Journalists from different media houses based in the West Nile region have been urged to integrate human rights issues into their daily reporting.

The call was made by Bernard Amwine, the Public Information Officer for United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a two days capacity building training for journalists on human rights in Arua city on Wednesday, October 19.

Journalists from West Nile Region in a group photo after the training.

Amwine said many times journalists do stories which promote abuse of the rights of the persons they are reporting about instead of protecting them.

According to Amwine, women, children, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged persons carry the heaviest load of abuse in the hands of journalists, either knowingly or unknowingly, while trying to report about them.

"The stories we do, need to promote the rights of the victim other than opening more grounds for abuses," he said.

Daisy Kissa, the Human Rights officer In-charge investigations for Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC).

Amwine encouraged journalists to always apply the core principles of human rights which include; among others accountability, empowerment, participation, equality and non-discrimination in the day-to-day stories they do.

He also implored journalists to be on watch and report human rights violations against themselves (journalists) in the line of duty.

"The Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U) has reported journalists being beaten, arrested and detained, including incommunicado detentions and confiscation of their tools of trade, such as cameras, audio recorders and other gadgets. These acts of impunity threaten press freedom, particularly, online media," said Amwine.

Journalists in a group discussion during the training.

He called upon the media practitioners and journalists, to engage constructively in dialogue on the apparent intolerance by the Government to media on freedom of expression, the clampdown on social media and all online practitioners, and the excesses of security agencies, arbitrary arrests, and torture of journalists.

Amwine added that journalists should stick to their professional ethics to be safe.

Daisy Kissa, the Human Rights officer In-charge investigations for Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) in the West Nile region, urged journalists to read books to always keep current with different new rights that come day by day.

"Human rights is a day-to-day issue, new rights come on daily and as journalists, you need to keep current with every piece of information," she said.

She said journalists are watchdogs of the society on whom the different human rights institutions relay for information on human rights abuses and violations.

Felix Warom, the secretary general for the West Nile Press Association ( WENPA) said cases of violation against journalists are so common in the region.

He said, as an association, they are always trying to handle the cases, but many don't get justice from the police and courts.

Warom appealed to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other human rights institutions such as Uganda Human Rights Commission, to always stand with the journalists in hard moments of violation to ensure justice prevails.