Day: January 24, 2023

It is difficult to overstate the fraught complexity of the relationship between terrorism and the media.

Perhaps no other issue has been characterised by such prolific wall-towall coverage in recent years, and perhaps no other has so challenged media professionals to maintain journalistic ethics and balance in their reporting.

Many of the violent attacks we see playing out today are at least partly conceived with media coverage in mind, targeting not just the actual victims but millions of shocked and shaken spectators across the globe.

Meanwhile, the tremendous pressures being exerted on media to attract audiences – in the face of ongoing waves of technological and financial transformations – can create a powerful temptation to focus on the violent and the sensational, and to be the first to report breaking information and rumours, even before accuracy can be assured.

This is the context for UNESCO commissioning this handbook: to explore some of the ethical dilemmas present in terrorism coverage, and start a conversation with media professionals as to how to respond appropriately and proportionately.

Of course, this is by no means a call for less information. Journalism has an obligation to provide verifiable information in the public interest, and audiences have a fundamental right to access accurate and balanced information, especially when it may affect their own safety or freedom.

Yet is this achieved by unrelenting coverage, constant breaking alerts and the same news repeated again and again, for events inherently designed to incite fear?

In a major 2017 survey of 20,000 young people across the globe, 83% said that terrorism made them fearful for the future – more than any other factor, including climate change, war, and income inequality.1 1 “Generation Z: Global Citizenship Survey”, Varkey Foundation, 2017 To what extent is coverage playing into the interests of fearmongers?

And to what extent does coverage skew towards an existing narrative or prevalent idea of “who is a terrorist”? Surely the words used, examples cited and images displayed should inform and not sensationalise.

Some research suggests that, controlling for other factors, an attack perpetrated by Muslims is covered significantly more than other terrorist attacks.2 And much attention has been paid to attacks in Western countries, despite 96% of the victims of terrorism in 2016 being in Africa, the Middle East or South Asia.3 These kinds of representations can fan stereotypes and division, and fuel backlash and counter-violence. The risks are real – hate attacks against wider groups perceived as being linked to a violent attack have been shown to jump dramatically in many cases – sometimes for years afterwards.4 As the United Nations agency responsible for “building peace in the minds of men and women”, this issue strikes particularly close to our hearts at UNESCO. We are actively engaged in preventing all forms of violent extremism, through the education and empowerment of young people, and safeguarding and celebrating cultural diversity.

Through our mandate to promote freedom of expression and access to information in the media and on the Internet, we are working closely with media organizations to provide training and capacity-building – based upon the advice contained in this handbook – to raise awareness of these challenges and better support journalists reporting in this area.

We are contributing our expertise and experience to the UN Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, and working closely with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), national governments, and other key entities to ensure the global response to violent extremism is coordinated, coherent and effective.

The scourge of terrorism, whoever commits or sponsors it, must be thwarted wherever it strikes, its victims supported and honoured, and 2 Kearns, E.M., Betus, A. & Lemieux, A. “Why Do Some Terrorist Attacks Receive More Media Attention Than Others?”, Justice Quarterly, 2018. 9, 2018. 3 Global Terrorism Database, University of Maryland, 2016 4 Comité contre l’islamophobie en France (CCIF), 2015 ; E Hanes, “Hate Crime in the Wake of Terror Attacks: Evidence from 7/7 and 9/11”, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Vol 30, Issue 3, 2014.; Brian H Levin, “Responses to the Increase in Religious Hate Crimes”, United States Senate: Committee on the Judiciary, May 2 2017. its perpetrators brought to justice. Media can cover these dimensions, and at the same time highlight genuine dialogue and discussion as alternatives to violence and bloodshed.

We may not be able to prevent terrorism every time, but what we do have control over is our reactions. To not allow it to provoke us into living our lives in fear, nurturing our own prejudices and hatred or shutting down legitimate voices. In other words, to avoid letting terror dismantle all of the progress we have made in the advancement of democracy, freedom of expression and human rights around the world.

Otherwise, we risk playing right into the hands of those engaged in terror, as well as others who instrumentalise attacks to justify suspicion, polarisation and violations of rights.

Source: UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Nairobi / Johannesburg, “Today we strongly urge governments across Eastern and Southern Africa to turn high-level commitments made at last September’s Transforming Education Summit (TES) into concrete action to support the millions of children waiting for their education to be prioritized.

“We acknowledge countries progress and steady efforts to relentlessly strengthen their education systems and adjust to changing times, however the numbers are sobering; some 41 million children are out of school across Eastern and Southern Africa. For too long business as usual has prevailed, resulting in underfunded schools, underpaid and underqualified teachers, overcrowded classrooms and outdated curricula, undermining children’s ability to reach their potential.

“Not only do children need to be in school, but they need to be learning effectively when they are there. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rate of reading comprehension in the world: only one in ten 10-year-olds can read and understand a simple text, with children living in emergencies and protracted crises facing the highest levels of learning poverty. Children need support to catch up on learning loss, through transforming the way and how the education system reaches them: investment in teaching innovatively, curriculum reform, digital education, early years learning and psychosocial support. Primary focus must be on building children’s foundational literacy and numeracy, making sure they actually learn how to read and write so they start their learning journey independently.

“At the TES, the international community rallied around six calls to action that each carry the potential to accelerate change on this almost silent crisis. Yet if we look at the area of foundational learning – imperative for this region given the shocking data – only four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have formally endorsed the call to action. UNESCO and UNICEF are therefore appealing to governments to stand by their commitments and chart a way forward with practical action and the required resourcing.

“The cost of under-investment and lack of innovative approaches in education imperils our common future. We remain in a situation of colossal crisis, and one that will only be overcome by a response of equal proportion. One key action is for governments to allocate at least 20 per cent of their national budgets to education. The average allocation in the region is 16 per cent, while in fact some countries are apportioning less than three per cent. A key opportunity is next month’s African Union Summit where we hope to see Heads of States renewing their commitment to at least the minimal allocation of 20 percent to education.

“To reverse the current learning trends in the region – and to avoid the consequences of failing to educate a generation – governments must prioritise education. The skills needed to thrive in today’s economies require more of young people than ever before, but with such extreme levels of low learning, countries face a perfect storm for underachievement, unemployment and societal and economic breakdown.

“2023 marks the mid-point since the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 must be prioritized as a key enabler to accelerate progress towards all the SDGs against the backdrop of a global recession, growing inequalities and the climate crisis.”

Source: UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

GENEVA — The World Health Organization is appealing for a record $2.54 billion to assist millions of people in 54 countries facing catastrophic health emergencies triggered by multiple man-made and natural disasters.

In launching the appeal, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world is witnessing an unprecedented convergence of crises that demand an unprecedented response.

He said WHO is addressing an overwhelming number of intersecting health emergencies. These include climate change-related flooding in Pakistan, drought and acute hunger across the Sahel and in the greater Horn of Africa, health challenges sparked by the war in Ukraine, and the outbreaks of measles, cholera, and other killer diseases in dozens of countries.

“The world cannot look away and hope these crises resolve themselves,” Tedros emphasized. “With funding and urgent action, we can save lives, support recovery efforts, prevent the spread of diseases within countries and across borders, and help give communities the opportunity to rebuild for the future.”

WHO reports 80 percent of humanitarian needs globally are driven by conflict and around half of preventable maternal and child deaths occur in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings.

The African region faces the highest burden of public health emergencies globally. In 2022, the continent accounted for 64 percent of all Grade 3, or most acute, emergencies globally.

Fiona Braka, health emergencies operations manager in WHO’s regional office for Africa, said the continent has had to deal with conflicts and climate-driven humanitarian crises combined with new and recurrent outbreaks of diseases.

Speaking from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, she said dealing with these complex emergencies has not been easy. But she said support provided by WHO and partners is proving to be beneficial in many ways. She noted that member states have been making progress in dealing with emergencies as they arise.

“For instance, the time taken by countries to detect and interrupt outbreaks is shortening,” Braka gave as an example. “The investments made to address the COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years are paying off with the region better able to cope with the virus and its health emergency response systems bolstered.”

The 54 health crises WHO currently is assisting include 11 classified as Grade 3. They include seven African countries, along with Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen.

Source: Voice of America

VIENNA, Evidence is emerging that climate-related disasters are becoming a cause of human trafficking as criminal gangs exploit a growing number of uprooted people, the UN said Tuesday.

The continuing war in Ukraine is also another risk factor for increased human trafficking, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report.

“Climate change is increasing vulnerability to trafficking,” the UNODC report said.

“While a systematic global analysis of the impact of climate change in trafficking in persons is missing, community level studies in different parts of the world point at weather induced disasters as root causes for trafficking in persons,” it said.

The report is based on data from 141 countries collected from 2017 to 2020, and the analysis of 800 court cases.

The impact of climate change “disproportionally” affected poor farming, fishing and other communities mainly relying on the extraction of natural resources for their livelihoods, the report said.

Once “deprived of their means of subsistence and forced to flee their community,” people were becoming easy prey for traffickers, Fabrizio Sarrica, the report’s main author told a press briefing.

In 2021 alone, climate-related disasters internally displaced more than 23.7 million people, while many others fled their countries altogether.

As entire regions of the world are at risk of becoming “increasingly uninhabitable,” millions will face “high risk of exploitation along migration routes,” the UN report said.

The UN drugs agency noted that an increase in cases of human trafficking had been observed in Bangladesh and the Philippines after devastating cyclones and typhoons displaced millions.

Droughts and floods in Ghana, and the Caribbean region — subject to hurricanes and rising sea levels — were also forcing many to migrate.

While most of the victims of trafficking resulting from conflicts originated from Africa and the Middle East, a potentially “dangerous” situation is simultaneously building up in Ukraine as millions flee the war-torn country.

“The challenge is how to deal with human trafficking arising from war and instability,” Ilias Chatzis, the head of the human trafficking and migrant smuggling section at UNODC, said.

With regard to Ukraine, helping neighbouring countries and increasing support to the Ukrainian authorities is equally important, Chatzis added.

The Covid-19 pandemic limited the ability to detect cases, especially in low-income countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, the report added.

Faced with the closure of public venues such as bars and clubs due to health restrictions, certain forms of trafficking, in particular sexual exploitation, have been pushed into “less visible and less safe locations”.

For the first time since data collection began in 2003, the number of victims detected worldwide fell in 2020, dropping by eleven percent compared to 2019, the Vienna-based UNODC said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK