Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 6:- Pradeep Dutta, Senior Editor, Times Now today lambasted human rights lobby for selectively picking up and highlighting human rights violation cases to portray and project security forces in bad light.
He was addressing academicians all over country during one of the sessions of orientation course organised by Home Science department under the aegis of Academic Staff College, Jammu University.
While speaking on topic – ‘Deciphering Silence: Role of Media in Protecting Human Rights in Conflict Zones’ – he emphasised that in order to become genuine protectors of human rights, both media and human rights activists would have to steer clear of sensationalism and provocative journalism, which can cause considerable damage to not only the concerned persons but also vitiate the larger socio-cultural-religious relations in society. He quoted several examples to further explain his point of view.
Earlier, during his lecture, Pradeep highlighted role of media in promoting and protecting human rights in conflict zones around the world.
Pradeep used poetic expressions to narrate story of trauma and pain women and children undergo because of onslaught of gun violence in conflict zones.
He quoted examples of Mala Yousufzai of Pakistan, who raised her voice against terror related elements, who sprayed bullets to silence her voice for ever. Her only fault was: She wanted to pursue education.
The goal of the session was to discuss how the media and journalists can increase their contributions in promoting human rights in their work.
”The media is a powerful tool because it has the ability to inform the public on the injustices in society and raise awareness on unfamiliar or hidden issues,” he added.
Pradeep also discussed about challenges journalists face while reporting about human rights violations.
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