jailed journalists before a court of justice to all detained journalists or give their freedoms back, some of which are in prisons for more than three months. Finally, he urged the journalists and the media at large to give priority to the news related to a violation of human rights in order for the stakeholders get mechanism to combat such violence. Director of Taqwo women development organization, Mrs. Isha Hassan Osman, who spoke on the occasion of the human rights day urged the media to focus on the human rights violations specifically the gender based violence and praised the media workers for their role in defending human rights. She also appealed for all people in jails without proper trail, to have access to justice. The Director of the State Media, Abdirahman Yusuf reiterated the human rights day has especial significance to the journalists who are the main human rights defenders, who do not regard themselves as human rights defenders or somehow marginalized in the society of human rights defenders and raised the need the journalists to be involved in such activities. “If you listen today a radio or television, 70% of the news are about human rights.” said Abdirahman Yusuf, Director of the State media, “For instance, reporting draughts, suffering people without shelters, etc all related to human rights reporting.”
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 23:16:00 +0000
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