In the spirit of Article 19 of the Universal Human Rights Declaration, Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) is dedicated to increasing the quality and quantity of human rights reporting in the African media. As a result of this work, the African public will be made more aware of their rights, improving peace and security and strengthening the democratisation process. By limiting JHR's presence in any one country to five years, it hopes to have a sustainable and enduring impact without creating dependency.



Every day, human rights abuses go unreported throughout Africa. The lives of people are threatened, disrupted and ended by these abuses. Abuses include ethnic warring and genocide, torture, religious discrimination and persecution, trafficking in women and children, prevalent domestic violence and rape, and female genital mutilation.



While there are often domestic or international laws in place to protect against these practices, the public rarely knows that they have any rights at all. Without this knowledge, the cycle of pain and suffering cannot end. In the words of Emile Short, Ghana's Commissioner on Human Rights, "the biggest obstacle in our efforts to stop human rights abuses is the public's unawareness about them."



The most effective way to mobilize public support for human rights is through the media. The media can 1) educate the public about their rights, and 2) act as an effective watchdog against human rights abusers.



Through numerous partnerships with the African media, JHR is working to build the capacity of local media to report on human rights topics. This works directly to mobilize public support for human rights. It empowers journalists to better prevent conflicts, to encourage dialogue and to act as watchdogs on abuse of power. It saves lives.