80 likes | 193 Views
Reporting on Human Rights Coverage. Professor Eric Freedman 16 November 2011 freedma5@msu.edu. Discussion Point. Does too much human rights coverage “burn out” press & public interest ?
E N D
Reporting on Human Rights Coverage Professor Eric Freedman 16 November 2011 freedma5@msu.edu
Discussion Point • Does too much human rights coverage “burn out” press & public interest? • Can coverage of human rights issues be separated from coverage of economics, politics, social trends & other “traditional” news topics?
Major International Human Rights Issues Today • Religious bias • Ethnic bias • Gender bias • Anti-refugee bias • Sexual orientation bias • Social caste bias • Anti-immigrant bias • Racial bias • Age bias • Geographic regional bias • Human trafficking • Exploitation of children • Bias against people with disabilities • Language bias • Bias against indigenous (native) peoples • Forced labor • Inhumane prison conditions
Sample of Categories of Human Rights Violations • Arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life • Disappearances • Torture • Substandard conditions in prisons & detention centers • Arbitrary arrests & detentions • Denial of a fair public trial • Political prisoners • Arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence • Threats & harassment • Hate speech • Death penalty
Parliament narrowly defeats controversial homosexuality law Nov 15, 2010 Christian groups at odds with Muslims over mosque Sep 10, 2008 Anti-Semitism from Lithuanian media Apr 21, 2009 Polish PM visits Lithuania amidst anti-Lithuanian hysteria in Poland Sep 07, 2011 Lithuania ignores European court decision and proposes to ban gender reassignment 3/09/11 Vilnius municipality encourages not to give alms to homeless people 9/01/11 Discrimination complaints down in 2010 3/21/11
Respect for Civil Liberties & Political Rights • Freedom of speech & press • Internet freedom • Academic freedom • Cultural events • Freedom of assembly & association • Freedom of religion • Freedom of movement • Protection of refugees • Protection of political rights • Free and fair elections • Government transparency • Worker rights
Belarus Faranak Farid, Iran Vahan Bayatyan, Armenia Moscow
Some International Human Rights Defender Groups • Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org) • Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) • Reporters sans Frontieres (Reporters without Borders) (www.rsf.fr) • Transparency International (www.transparency.org) • UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (www.ohchr.org) • Global Integrity (www.globalintegrity.org)