{"id":20114529,"date":"2025-02-27T13:39:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T12:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20114529"},"modified":"2025-02-27T19:20:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T18:20:04","slug":"journalists-under-fire-highlights-challenges-faced-by-media-in-wartime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/journalists-under-fire-highlights-challenges-faced-by-media-in-wartime","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Journalists Under Fire\u2019 highlights crucial role of media in wartime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the media landscape in Sudan continues to deteriorate amid ongoing hostilities that have persisted throughout 2024, with an alarming surge in violence against journalists, delegates at \u2018Journalists Under Fire<\/em>\u2019, a high-level side event to the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday, heard from several speakers the profound importance of independent media, not only to keep the world appraised of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, but as a vital lifeline to millions of people in Sudan.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an exclusive interview with Dabanga \u2013 Radio TV Online editor-in-chief Kamal Elsadig, the Netherlands Human Rights Ambassador, Wim Geerts<\/a> underlined the essential role of media, and why it needs support from the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Netherlands Human Rights Ambassador Wim Geerts (Photo: RD)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cHaving independent media, especially in situations of war and conflict, is crucial,\u201d says Ambassador Geerts. It is very, very important and is for many people also a lifeline. It’s about receiving objective information, and sometimes it’s also of vital importance in terms of making sure that people know where to go or where not to go,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Independent media is of vital importance in terms of making sure that people know where to go or where not to go\u2026\u2019 \u2013 Wim Geerts, Human Rights Ambassador for the Netherlands<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Geerts lauded the ongoing commitment of Dabanga \u2013 Radio TV Online, which remains the only Sudanese news broadcaster with national coverage that can defend the Sudanese people from misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that Radio Dabanga is doing wonderful work and deserves full support,\u201d says Geerts, \u201cand I’m happy that the Netherlands can play a role there, because Radio Dabanga plays a very crucial role there [in Sudan]\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding human rights and media in Sudan, Geerts underlines that amid gross violations of human rights, \u201cpeople have a right to know\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geerts: \u201cWhat we see in Sudan is gross violations of human rights. There is a fact finding mission on Sudan, they have written reports and what they have reported is really chilling. So many innocent lives affected by famine. People have a right, to know, to have enough to eat and drink and there is so much food insecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the interview, Geerts laments: \u201cThere is a lot of sexual violence, gender based violence. So there are so many different aspects regarding human rights that are being violated in Sudan\u2026 It’s really important that the world knows about this conflict and again, media play a very, very important role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geerts says that the outcomes of the \u2018Journalists Under Fire\u2019<\/em> event has added impetus to his country\u2019s determination to support independent media in Sudan: \u201cHaving listened very carefully also to the session that we’ve just had, I’m even more motivated to see how we can help making sure that the media can do their work in Sudan, even under these very, very challenging circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018A \u2018Press\u2019 vest, once a symbol of protection, has now become a target\u2026\u2019 \u2013 Ruth Kronenberg, Executive Director of Free Press Unlimited<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n

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Ruth Kronenberg, Director of Free Press Unlimited, speaks at Journalists Under Fire, a high-level side event to the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on February 26, 2025 (Photo: RD)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Commenting at the event, Ruth Kronenberg, Executive Director of advocacy NGO Free Press Unlimited<\/a>, underscored that \u201ca \u2018Press\u2019 vest, once a symbol of protection, has now become a target.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kronenberg, whose organisation assists independent media organisations worldwide, including Radio Dabanga, decries that \u201cwe have witnessed an alarming surge in violence against journalists, endangering not only their safety and their lives, but also the fundamental right of access to reliable information\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The war in Sudan is not just a conflict of arms, but a battle for truth\u2026\u2019 Kamal Elsadig, Dabanga \u2013 Radio TV Online Editor-in-Chief<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In his own address to the event, Dabanga \u2013 Radio TV Online editor-in-chief Kamal Elsadig<\/a> reminded delegates: \u201cThe war in Sudan is not just a conflict of arms, but a battle for truth. The silencing of the pen is a tragedy for the Sudanese people. And a threat to democracy everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSudanese media institutions have sunk into a deadly silence. More than 90 percent of these institutions have stopped working, since the outbreak of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n

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L-r: Netherlands Human Rights Ambassador Wim Geerts, with Ruth Kronenberg, Director of Free Press Unlimited, H.E. Minna-Liina Lind, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Kamal Elsadig, Editor-in-Chief of Dabanga – Radio TV Online, and Sergiy Tomalenko, President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine at Journalists Under Fire, a high-level side event to the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on February 26, 2025 (Photo: RD)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe statistics are grim. 23 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war, according to the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate. Assassinations are no longer limited to journalists, but now include anyone suspected of cooperating with them,\u201d he said. \u201cThe total number of violations against journalists and media outlets has reached 509 documented violations since the outbreak of the conflict. April 5, 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event \u2018Journalists Under Fire\u2019<\/em> was held as a side event to the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council<\/a>, currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland. Focusing on how to protect journalists and civilians\u2019 right to access to information in times of conflict, the event heard shared experiences by journalists from Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, including Dabanga \u2013 Radio TV Online editor-in-chief Kamal Elsadig, showcasing the impact of independent media as a lifeline in conflict, and why journalists need protection.<\/p>\n\n\n

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#HRC58 #UN #PressFreedom #safetyforjournalists<\/p>\n