Media: key defenders of human rights

Although pretty much everyone in Belize had at least one eye on Hurricane Emily, today members of the media kept a pre-storm commitment to participate in a forum on human rights. Issues such as freedom of expression and access to information topped the discussion list, with panellists including representatives of print, electronic, and broadcast media. The workshop is one of three being sponsored by the Centre for Human Rights Studies, HIVOS, and the Reporter Press. News Five asked attorney Antoinette Moore about the relationship between human rights, the media, and the public.

Antoinette Moore, Chair, Bz. Centre for Human Rights Studies
?It?s my personal view that generally, the Belizean media, the independent Belizean media is quite aware of their role and their responsibility as defenders of human rights. That they are on the front lines, as some would say, in giving access to information to the public. If it were not for the print and broadcasting media, a great many stories we would not know about.?

?Of course there are exceptions to that, and it is of great concern that some of the media houses are clearly influenced by partisan politics, more than perhaps is healthy. But putting that aside, I think generally speaking, the media does a good job of bringing stories to light that the public needs to know about.?

Karla Heusner
?Do you think the public often uses the media as a conduit for their own expression??

Antoinette Moore
?I know in fact that they do. I have seen numerous cases in Dangriga where I practice law, where people feel they can get assistance nowhere else, they can have their voice heard nowhere else, to go to the local newspaper or radio station and tell their story and sometimes after telling their story they do get some service or assistance, someone responds and says, ?Oh, I didn?t realise that was happening? or ?I knew that was happening, but now that everyone else knows it?s happening, I am going to do what I should do about it.?

Special guest speaker this afternoon was Dr. Eduardo Bertoni of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.