Overall Objective:

ICES seeks to:
• Explore the various aspects of rights, and address the issues and concerns of justice from the point of view of the media
• This project hopes to sensitize journalists to the varying issues in the Rights discourse towards the aim of promoting social justice

Media as an agent of rights and therefore a primary contributor to conflict transformation in the Sri Lanka context is the core of this proposal. The key question is how can and should the media play this role of not only understanding the Rights discourse but also promoting the issues of rights through their work towards achieving justice in society. Presently in Sri Lanka, reporting in the media is highly politicized and the real issues are not given the rigorous analysis it needs. The situation in Sri Lanka also speaks of the constraints of working in an environment of little or no information.

In this project, the media will not only be the object of study and scrutiny but one of the primary stakeholders and beneficiaries. Therefore, this is not just an empirical exercise in unravelling the reality of the media in Sri Lanka but an endeavour to examine the current role the media plays in the Rights and Justice discourse and to promote a more positive role for the society’s fourth estate in the island. Presently most training modules are uni-dimensional in that it deals with only one topic; such as Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law or Right to Information, etc. Bridging this gap, this project hopes to bring together multiple issues into a single training module in three languages – Sinhala, Tamil and English. The module will be a means to helping journalists and media professionals not only learn about rights but also be an engine to promote rights towards achieving a just society.

BACKGOUND TO THE PROJECT
PROBLEM STATEMENT
What is the problem your project will help to address? What evidence have you gathered from your own experience or from research of others to support the need for your project? What are the social, economic, environmental, political, geographical and other factors contributing to the problem? Who will your project benefit and how will your proposal remedy the problem? Who else is involved in the project and whether you have similar projects?

Primary Problem
As a 2002 International Council on Human Rights Policy report states, journalism is not an easy task in the best of times . Therefore in a conflict situation it only gets harder. Journalism is only one element – the news – of the media organism. There is a whole gamut of communications and information formats and mediums that constitute the media – radio, television, documentaries, drama, etc . However, in a conflict situation – such as Sri Lanka’s – the leash is still short on any and every form and kind of expression, communication and information; i.e. media. This has been proven to be the case in Sri Lanka time and again. A conflict-ridden country and a highly-politicized war-torn society make for a difficult situation for an entity such as the media that seeks to be independent, impartial and neutral to function effectively. The media have had to battle with the Sri Lankan state with regard to its own rights and freedoms – the freedom of expression, right to information and association – and its role in the island. Even today, in the present draft national media policy, the issue of right to information has not been addressed. Admittedly the Sri Lanka media operates within many constraints and roadblocks not to mention the inner conflicts of the media itself.

Herein lay the key concerns of this project:
• In a conflict torn and fragile society, such as Sri Lanka, the media has very little access to information and thus the precious little that is available is subject to speculation, politicization and jingoism
• Therefore, the real issues – such as rights and justice – get hidden in the politics of spin. Meanwhile the people who primarily seek information from the media are left with no other options. They continue to exist within a highly politicized realm of issues such as social justice and inclusion, which only further worsens the already fragile situation

Immediate Objectives:
From the key concerns listed out above, the following are the primary objectives within the period of this project:
• What can the media do in such restricted conditions to carry out its duties
• How can the media ensure that the issues are highlighted with the aim to promote the delivery of equity, inclusion and social justice to the people

The proposed project seeks to find a few solutions to these concerns through primarily addressing the issue of ‘Rights and Justice’, especially within the Sri Lankan context. The key concerns highlighted have shown that is not sufficient to sensitize media professionals to the issues and technicalities of the theory and practice of Rights. The project will aim to go beyond the premise of rights towards the functionalities of addressing rights in order to aid the promotion of social justice. Our approach is that rights are indivisible and thus we straddle individual, gender, political, civil, to economic, social and cultural rights situating it within the pursuit of justice. This sets squarely within ICES’ programme on ‘Justice and Struggle for Peace’. We also propose to cover issues of transitional justice in the context of conflict and peace in Sri Lanka. This project would also be an area of immense interest to NTT falling aptly into a cusp between the objectives and themes of ‘Human Rights within a Conflict Transformatory Framework’ and ‘Peace, Reconciliation and Pluralism’.

Activities
In an attempt to achieve the stated immediate and long-term objectives and address the concerns enumerated, this project proposes, over a period of 12 months, to:

• Rights and Justice Training module: ICES proposes to develop a training module, initially targeting journalists. The training will focus on issue of functioning in a restricted environment and still being able to highlight and promote the concerns of the people – specifically their rights and expectations of a just society

• Dialogue Process: Simultaneously, this project will be the apt platform to create a space for dialogue between media professionals, rights workers and the public in general. This space will also bring together journalists from the different language mediums – English, Tamil and Sinhala – to debate and deliberate issues from their respective points of view

• Commemoration Event: Mid-term through the project, a 3-day multi-media event will be organized. It will be a platform to launch the Rights and Justice Training Module. It will also be an opportunity to commemorate the 25 years of the 1983 riots in Sri Lanka as a means to look back on the history of rights and justice in the island specifically from the point of view of the media. This event will coincide on the final day with the annual Neelan Thiruchelvam lecture

PROJECT DESCRIPTION - GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Tell us your long term goal i.e. your contribution to the large problem after the life of the project and over which you have little control.
The outputs or immediate objectives of the activities is what you undertake which address the causes of the problem and which your project has control over during the life of the project. Explain how the outcomes will address the effects of the problem.
This needs to be talk of specific, measurable targets, within a timeframe and realistic.

Long-Term:
• The media will be able to continue a dialogue within its own institutions and also with other sections of society. It would become a process that continues to strengthen the capacity of the media
• In the course of the next one year, ICES proposes to make the Rights Training Module a permanent part of all the courses in SLCJ. This would also include the year-long diploma course in journalism. At the diploma level, the module would require a few basic lectures on introducing the issues and discourses on rights and justice
• In the long term, the module can also be adapted to train new recruits involved in field work for rights organizations in different parts of the country

Short-Term:
• Being a collaborative effort, the project will open new avenues of dialogue with the Media.
• Through developing a training module on rights and justice, the ICES will be offering its knowledge and extensive contribution in the area of Rights, Peace, Reconciliation and Justice.
• ICES proposes to simultaneously begin a broad-based research/survey on the future of the Sri Lankan media