UN on Mainstreaming Protection into Conflict Reporting in Cameroon

 By Christopher Ambe

Thirty(30) journalists from  both the public and private media  from the Southwest, Northwest ,Littoral and Centre regions of Cameroon will  tomorrow, Tuesday September 8, converge on the resort town of Kribi,to begin a four-day  workshop  on the theme  “Mainstreaming Protection into Reporting on  Crises and Conflicts   in Cameroon.”

The media workshop, which will take place at Hotel Framotel in Kribi, has been organized by five United Nations agencies-OHCHR, UNOCA, UNDP, UNESCO and UNICEF- and it is within the framework of a project to mainstream protection in media coverage of crisis in Cameroon.

A series of such workshops are scheduled to be organized this September for media professionals and security and defense forces.

According to Abdoulaye Traore, officer-in-charge of OHCHR CARO who signed out invitation letters to the selected journalists,

“During the workshop for media professionals, a session will be devoted to exchange with a representative of the defense forces on appropriate conduct for media professionals when covering crises. The same will be done during the workshop for security and defenses (which will take place in Douala from September 15 to 17.”

 The workshop has been described as timely, coming at a time when the Anglophone crisis, which erupted in 2016, is far from over; and when Boko Haram terrorists occasionally launch deadly attacks in the northern regions of Cameroon.

During the workshop, participants will brainstorm on the strengths,weaknesses,opportunities and threats linked to coverage of the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions; they will discuss the protection of vulnerable groups in complex emergencies-the role of journalists and other media professionals; focus will be on national, regional and international Protection  mechanisms for journalists; Hate speech:causes,consequences  and the role of the media in combating hate and discriminatory speech in the media will be discussed;  participants will always be familiarized  with the UN security Council Resolution 2222(2015) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

There will be an information session on “The Reconstruction plan for the Northwest and Southwest regions-UNDP’s involvement and what the media should know.”

Among other important themes programmed for discussion, participants will examine “Best Practices from the field on communication on COVID19 prevention and response in situations of violence and conflict.