More than 3.000 journalists from the region applied to obtain the Diploma in Human Rights
The second edition of the course offered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, together with UNESCO Montevideo, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, ended with a very high level of reception and interest in the subject.
More than 70 journalists were selected among 3000 applicants last April to access the second edition of the Diploma in Human Rights for Journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is offered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) together with UNESCO Montevideo, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, with the support of the European Commission.
As a result of the very high number of participants in both editions (in 2020, another 1000 journalists applied) and the number of reporters who were unable to access the training, the organizers have announced the launch of a third edition for the period August-November 2021.
This training, which ended on last 29th June after three months of classes, brought the work of the Inter-American Court closer to reporters, to show the functioning of the Inter-American Human Rights System, as well as the jurisprudence on various topics associated with the IACHR Court.
“It is important for the media and journalists to have a good understanding of the work and the key role played by the judicial system in the defence and guarantee of human rights in general, and freedom of expression in particular, in order to be able to monitor and inform society of the functioning of justice”, said Rosa M. González, UNESCO’s Regional Advisor for Communication and Information for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Participants had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops and exchange ideas with the President of the Inter-American Court, Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito, as well as with the Judges, Vice-President Patricio Pazmiño Freire, Judge Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor and Judge Ricardo Pérez Manrique.
Topics discussed were mainly focused on the challenges facing the region in terms of human rights and freedom of expression, how and how much the work of the Court impacts on these issues, a historical review of serious human rights violations recorded in the continent, as well as a perspective from the human rights of migrants and indigenous communities, among others.
As a result of having attended the training, the journalists became members of DIALOGA NETWORK, a group that brings together more than 4.000 reporters in Latin America and the Caribbean interested in issues related to the work of the Inter-American Court.