The United Nations Mission in South Sudan or UNMISS Human Rights Division, assures Union of journalists in South Sudan or UJOSS, of working closely to support in freedom of expression.
UNMISS representative, Dennis Chenwi, says human rights division and the office of the high commissioner for human rights, will continue providing technical assistance to UJOSS.
“UNMISS human rights division and OHCHR will continue working closely with UJOSS to promote freedom of expression and media as well as ethics in the documentation of violations against journalists as well as media independence. In this regards, UNMISS human right division and the office of high commissioner for human rights will continue to provide technical assistance and capacity building support to UJOSS and it’s as well as independent journalists”
He encourages the union of journalists to work tirelessly to make sure journalists remain professional in their duties.
Meanwhile, UJOSS President, Patrick Oyet, calls for more capacity training to journalists.
Oyet says UJOSS in collaboration with its partners, is trying its best to train journalists at the state level.
“Things change, laws change, situation, and therefore you need to always update yourself as a journalists. The biggest tool that we have is to build our capacity, to always advance, to always get better if you ask Abud, he will tell you what they started using when they became camera men the kind of camera that they were using, things are advancing now people even use very small equipment so it means we always have to build our capacity we cannot stop and in every for me personally every workshop I go to I learn something this one I have learn that I didn’t know before and I think it’s the same for most of us that is why it’s important that we really continue to build our capacity”.
Participants’ representative, Lieth Nyak Jock, calls on his colleagues not to take the training in to granted.
“As a journalists of this country, we don’t need to take this training for granted, we need to take it as professional work which we are trying to do, but not just trying that is what we are doing, so it is very important that whenever we are getting such a training, we make sure that we utilize and practice at the way it’s excepted by our partners, not just getting the skills and you go and stay with the skills”.
Jock appeals to partners to work with journalists to promote a strong media in South Sudan.
The two days’ workshop on ethics and human rights reporting ended on Tuesday.