The U.S. Government Supports Better Human Rights Journalism

On February 7, 2013, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in the Kyrgyz Republic, with financial support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), distributed two multilingual human rights handbooks - Reporting Human Rights: A Practical Handbook for Journalists and Effective Communications: A Practical Guide for Human Rights NGOs – to human rights defenders and local media as part of an effort to improve the accuracy of reporting on human rights issues.  IWPR hosted the event at their office at #18-3, Togolok Moldo Street, in Bishkek, at 14:00 this Thursday.

Following the April 2010 political revolution, IWPR, with funding from the European Commission, helped strengthen relationships between human rights defenders and journalists by initiating a training series targeting both groups about international journalism standards and human rights norms. “This handbook illustrates basic information and practical ideas on how journalists can contribute to the creation of a more equitable society with their articles on violations of fundamental human rights,” says John McLeod about A Practical Handbook for Journalists, IWPR Managing Director for Central Asia.

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting developed the handbooks using experience covering common human rights issues in Central Asia. USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) printed 2,000 copies of these handbooks in Russian, 1,200 copies in Kyrgyz and 600 copies in Uzbek. The Institute will distribute the handbooks to human right defenders, leading media organizations, and 11 universities across the country. They will also distribute the handbooks to participants during future training sessions.

This program is one of many assistance projects supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). For more information about USAID, please visit our website at: http://centralasia.usaid.gov/kyrgyzstan

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