By Olukayode Michael, Maiduguri
The International Committee on Red Cross (ICRC) has mentored journalists in troubled Northeast on the need to embrace humanitarian and developmental reporting.
The ICRC also trained the journalists selected from Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe states on administration of first aid to assist them in emergency situation.
About 30 journalists were selected from media houses in five of the six Northeast states and tutored on the essence of humanitarian reporting, introduced to International Humanitarian Law and trained on administration of first aid.
The training, which was held in Maiduguri between Tuesday and Thursday, brought in experts on media, international humanitarian law and first aid to bring the journalists to speed on these areas.
Speaking on the objectives of the training which was jointly organized by the ICRC and its sister organisation Nigerian Red Cross Society, Aliyu Dawobe, Public Relations Officer, International Committee of the Red Cross said it was in recognition of the importance of the media in conflict situations.
Dawobe said: “Knowing the added value of the media in conflict situations, the ICRC decided to train journalist on Humanitarian reporting in other to acquire good skills to report the humanitarian angle of the crisis, having in mind the affected people and their plight and not to concentrate on figures of deaths only.”
He added that: “Based on the vital role media organisations play in reporting during armed conflicts, and considering the safety challenges linked to their activities, the ICRC organized a 3-day workshopon humanitarian reporting and First Aid training, for media organizations in Maiduguri.”
He noted that the workshop was also organized to “train journalist on First Aid in order to support themselves in situations of being injured in the field or to support the injured when possible in the field of conflicts.”
He said the international body also decided on organizing the training for journalists in order “to have a good rapport with the media in order to allow them to have access to the Red Cross when they need clarifications on issues related to the Red Cross and ICRC in particular.
He added that the workshop have an eye on training journalists on the respect to the Law of War and how this is protecting civilians as well as journalists that are reporting conflicts.
He recalled that “The International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent humanitarian
organisation, with the mandate to protect and assist victims of armed conflict
as well as other situations of violence.”
He said: “Based in Nigeria since 1988, the ICRC in cooperation with the
Nigerian Red Cross has been responding to the needs of people affected by armed
conflicts and violence in terms of providing emergency assistance, medical
support and water supply during cases of displacement. The ICRC also
disseminates international humanitarian law to the armed and security forces.”