Iraqi Women Journalists Forum and the Human Rights Commission agree on joint action regarding the role of the media in curbing hate speech

The delegation of the Iraqi Women Journalists Forum, headed by Dr. Nibras Al-Mamory, met with a member of the Council of the High Commission for Human Rights, Dr. Anas Al-Azzawi, on Wednesday, February 24, to discuss the mechanism of joint action, especially with regard to the activities carried out by the forum regarding the role of the media in reducing hate speech and promoting societal peace.

During the meeting, Dr. Anas Al-Azzawi reviewed the role of the commission in Baghdad and the governorates in developing strategies and plans to establish peace and community stability throughout the country, especially the areas liberated from ISIS terrorist gangs, and pointed out the importance of the media’s role in establishing stability and safety and rejecting the language of violence and hatred among the components of society, praising the Forum role and study centers in developing solutions to issues and problems facing the individual and society in all fields.

Dr. Nibras Al-Mamory appreciated the role of the commission and its continuous efforts to promote human rights and the mechanism for joint action to curb extremist ideas and hate speech. Al-Mamory reviewed the project that the Forum is implementing in cooperation with the German Embassy in Iraq in the matter of building the capacities of female journalists in how to monitor and limit hate speech, in addition to the study which the Forum seeks to prepare in cooperation with the Commission as well as graduate students on how to reduce hate speech and achieve community peace.

In turn, the Executive Director of the Governance Center for Public Policy, Dr.Adel Bedaiwi emphasized the importance of involving the concerned official authorities in this research work, referring to the role of students of the Faculty of Political Science, especially the Conflict Management and Peacebuilding Branch in completing the research project in addition to the role of the media in mobilizing public opinion regarding hate speech and the importance of Peaceful coexistence. The meeting ended with the two parties agreeing on the joint work mechanism and holding another meeting to discuss the study draft and subsequent work steps.