The Journalists have been instructed how to address Issues regarding the Universal Periodic Review

A group of journalists from the national and local press participated at a workshop on Thursday, May, 26, organised by the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC) and the Representative of Civil Rights Defenders(CRD) in the Republic of Moldova where they got informed about the Universal Periodic  Review (UPR) and the commitments assumed by our country during this international exercise. UPR is a mechanism created by the Council of UNO for Human Rights through which the evaluation of public policies in the field of human rights of the countries of the world takes place.

The participants at the workshop discussed about the legal aspects that they should guide by when creating the journalistic materials as well as the practical ways of getting information about UPR. They also learnt how to address issues which target the field of human rights, so to captivate their readers.

Alesia Vidruk, program officer for the Republic of Moldova at the organization Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden) informed the journalists about the way how UPR functions and she referred to the commitments of our country towards UPR. Another workshop instructor, Alina Radu, the director of "Ziarul de Garda" trained the journalists how to write their journalistic materials about UPR. Alina Radu also referred to the way in which the Universal Periodic Review was reflected by mass-media in 2012 and what conclusions can be drawn for the evaluation from 2016. The national authorities' efforts regarding the UPR have also been analized.

The paticipants at the training were impressed both by the theoretical aspects and the practical ones which they acquired and will be able to use in their profession. Daniela Pelin, TV editor at the "Canal Regional" appreciated the practical aspect of the instruction: "Universal Periodic Review is of great value, but the citizens of the Republic of Moldova don't know much about this international exercise. That's why the informative session was very useful for me.

Liubomir Gutu, student of Journalism Department from Alecu Russo State University of Balti added:" The training I took part in was captivating and the information from the instructors aroused my interest for this topic. It's obvious that the things that I have found out today will help me search for and find new subjects about UPR and human rights.

At the end of the event, the journalists were informed about the conditions of participation in a competition of articles and reports on the topic of UPR after which two winners will be designated. They will benefit from a visit to Geneva (Switzeland) to participate at a session of the Council of UNO  for the human rights.
 
The workshop took place with the support of the organization Civil Rights Defenders, Sweden, IJC partner.