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	Migrating children and women, suffer ‘sexual violence, exploitation, abuse and detention’ by Afshan Khan UNICEF Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe Libya   Mar. 2017   A senior United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) official is calling the routes from sub-Saharan Africa into Libya and across the sea to Europe one of the “world’s deadliest and most dangerous for children and women,” as the agency reported that nearly half of the women and children interviewed after making the voyage were raped.   “Refugee and migrant children and women are routinely suffering sexual violence, exploitation, abuse and detention along the Central Mediterranean migration route from North Africa to Italy,” UNICEF warned in a new report, A Deadly Journey for Children: The Central Mediterranean Migrant Route.   At the time of the report, 256,000 migrants were recorded in Libya – of who about 54,000 included women and children. UNICEF estimates that this is a low count with actual numbers at least three times higher.   In addition, it is believed that at least 181,000 people – including more than 25,800 unaccompanied children – used smugglers in 2016 to try to reach Italy. At the most dangerous portion - from southern Libya to Sicily – one in every 40 people is killed, according to UNICEF.   “The Central Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe is among the world’s deadliest and most dangerous migrant routes for children and women,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director and Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe.   “The route is mostly controlled by smugglers, traffickers and other people seeking to prey upon desperate children and women who are simply seeking refuge or a better life,” Mr. Khan added.   The UNICEF report is based on a survey in the field of 122 people, including 82 women and 40 children from 11 nationalities. Among the children, 15 are girls between the ages of 10 and 17.   “Nearly half the women and children interviewed had experienced sexual abuse during migration – often multiple times and in multiple locations,” according to the report, with “widespread and systematic” sexual violence at crossings and checkpoints.   In addition, about three-quarters of all the children interviewed said that they had “experienced violence, harassment or aggression at the hands of adults” including beatings, verbal and emotional abuse''.   At the mercy of smugglers, children and women were left in debt and often had to agree to “pay as you ago” arrangements.   In western Libya, women were often held in detention centres were they reported “harsh conditions, such as poor nutrition and sanitation, significant overcrowding and a lack of access to health care and legal assistance,” according to UNICEF.   Included in the report is a six-point agenda calling for safe and legal pathways and safeguards to protect migrating children. The UN agency is urging Governments and the European Union to adopt this agenda.   Meanwhile, in Libya, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and partners held a five-day training for managers and staff of Libyan detention centres to promote human rights and ensure that the detainees are treated in line with international standards.   * Access the report: http://bit.ly/2mCHrCr   http://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2016/refugee-children-10-dangers/ Visit the related web page
	Truth is not the result of an algorithm by UNESCO, Amnesty, Global Voices   March 2017 (UNESCO)   As the media landscape continues to be shaken by technological change and political polarization, more than 200 media experts gathered at UNESCO Headquarters today, 23 March, to discuss shared challenges and identify ways forward.   The Colloquium Journalism under fire: challenges of our time, featured lively debates from leading social scientists, journalists, and representatives of social media companies and media development organizations through four roundtable discussions.   Topics ranged from rise of identity politics, to threats to business models, responses to the spread of “fake news”, the role of social media platforms, and the importance of journalism training and media and information literacy.   In her opening remarks, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova explained that the event comes within the spirit of the Organization’s mandates to promote freedom of expression and to “act as a laboratory of ideas”, providing “a forum for debate on difficult questions of the day.”   “Combined with the concept of ‘fake news’, we see the rise of new forms of manipulation, propaganda, disinformation, raising questions that go to the heart of free, independent and professional journalism today,” observed Director-General Bokova.   These issues were the subject of a recent Joint Declaration on ‘Fake News’, Disinformation and Propaganda issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and his counter-parts at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).   In the colloquium’s opening, the President of the World Editors Forum, Marcelo Rech, identified additional challenges to journalism, including a growing lack of public trust in polarized media environment, the development of echo chambers on social media, and challenges to economic models.   “In opposition to fake news and echo chambers, professional journalists have to become 24/7 certifiers of the reality around us,” Rech stated. “Truth is the scarcest good in this new and scary world. But truth is exactly the product good newsrooms manufacture.”   The complex relationship between traditional media and social platforms appeared throughout the day’s discussions.   In light of Facebook’s major role as a platform for content distribution, Norwegian newspaper editor Espen Egil Hansen called Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg “the world’s most powerful editor”, noting that the company had moved beyond a tech company to being a media company.   However, Facebook does not fit currently into traditional regulatory frameworks developed for telecommunications companies or the media industry.   Maria Ressa, editor-in-chief and CEO of the Filipino online news site Rappler, urged more cooperation between traditional media and social media companies, stating, “We must work more closely with the tech platforms.”   The day ended with a reminder of the importance of quality journalism and media and information literacy for preserving truth, authenticity and critical thinking.   “Truth is not the result of an algorithm,” said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Frank La Rue, in reference to the automated procedures that determine the rank order of social media newsfeeds and search engine results. “Truth is something we build together through honest dialogue.”   The role of journalism in facilitating this space for dialogue will be at the heart of this year’s celebration of World Press Freedom Day, under the theme Critical Times for Critical Minds: Media’s Role in Advancing Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.   The colloquium on “Journalism under Fire” was organized by UNESCO’s Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development with the support of the International Programme for the Development of Communication, the World Associations of Newspapers and News Editors (WAN-IFRA), and the Governments of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.   A summary of the highlights of the colloquium will be published on the conference website in the coming weeks. This will in turn provide input to the 2017 edition of the UNESCO flagship series World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development, to be published in November 2017. http://bit.ly/2oUIgdQ   http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/03/29/the-future-of-free-speech-trolls-anonymity-and-fake-news-online/ http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/new-guide-to-fake-news-aims-to-help-the-public-understand-how-these-stories-circulate-online/s2/a702355/ http://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/exposed-facebook-fails-ethical-challenge-transparency   * Ethics in the News, Ethical Journalism Network report (52 page): http://bit.ly/2jALTng   24 March 2017   Mexico: Journalism should not be a life threatening profession. Third reporter killed in a month. (Amnesty)   The killing of the third journalist in a month in Mexico raises new alarms about the state of free expression in the country, said Amnesty International.   Miroslava Breach, a reporter for La Jornada and el Norte de Juarez, was shot dead while she was in her car outside her home in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Miroslava was known for reporting on issues including organised crime and drug trafficking.   “In Mexico a ‘war’ is raging against journalists. The country has turned into a no-go zone for anyone brave enough to talk about issues including the increasing power of organised crime and the collusion of these groups with the authorities,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.   “Journalism should not be a life threatening profession. Instead of looking the other way and ignoring this bloodshed, the Mexican authorities must take concrete measures to protect journalists and anyone daring to talk about the country’s ills. This crime should be urgently investigated and those responsible, brought to justice.”   According to the organization Article 19, more than 103 media workers have been killed in México since 2000, with 11 in 2016 alone. Reporters Without Borders said that in 2016, Mexico was the third deadliest country for journalists in the world, only behind Syria and Afghanistan.   http://bit.ly/2piXExd http://bit.ly/2o7AH0k http://bit.ly/2qPhjcl http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/16/crusading-mexican-journalist-javier-valdez-shot-dead-in-sinaloa http://correspondent.afp.com/remarkable-journalist Visit the related web page
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