Quality communication requires respect for human rights

The encounter was attended by Daniela Fernández, journalist from the Promotion and Education Unit of the Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos (INDH), and in the panel led by Camila Díaz, Director of Research and Academic Training at the Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, the discussion featured Ignacio López, professor at the Facultad de Comunicaciones UC, Magdalena Browne, Dean of the Facultad de Comunicaciones de la Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, and Roberto Herrscher, Director of the Premio Periodismo de Excelencia at the Universidad Alberto Hurtado.

In the first part of the day, the INDH Portable Manual on Communication and Human Rights was presented, and in the second part, the Dialogue “Why Communicate with a Human Rights Approach?” was held.

INDH Workshop: Diversity of Voices and Warnings Against Hate Speech

Daniela Fernández, journalist from the Promotion, Education and Participation Unit of the Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos, opened the first block with the presentation of the Portable Manual on Communication and Human Rights, a tool that offers guidance for communicating and reporting with relevance and a rights-based approach.

The goal of this guide—aimed at journalists, students, communicators, and everyone interested in the field—is to foster a culture that respects human rights in the country, addressing basic principles such as equality and non-discrimination, citizen participation, and freedom of expression.

“Why is it important to talk about this?” Fernández asked the audience. “We must recognize our role in promoting human rights. As communications workers, we do not just inform, we also generate an impact on communities, since we give an account of their rights through the content we create and disseminate.”

According to Daniela, the INDH Portable Manual is based on four principles: equality and non-discrimination—that we are all treated equally regardless of variables and contexts; participation—that we all have the possibility of taking part in our communities; non-regression—not going backward on rights we have already gained; and pro-person—the State must ensure that our rights are not violated.

Regarding the right to freedom of expression, does it have limits? How and when can it be limited? “In our daily practice we can and must set limits,” says Fernández. According to the Inter-American Human Rights System and the United Nations (UN), freedom of expression has clear boundaries in three situations:

• when it constitutes an apology for hatred and violence
• when national order and security are at stake
• when it violates people’s dignity and honor

In this sense, while all of us must be respectful of human rights, it is the State that must guarantee them, and it is the only entity that can violate them directly or indirectly, including through its agents. “It is the State’s duty to demand and guarantee human rights, preventing, investigating, punishing, and providing redress when they have been violated,” explains the journalist.

So what can we do as communicators regarding our content and editorial decisions? Identify matters of broad public interest, trigger latent positive values in audiences, choose images appropriately, report truthfully and critically, include a diversity of voices, and communicate for everyone with accessibility in mind.

What is the Role of Journalism and Communications in Promoting Democracy and Human Rights?

In the second part of the day, the Dialogue “Why Communicate with a Human Rights Approach?” was held, addressing the role of communicators in the face of the situation the country is going through, marked by polarization, disinformation, and fake news.

Magdalena Browne, Dean of the Facultad de Comunicaciones at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, pointed out that in a modern society, “democracy and the media go hand in hand, because beyond being the fourth estate, society requires information. And in turn, the media need democracy because their role is grounded in safeguarding the right to information.”

The problem, the academic notes, is that this is a role that society does not necessarily recognize. Today’s communications landscape is different from years ago: we now see a phenomenon of demediation (information spreads through channels beyond traditional media), there is an oversaturation of content, sensationalism, and fake news. “Therefore, those of us who work in communications have to be constantly building the social role we are given, and we also have to keep earning it. Given these circumstances, we cannot take it for granted today.”

The challenges journalism faces regarding human rights are numerous. “For me, this profession has a series of qualities: adherence to the truth, to fact-checking, to a plurality of voices. It must question stereotypes, discuss the uses and abuses of words, and ask why there is an overabundance of certain topics and a deafening silence on others,” said Roberto Herrscher, Director of the Premio Periodismo de Excelencia at Universidad Alberto Hurtado.

He also pointed out, within the framework of the “security crisis” that has dominated the political and media agenda, “Today it seems as though rights are only for honest citizens, ‘the good ones,’ while ‘criminals’ cannot access those rights. It is somewhat similar to what Pinochet used to say, disregarding the fact that human rights belong to everyone and must be guaranteed by the State. I think we need to reconsider and return to a concept of human rights that prevailed in a generation of free journalism after dictatorships.”

Journalistic ethics come into play here, says Ignacio López, professor at the Facultad de Comunicaciones UC. “As journalists we have an impact on a collective, we must pay attention to how we might harm them through what we say.” One example he highlights is the challenge of stereotypes, which can affect people’s dignity. “It is not only physical violence, it is also symbolic. They deliver a very partial truth, presenting parts of reality that are very unfair.”

Despite this, the academic sees a glimmer of hope in the new generations: “I feel that young people embrace and show enthusiasm for human rights. People often avoid this topic, since they consider it too politicized. But among students I do see a change overall, as they ask questions about the challenges facing communications. Also, it seems to me that the audience is now scrutinizing and has avenues for oversight that it did not have before.”