"The application of international humanitarian law (IHL) to conflicts in Africa has been the subject of some scholarly and much journalistic discourse about the ending of ‘impunity’ and an extension of the normative principles of transitional justice. The trials conducted by the Special Court fo
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r Sierra Leone (SCSL) were brought to audiences in both countries by a media that has had scant experience in grappling with such weighty jurisprudential concepts. A research project is examining attitudes towards the reporting of two of those trials. This article discusses preliminary findings from the research and argues that the media is performing a wider role in legitimizing post-Conflict governance by providing a platform for civil society organizations." (Abstract)
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"This article addresses a major gap in the transitional justice literature by exploring the role of the media in transitional justice processes. We offer a framework for analyzing the information environment in which media intervention and transitional justice occurs. We suggest an approach that can
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offer a more nuanced understanding of information flows and the ways in which key actors use communication to compete for loyalty in the political marketplace. Several tools for conceptualizing the approaches toward media during transitional justice processes are offered, including the use of law, force, subsidy, and negotiation. Examples of how these tools have been used both effectively and ineffectively by international actors in the former Yugoslavia illuminate our arguments." (Abstract)
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"The Media Council of Kenya (MCK), the statutory body established under the Media Act 2007 that regulates media and advances professionalism of the media in Kenya, monitored a set of ten vernacular radio stations in September/October 2011 in order to assess their current performance. The study looke
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d at the adherence of the stations to the “Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya” and the quality and diversity of their coverage. The monitoring was carried out during the confirmation of charges hearings at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. A specific objective of the study was to analyze the ICC coverage in terms of accuracy, balance, fairness and conflict sensitivity. Key Findings: The radio stations scored highly on balance and fairness: 97% of the news reports showed no evidence of slanted reporting and 96% covered at least two viewpoints; only a few cases of hate speech were encountered. 99,5% of all radio items contained no hate speech; women were clearly underrepresented in the radio programmes. Women were central news subjects in less than 10% of the news items. Only a quarter of the presenters were female; the radio stations covered the ICC confirmation of charges hearings mainly in their news bulletins. Only a few talk-shows took up the topic. Several editors and managers described this editorial line as an attempt to avoid ethnic tension and incitement; the ICC coverage was predominantly perpetrator-centred. Only a few stories included the side of the victims of post-election violence. Most of the coverage focused on the immediate court procedures, only a few items provided in-depth background information about the cases." (Executive summary)
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This report details the results of the first year of a two-year impact assessment being conducted on the Interactive Radio for Justice project at its sites of operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR). Interactive Radio for Justice is a project designed t
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o encourage dialogue between people in regions where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating serious crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes) and the national and international authorities responsible for rendering justice to them. The project produces a number of serial radio programmes dealing with child soldiers, peace and reconciliation, and justice which broadcast over community radio in several languages.
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"Las desmovilizaciones de los grupos paramilitares y la implementación de la Ley de Justicia y Paz, en medio de condiciones muy complejas, han puesto sobre la mesa – nuevamente – la pregunta sobre el papel que juegan los medios de comunicación en Colombia. Y en este punto es importante hacer u
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na distinción crucial: uno es el rol que asumen los medios de comunicación nacionales y de las grandes ciudades del país, y otro el que pueden asumir los medios de comunicación y los periodistas de las ciudades pequeñas, los municipios y las poblaciones apartadas. En este último caso, el periodismo se ejerce en condiciones de precariedad y en medio de un peligro latente. Basta con recordar que en los últimos 20 años en Colombia, más de 110 periodistas fueron asesinados por razones de oficio. Cientos más han sido amenazados, intimidados o agredidos. El presente texto está dirigido principalmente a esos periodistas, que a pesar de las amenazas y las intimidaciones, y en un contexto adverso, vienen cubriendo desde 2002 este proceso. El objetivo es abordar el papel del periodismo en la búsqueda de la verdad y la construcción de la memoria en ese contexto colombiano. Para hacerlo, es esencial abrir el foco y mirar las experiencias internacionales." (Introducción, página 7)
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"For many post-conflict countries like Peru, the end of gunfire does not necessarily imply an end to internal conflict. Remaining post-conflict societal friction may even be as threatening to long-lasting peace as the war itself. This situation may be attributed, in part, to the media’s failure to
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adequately mediate conflicting views of a country’s history—its causes and consequences, its villains and heroes. Certainly, newspapers, radio, and television, as well as the newly emerging micromedia (e.g., e-mail) and middle media (e.g., web logs or “blogs”), reach huge audiences on a daily basis before, during, or after conflict. As primary information sources in a democracy, these news outlets affect not only society’s impression of what news and issues should receive attention, but also the perception of this information. Given the great role that the media plays in shaping public opinion, it merits careful discussion." (Abstract)
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"On the average, the radio sector dominated the print media by ensuring that news and information were thoroughly balanced in a 2-1 ratio. In some instances listed in the report, most of the covered news items from both the print and broadcast media violated Article 12 and 23 of the Press Union of L
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iberia Code of Conduct “Journalists should not publish or broadcast any report or write-up affecting he reputation of an individual or an organization without a chance to reply. That is unfair and should be avoided”. Most of those accused during public hearings were not contacted for reaction, while some of the accused voluntarily reacted but their responses to the allegations received little prominence compared to when the story was first told. Journalists in very rare instances utilized information regarding the mandate, structure, functions and general legal framework of the Commission in providing context to testimony, emerging developments and stories. There were very minimum follow-ups, and where they were made, ‘big names’ were the subject. A repeated example in this research is the story regarding the involvement of a famed musician and current Executive Mansion Aide, Sundaygar Dearboy extensively followed-up by the media. For Newspapers, the New Democrat should be congratulated for devoting the most space and conducting follow-ups on a number of their reports and the quality of their newspaper. However, the paper should strive to clearly delineate its news from its opinion pages. In covering the Charles Taylor Trial and TRC, it is hard to tell when a story is news or opinion. News stories are often linked to feature pages and do sometimes take the form of opinions, with a visible slant seen in some of its coverage." (Summary of findings, page 5)
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"This Handbook is part of a project called “Communicating Justice”. The project is led by the BBC World Service Trust, in partnership with the International Center for Transitional Justice. Its aim is to raise public awareness and debate around transitional justice (TJ) issues in five postconfli
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ct African countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Our project has three broad strands: - Population surveys of knowledge and attitudes toward TJ issues in project countries; - In-country training of 20 selected journalists, as well as activities designed to engage the support of their managers or editors; - Follow-up activities via online learning, Internet, and local mentoring. The project is designed to ensure continued commitment from local actors— especially journalists—to improve the quality and quantity of TJ coverage. The training of journalists is seen as a key factor in providing better information to the public. This Handbook is not meant to be an exhaustive guide. However, we hope that it will provide a useful, quick-reference manual on key TJ issues. It is designed principally for journalists, but we hope that it may also prove useful to civil society actors and all those concerned with moving transitional justice forward." (About the handbook, page 7)
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"[This handbook] introduces you to the various kinds of courts in which war crimes are tried; gives an outline of the history of the courts; explains the body of international law under which the courts operate; details how war crimes trials work; and explores the actual process of reporting both in
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the courts and on the ground. The handbook is designed either to support formal training sessions with humanitarian law experts and experienced journalist trainers or to be used on its own for independent study and review. The boxes in each chapter are intended to make the sometimes complex information easier to digest. Extended appendices provide basic humanitarian law documents and suggested online resources for further study and research. The purpose of this book is to support countries emerging from war by improving public understanding of international and other justice processes." (Introduction)
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