freedom1 Forum organized three trainings- one each in Kathmandu, Nepalgunj, and Biratnagar city under the title ‘Effective Monitoring and Documentation for freedom1 of Expression and Journalists’ Safety’. Training in Kathmandu was held on October 22 while in Nepalgunj on October 28 and in Biratnagar on October 31. There were 20 participants in Kathmandu, 24 Nepalgunj and 30 in Biratnagar.
During the trainings, resource persons and FF Chairperson Taranath Dahal informed the participants that the FF was assisting and collaborating with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for the establishment of an independent national mechanism at the NHRC for the effective monitoring of the FoE issues and human rights defenders under the implementation of project ‘Increasing Safety of Journalists’ by the UNESCO Nepal. Mr Dahal made the participants aware that how important the provisions in Article 19 of UDHR, Interim Constitution 2007, Article 19 of ICCPR and other national and international instruments on FoE were for protecting FoE. He had the presentation on FoE: concept, practices and national and international instruments.
Similarly, in Kathmandu training, Coordinator at UNESCO, Kathmandu, for ‘Increasing Safety of Journalists’ Project’, Laxman Dutt Pant, informed that the project was brought to implementation by the UNESCO in the post conflict countries as in Nepal. And, it was now working with different stakeholders to set up the national mechanism at the NHRC, he said, urging the participants that they would best utilize the training so that they could whet their skills on monitoring FoE issues and protect journalists’ rights.
During the training in Kathmandu and Nepalgunj, another resource person and Head of Promotion, Policy and Collective Rights Division at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Surya Bahadur Deuja, shed light on the ongoing efforts at the NHRC regarding the structure and responsibility of an independent national mechanism envisioned for the promotion of freedom1 of Expression (FoE). He stressed that NHRC was committed to protecting and promoting FoE in an effective way. He, in both trainings, made a presentation on the envisioned national mechanism and the rapid intervention task force.
In the training in Kathmandu and Biratnagar, resource person Dharmendra Jha made a presentation on how the journalists were unsafe in Nepal what the stakeholders do to prevent further intimidation on them. According to him, political party cadres, security person, government employees, business person were among the top hostile elements to the media persons in Nepal.
Similarly, media monitoring officer, Narayan Ghimire, made presentation on monitoring and documentation of FoE issues in Nepal (by FF) and by some international FoE Groups as freedom1 House and IFEX. He informed the participants how FF monitors the FoE issues. He stressed that mere identifying attackers on journalists was not a full monitoring of FoE, but the updates and follow up, dissemination news/press release, documentation, early study of threat, efforts to prevent further intimidation with reliable verification process. According to him, the verification process was weak in various press freedom1 organization, so they need immediate improvements.
In Nepalgunj, resource persons and senior journalist made the presentation on the topic Mr Jha made in Kathmandu and Biratnagar while Mr Koshraj Neupane on the topic Mr Deuja made in Kathmandu and Nepalgunj.
The participants in the trainings observed that they had not only a refresher of FoE issues but got very good training so that they could work effectively for the rights of the human rights defenders and the journalists in their regions. One of the participants at Nepalgunj, Sukra Rishi Chaulagain said, “The training has encouraged us to work on the FoE issues with clear concept.” In course of the trainings, some participants inquired the resources about how the NHRC mobilizes its regional offices during the rapid intervention tasks.
The trainings ended with very positive note that importance of such training was growing. Most of the participants univocally agreed that the independent national mechanism envisioned at the NHRC for the effective monitoring of freedom1 of expression, and journalists should be functional quickly with structures in regional, sub-regional and district levels.