Doha:(NHRD, 26/1/2009): A Workshop on Training journalists on Media Coverage of Human Rights issues jointly organized by NHRC and the Dar al-Al-Sharq Training and Media Centre opened at the Doha Millennium Hotel yesterday. The 5-day event (25-29, January 2009) is the first of its kind to be jointly planned by the two establishments.
The session was attended on the NHRC side by Sultan al-Jemali, Assistant Secretary-General for Management, and a number of NHRC staff members. It was attended on the "Dar al-Sharq side by Jaber Al Haremi chief editor, Mr. Yahya, Al-Awadh, director of the Dar al-Sharq Media and Training Centre, and number Sharq staff members.
MEDIA ROLE:
The opening session was addressed by. Jaber Haremi, Sultan al-Jemali and Yahya al-Awadh.
In his speech, Mr. Haremi underlined the significance of the timing of the session which comes at an important juncture when the issue of Human Rights is acquiring added significance if the light of the so-called war on terror. He also stressed the crucial role of the media in supporting promoting and protecting Human Rights. In this regard, Mr. Herami specially underlined the significance of the cooperation between NHRC and Dar al-Sharq in organizing the workshop.
BASIC PRINCIPLES:
For his part, Mr. Sultan al-Jemali who spoke on behalf of NHRC president, Dr. Ali bin Smaikh al-Marry, stressed NHRC’s deep belief in what he described as the sublime role of the media is support of Human rights which, he added, explained why NHRC were keen on organizing the workshop. Mr. Jemali expressed the hope that the outcome will help in the country’s continued efforts to both consolidate and elevate Qatar’s Human Rights record worldwide.
Mr. Al-Awadh meanwhile focused on the main objectives which include upgrading journalists’ performance in this field and providing them with the tools needed to further upscale their qualifications and professional abilities in the field of writing and editing items related to Human Rights issues.
FIRST MAJOR WORKSHOP SESSION:
Dr. Hassan al-Sayed, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Qatar, then opened the first major workshop session with a lecture that was dotted by intervals of interaction between lecturer and audience about "Rights and Public Freedoms" that dealt with the legal dimensions of the violations of human rights and international main stream reaction.
In the course of the lecture, Mr. Al-Sayed took up the concept of rights and public freedoms and the historic developments engulfing the concept, types of rights and public freedoms, the mechanics of ensuring guarantees of public freedoms and violations and irregularities thereof. He also took up the concept of rights and public freedoms during absolute rule and separation of church and state in Europe through the 17th and 18th centuries as well as developments in the aftermath of the French Revolution and as a result of the prominence of the doctrine of individualism up to the present times.
ARAB CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS:
Mr. al-Sayed also touched on the subject of regional and international efforts with respect to the rights and freedoms through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations at its third meeting in Paris on the tenth of December of 1948. In 1950 the Council of Europe (European Union) adopted the European Convention on Human Rights. On December 16, 1966 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were adopted by the United Nations while on May 24, 2004 the Arab League in Cairo adopted the Arab Charter of Human Rights.
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