Remarks by the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ms. Nathalie Ndongo-Sehat the One-Day Workshop on Gender-sensitive reporting and the SODV Act

I am delighted and honoured to be among you this morning and to make remarks during a workshop that we consider as crucial, relevant and rather timely.

Gender equality and women empowerment are important cross-cutting issues, which have a strong bearing on the achievement of the other 16 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We applaud Eswatini for the progress achieved towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially through  the passing of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act (SODV) in 2018, which implements and enforces the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

We are however concerned that, since coming into effect, the SODV Act has become a subject of wide public debate and controversy. Most of these debates are misguided. This will no doubt impact negatively on the implementation of this important piece of legislation and may result in reviews that could  deprive the country the major gains achieved by Eswatini after a protracted process.

Sexual offences and domestic violence amount to human rights violations and are criminal in nature. They undermine the country’s aspiration to achieve the targets under SDG 5 on gender equality by 2030.

What is the role of the media in all these discussions?

The media are extremely powerful socialization platforms, wielding considerable influence on public opinion. Indeed, the media often set the agenda for public discussion. The media may also at times amplify the voices of the most vulnerable.

It is in this regard that the UN Development System in Eswatini has found it fitting to build a strong partnership based on mutual trust, 2-way communication and regular consultations with the media, as well as build their capacity to accelerate the achievement of SDGs by 2030.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all partners, who have made this workshop a reality. The SDGs can only be achieved if there are strong partnerships built with all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, private sector, academia as well as the media.

This training is part of an ongoing partnership-building between the UN family in Eswatini, local media umbrella bodies, including the Editors Forum, as well as the Ministry of ICT. This series of trainings and consultations is aimed at enhancing the knowledge of Agenda 2030 by the media and building their capacity to contribute to the advancement of SDGs in Eswatini.

There are at least four trainings under consideration following several consultations held with some of you here.  The first training which was organised in collaboration with the University of Eswatini, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, was held in August and focussed on Journalism Ethics. Today’s workshop is building up on  that training by focussing on a specific area: Gender-sensitive reporting and SODV Act. An effort was made in this training to include participants who may have missed the first training. I am advised that today we also have development programme producers from our radio and television stations.

The next training after this one is planned for the 12th to the 13th of December 2019 and will focus on Managing and Leading Media Organizations in the Digital Age. It is a training course, which will be facilitated by Rhodes University and will target editors and senior managers in local media institutions.

From the above, you would have understood that  the UN family in Eswatini is  committed to strengthening journalism capacity and fostering professionalism.

It is our conviction that strong ethical and professional journalism are needed to dispel the growing trends of fake news and deliberate misinformation of the public.

With these few remarks, I wish you very fruitful deliberations and a renewed energy to tackle the challenges inherent to your fascinating and very sensitive job.

    I thank you. Syabonga.