Series of Activities for Rural Journalists in Pakistan Have Been Completed

• Participants of one of the workshops on safety issues for rural journalists in Pakistan

Series of Activities for Rural Journalists in Pakistan Have Been Completed

Rural Media Network of Pakistan (RMNP) has successfully re-launched its website, with the main aim to provide information related to the latest developments of freedom of expression, including freedom of the press, in Pakistan. The Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) website, will also function as the platform to build a database on the monitoring of any kind of freedom of the press violation. Any violent acts, including killings, against journalists will be reported on the website.

According to Ehsan Ahmed Sehar of RMNP, this monitoring and database is very important, taking into consideration the high numbers of attacks, threats and killing that have been faced by journalists in Pakistan, especially in rural and remote areas which is the main focus of RMNP’s works. Based on RMNP’s records, 17 media persons were killed during the course of 2010. The number for this year, up to mid May, is already reaching six.

The re-launch of RMNP’s website, in conjunction with the publication of training manual in Urdu language on safety issues for journalists, marks the completion of series of activities implemented by RMNP since early of 2011. The activities, supported by Freedom of Expression Sector at UNESCO Headquarters and UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office (UTCO), in addition to the aforementioned ones, also consisted of training on safety issues for reporters in rural areas. There are around 100 reporters have participated in the total four workshops, inviting a number of media veteran and experts as facilitators.


Apart from issues related to safety guidance on how to operate in hostile environments, the four workshops that were organized in four different districts in Pakistan also discussed on media people can monitor attacks on press freedom, and support journalists and media organizations that have been victimized. Participants also discussed the importance of monitoring the freedom of expression, and were given knowledge on practical guidelines for monitoring and investigating violations of freedom of expression, as well as on writing effective action alerts to report press freedom violations.

Contact: Arya Gunawan Usis, Advisor for Communication and Information, UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office; a.gunawan@unesco.org

• Source:UNESCO Tehran
• 23-05-2011