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HUMAN RIGHT IN ASIA: GENERAL OVERVIEW AND THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN
THE
HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION SYSTEM
It is impossible to talk about human rights in Asia Pacific
without first acknowledging the region's incredible
political diversity. A large array of countries run the gamut of
political systems, from the world's largest
democracy to some of its most repressive authoritarian regimes.
The absence of an intergovernmental
human rights mechanisms in Asia, such as a pan-Asian treaty on
human rights or an Asian court of human
rights, means we must look to other regional responses for
addressing human rights concerns on the
continent. However, there are interesting developments at the
sub-regional level that have a positive
influence on the advancement of human rights in Asia. The Asia
Pacific community efforts have been
particularly intense with regard to a series of issues of
priority: campaigns for the abortion of death penalty,
protection of freedom of religion or belief, rights of the
child, children in armed conflicts, rights of women,
fights for the promotion of democracy. SAARC is helping promote
cooperation between India, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh on issues such as rights of children and
women and transnational crimes such as
human trafficking. ASEAN has adopted declarations and action
plans on the rights of children, youth,elderly and women. We should
not forget the important role youth have played in Burma. Moreover,
a
comprehensive and effective strategy to spread protection of
human rights is also improving in China.
Special attention have the rights of indigenous people, after 20
years after the end of the Marcos
dictatorship, in the Philippines. In conclusion, Asian States
vary tremendously in terms of their commitment
to human rights and there are a number of institutions and NGOs
that raise these issues in multilateral
forum and in bilateral relations.
Media can play a major role in protecting and promoting human
rights in the world. It can make people
aware of the need to promote certain values in the cause of
fundamental human rights which are of eternal
value to the mankind. Peace, security, disarmament, promotion of
ecological balances and unpollutedenvironment and ensuring human
rights to all irrespective of caste, color and creed should be the
minimum
common agenda for the media. In examining these issues, the
media professionals have different views
about the state of media coverage of human rights. The media's
ability to cover human rights in a
consistent and accurate manner is limited by the proliferation
of news outlets, changes in technology, the
concentration of news ownership. Media can perform its role in
different ways. It can make people aware
of the rights, expose its violations and focus attention on
people and areas of need in the protection of
human rights. Media can also give publicity to the individuals
and organizations, which are engaged in
securing human rights. Media can inform and educate the people
of their rights and suggest ways and tools
by which they can empowering their rights' protection.
Changes in technology and the modern editorial culture are two
factors that influence coverage of human
rights. Other factors tend to cause the media to misrepresent or
marginalize human rights issues that ought
to be reported more completely and truthfully. The key challenge
for media professionals is to cover
human rights issues accurately and consistently, in ways that
give their audience enough background and
continuity of coverage to make sense of the events that are
reported and to play their parts effectively,
journalists, media and human rights organizations need to better
understand their different roles and
responsabilities. I believe that the fundamental elements for a
successful media strategy are Bias
(independence is central to the values of journalism), used of
biased language (precise and careful use of
terms), Non-Instrumentalization of human rights issues for
political purposes, tendency to avoid
reductionism (human rights coverage tends to be more simple,
omitting the variety and complexity of
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human rights standards, need to contextualization (human rights
issues are rarely put in proper context:
historical, social or economical background is often
omitted).
Human rights organizations have become increasingly active
players in the promotion and protection of
human rights all over the world societies. International changes
over the past decade have placed human
rights, fundamental freedoms, democratization and rule of law at
the center of international relations and Istrongly believe that
the international community commitment to human rights has to be
based on an
approach in which dialogue and openness are founded upon
universal principles and values. 2011 has been
a time of extraordinary transformation. More nations, as the
Arab Spring countries, have stepped forward
to maintain international peace and security. And more
individuals are claiming their universal right to live
in freedom and dignity, as the emblematic case of the election
of the Burmese Aung San SuuKyi.
Valentina Gasbarri
