English PDF - East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders ...

Conference Report: Resources and Proceedings 53• Communicate the issue to colleague in the organization;• Explore what the employer’s position is, and what they may do;• Network with other professionals and civil organizations;• Institute framework for appeal;• Court action can be an alternative but may not be the first option as it removes the casefrom direct influence;• Pressure campaign is a possibility but needs to be weighed against risks to person;• Seek financial support for the victim;• Special difficulty for freelance journalists - need to pressure employers.Workshop B: What to do in the event of the detention of a journalist• Get information on the detainee, find out what happened before the arrest, what are thecharges, does s/he have access to medical and legal care etc.;• Share with other actors to seek support, including NGOs, embassies;• Apply for habeas corpus and ask for the journalist to be brought to court or chargedwithin the legally allowed time;• ‘Break the news’ by press releases or press conference• Possibly petition relevant authority such as the speaker of parliament;• Link up with journalist associations for legal and financial support for the proceeding.Plenary discussionA question was posed on how far EU embassies might be of assistance in supporting defenderswhen experiencing harassment or in fear of attack. Despite their official commitment to defendhuman rights and the freedom of expression, donors can be embedded in the system to an extentthat they may not be of any help. The issue of absence of foreign representatives in states likeSouthern Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland was mentioned. It may be more effective to targetParliament for appeals and calls for action or involve NGOs that share the same commitment.Establishment of good ties with foreign missions is however recommendable as it might prove tobe a protection mechanism Participants further remarked that there is need to strengthen thesupport mechanisms allowing journalists to continue their work once they are in exile. Materialaspects of support when having come under attack are also very important, such as to help paybail.The conference was officially closed with remarks by Hassan Shire Sheikh, Chairperson ofEHAHRDP/Net. He recapitulated the achievements of the conference in deepening theunderstanding of human rights and the role of journalists as human rights defenders and initiatingan exchange with human rights defenders outside the media. He strongly called on theGovernments of the region to adhere to national, regional and international legislation on freedomof expression and the right to information and immediately avail justice to journalists and otherhuman rights defenders who have remained in detention for indefinite periods of time withoutclear charges and a due legal process having taken place.