Humanitarian Media Center Organizes Webinar on Media Coordination with Official Authorities

The Humanitarian Media Center (HMC) organized a virtual webinar today, Tuesday, titled “Humanitarian Media and Coordination with Official Authorities: Challenges and Solutions.” Hosted via Google Meet, the webinar brought together a number of journalists, official representatives, and civil society activists. It aimed to discuss the reality of humanitarian media, the challenges it faces, and ways to enhance cooperation between media professionals and humanitarian stakeholders in Marib Governorate.

At the beginning , journalist Khaled Al-Hatmi, representing the Humanitarian Media Center, delivered an opening speech addressing the first topic: “Humanitarian Media: Between Reality and Hope.” He emphasized that Marib has become a humanitarian haven for millions of displaced persons and a hub for humanitarian work. However the voice of its human suffering remains absent from many international platforms.

Al-Hatmi pointed out that the neglect of the Yemeni humanitarian issue is not only due to media coverage or lack of   resources, but also to poor coordination, fragmented efforts, and the absence of a shared vision between the media and humanitarian and official agencies. He stressed the need for responsible humanitarian media that honestly reports the voice of affected people and mobilizes local and international public opinion.

In the second session, journalist Khalil Al-Muliki addressed “Administrative and Security Challenges in Coordination,” indicating that Marib hosts more than 62% of Yemen’s IDPs, posing significant challenges for actors. Al-Muliki highlighted that journalists face obstacles accessing camps due to poor coordination, certain field restrictions, and the sensate nature of some humanitarian issues. He emphasized that the lack of official documentation of humanitarian cases has contributed to poor media coverage.

He explained that the restrictions imposed on some journalists and the silence regarding the violations of some organizations deepen the trust gap. He called for the establishment of a joint coordination room, the development of a unified guide for organizations, functioning transparency principle, and training programs to enhance journalists’ professionalism in humanitarian field work.

In the third section, Mohammed Al-Saeedi, Director of the IDPs Department at the Executive Unit for the Management of IDPs Camps in Marib, addressed the Importance of effective Coordination with Media Professionals, emphasizing that the media can be a partner in reporting accurate information and guiding public discourse. Al-Saeedi affirmed that the Executive Unit operates transparently sharing its ideas through official channels. As for the requirements imposed on journalists, he said that they are not intended to restrict freedom of expression, but rather to protect the privacy and dignity of beneficiaries.

He also called for the development of a code of conduct, led by the Humanitarian Media Center, for media professionals to ensure their respect for the IDPs dignity. He also called for     journalists training on humanitarian media standards and recognition of the media as part of solution, especially given that 80% of camps are located on land belonging to the host community.

In the fourth session, Awad Al-Huwaisik, Marib Media Office Director, called for the formation of a joint working group comprising humanitarian media and the Executive Unit. He   praised the role of the Humanitarian Media Center in addressing IDPs issues.

The webinar featured rich contributions, most notably by Fahmi Al-Zubairi, the Human Rights Office Director in the Capital Secretariat, who emphasized the importance of adhering to international humanitarian law and ensuring neutrality and independence. He also called on official bodies to document violations and strives to provide a strategic humanitarian stockpile in Marib.

Dr. Bakir Al-Qudimi stressed the necessity of launching a national humanitarian media campaign that highlights the extent of human suffering and attracts international support for Yemen. He noted that Yemen’s voice is absent from international humanitarian platforms.

 At the conclusion of the webinar, participants came up with a number of important recommendations aimed at fostering an effective and supportive media environment for humanitarian work in Yemen. These recommendations include:

• Developing a future action plan to enhance humanitarian media coordination and define roles among relevant stakeholders.
• Establishing clear mechanisms for information exchange and facilitating journalists’ access to data and field sites.
• Developing a media code of conduct that respects the beneficiaries dignity and privacy, initiated by the Humanitarian Media Center, in partnership with Marib Media Office.
• Respecting the host community privacy and distinguishing between the roles of media professionals and human rights activists.
• Implementing training and qualification courses for media professionals on the standards and ethics of humanitarian media and international humanitarian law.
• Holding joint workshops including media professionals and official bodies to build trust and enhance partnership and understanding.
• Documenting humanitarian stories and violations by official bodies, and providing accurate and up-to-date data to serve media work.
• Support media efforts to report IDPs suffering and their humanitarian stories in order to attract humanitarian funding.
• Launching a coordinated national humanitarian media campaign and unify advocacy efforts to highlight the extent of the suffering.
• Pressuring international organizations to adopt a strategic humanitarian stockpile in Marib because of the high population density of displaced persons there.
• Unify humanitarian media discourse toward public opinion, and promote transparency and openness in humanitarian work.
• Form a joint coordination chamber that includes journalists, the Humanitarian Media Center, the Media Office, and the Executive Unit for Displaced Persons.