wfn.org | WACC Peace journalism can challenge impunity!

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> Peace journalism can challenge impunity!

Writing in The New York Times (March 2, 2009), Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu ? a speaker at WACC?s recent Congress on the theme
?Communication is Peace? ? has called on Africa?s political leaders to take sides and support the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its attempt to have President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan indicted for the crime of genocide.
Tutu pointedly asks if African leaders are ?on the side of justice or on the side of injustice? Are they on the side of the victim or the oppressor? The choice is clear but the answer so far from many African leaders has been shameful.?

A culture of impunity exists among the world?s political leaders, few of whom are ever called to account for dubious or downright criminal acts. Bosnia, Rwanda, Chile and Cambodia may be exceptions (when the political climate is right), although many questions will remain unanswered. And we know that few of the perpetrators of injustice will actually be convicted.

But if one thinks of the leaders of democracies ? who never wage war on each other but only on
?rogue? states ? impunity is the name of the game. France?s actions in Algeria, Britain?s during the Malvinas/Falklands war, Russia in Chechnya, the USA in too many Latin American countries to name as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan ? one has to conclude, as has long been known, that there is one international standard for the North and another for the South.

Impunity has long tentacles. On March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued its arrest warrant on charges relating to the conflict in Darfur, including war crimes. Al-Bashir is accused of running a campaign that killed 35,000 people outright, at least another 100,000 through ?slow death? and forcing 2.5 million people to flee their homes in Darfur. But the IIC stopped short of charging Sudan?s leader with genocide because ?it did not find sufficient evidence of a specific intent to destroy ethnic groups in Darfur.?

The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease and more than two million people have fled their homes over the last six years. Al-Bashir is accused of being criminally responsible for intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population of Darfur, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their  property.

Western media were slow to report the conflict in Sudan which was only news whenever a flare-up took place. When the violence and oppression went relentlessly on and on, the news became stale and media attention turned elsewhere. Similarly, African and Arab-language media have been criticized for ignoring the worsening situation.

It is clear that the mass media cannot prevent war. Iraq taught us that. The political and military clout of a superpower overrides any moral objection Yet, the mass media can alert. Can explain. Can offer more balanced and insightful opinion. The peace journalism option ? to choose stories that create opportunities for civil society to consider and value non-violent responses to conflict ? is also an antidote to impunity. The more people know about what is done in their name, the more likely they are to challenge, contest and ? who knows? ? act to prevent.

Christian communicators have a prophetic role to play. Communicating peace means pointing the finger. Being critical. Challenging the powers that be and the media manipulation that covers their tracks.

In his Op-Ed contribution, Tutu commented that, 
?African leaders should be the staunchest supporters of efforts to see perpetrators brought to account. Yet rather than stand by those who have suffered in Darfur, African leaders have so far rallied behind the man responsible for turning that corner of Africa into a graveyard.?

The leaders of the world?s democratic countries might take that lesson to heart. They, too, should be the staunchest supporters of international efforts to see the perpetrators of gross injustice brought to account. And those responsible for media outlets of any kind should back them up. When it comes to human rights violations, there can be no impunity. Only justice.

Philip Lee, Deputy-Director of Programs, WACC.

WACC promotes communication for social change. It believes that communication is a basic human right that defines people's common humanity, strengthens cultures, enables participation, creates community and challenges tyranny and oppression.

The World Association for Christian Communication is a UK Registered Charity (number 296073) and a Company registered in England and Wales (number 2082273) with its Registered Office at 71 Lambeth Walk, London SE11 6DX. It is an incorporated Charitable Organisation in Canada (number 83970 9524 RR0001) with its head office at 308 Main Street, Toronto ON, M4C 4X7.