Iraq Team Promote Human Rights on TV

IWPR Iraq is producing a television news magazine programme that educates citizens on human rights and provides a platform for activists and political leaders to debate and problem-solve issues.

Led by IWPR's experienced producers and directors, a network of more than three dozen reporters and television professionals are contributing to two human rights-focused shows - one in Arabic from Baghdad, and a Kurdish show which is soon to launch in Sulaimaniyah.

Sawat Ghaleb, the Arabic show's director and a seasoned Iraqi-German television journalist, who has worked for top German news outlets, said, "We want to sensitise people to human rights. If people start talking about it in a country like Iraq, where human rights are being violated every day, then we've really accomplished something."

"We want to sensitise people to human rights. If people start talking about it in a country like Iraq, where human rights are being violated every day, then we've really accomplished something."
Sawat Ghaleb, the Arabic show's director

Iraqi news channels typically "include human rights issues as only a small part of their programme", he said. "They don't delve deep enough and they tend to approach issues in a very conservative way."

The half-hour Arabic-language episodes, airing on Iraq's Al-Hurriya television since July, have tackled issues such as disability rights and press freedom. The episodes include features followed by round-table discussions by experts.

One episode featured women working in a brick factory in Karbala who are trying to make ends meet after getting divorced, and another focused on child labour.

Guests have included prominent Iraqis, such as Muwafaq al-Khafagi, head of the Iraqi Handicapped Organisation and Tariq al-Harb, one of Iraq's most influential lawyers.

Horen Gharib, a veteran television journalist who serves as senior producer and trainer for the Kurdish television magazine show, said IWPR Iraq's episodes are unique in northern Iraq.

"We are trying to be fair and to show more than one point of view," he said. "Here, most of the media outlets are pro-government and the others are just critical. In our features, we try to be fair and balanced." 

To watch the videos please go to Human Rights TV Magazine project page.

Also in September, an IWPR-trained reporter published a journalism textbook based on his training with IWPR.

The book, called The Story, was written by Frman Abdulrahman, a senior Kurdish newspaper editor and an IWPR-trained journalist who has frequently contributed to IWPR's Iraq output.

The book incorporates theories and lessons taught by IWPR and Abdulrahman credits IWPR with teaching him professional journalism standards. 

Abdulrahman said he wanted to write a book specifically for Kurdish journalists and media students.

Those who "haven't had the chance to attend one of IWPR's training course can still benefit by reading the book", he said.

Abdulrahman said students at the University of Sulaimaniyah are already using the book as a reference.

And in another development, a photojournalist inspired by IWPR's flagship elections newspaper, Metro, launched his own photo agency in Sulaimaniyah.

Kamaran Najm opened the Metrography studio in September and is working with 43 Iraqi photojournalists - many of them IWPR trainees - to collect and sell photos nationwide.

Najm said he aims to break down the invisible barriers between Iraqi Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq by publishing photography that reflects life and news from throughout the country.

In another development, leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan's government and opposition commended IWPR's reporting of allegations that public sector workers have been persecuted for their politics.

The report, Kurdish Opposition Say Supporters Targeted in Workplace, included claims that hundreds of military and security personnel had been fired or punished on suspicion of supporting the opposition Change list.

Government officials interviewed in the story denied the charge and said the allegations would be investigated.

"This story is distinct from other reports because it has taken the opinion of both sides into account."
Zana Rauf, a Change deputy

"The IWPR report has dealt with the subject objectively and impartially compared to other media outlets," said Jalal Karim, an undersecretary in the region's interior ministry.

A senior official from the Change list said IWPR's report was "successful and had maintained balance".

"This story is distinct from other reports because it has taken the opinion of both sides into account," Zana Rauf, a Change deputy, said.

"Such reports make it harder for citizens' rights to be violated. They give citizens the hope that their views and problems will be conveyed accurately to the outside world."

Elections in Iraqi Kurdistan this summer saw Change emerge as a powerful opposition, weakening the dominance of a coalition formed of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK, and Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP.

Most media outlets in the region are affiliated to a political faction and have carried reports accusing political rivals of persecuting their supporters.

Sadi Ahmed Pira, a member of the PUK's politburo, said IWPR's report was "important to the public" as it gave space to all sides of the debate.