Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) is Canada's largest international media development organization. Based in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, JHR was founded in 2002 by Benjamin Peterson and Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque.
[Davis, Nicholas, "Africa got under his skin", ''Toronto Sun'', November 1, 2004] JHR's objective is to encourage media to cover human rights stories with the aim of raising awareness to in order to end human rights abuses.
[Journalists for Human Rights]
" accessed February 3, 2009
JHR partners with over 400 media organisations in 29 different countries to train over 17,650 journalists. JHR's approach encourages the involvement of local media partnerships and consultations with editors and owners, working journalists, students, civil society and other relevant stakeholders within a region.
Activities
Amongst its activities, JHR has trained thousands of journalists worldwide to report on human rights, including in Mali In the DRC, it has worked with journalists and established press clubs. In Jordan, it has trained journalists, mainly women, and uses the Maidan platform for public engagement. In South Africa, JHR co-founded JAMLab to support media innovation. In Syria, it created a Network of Journalists for Human Rights. In South Sudan, it trained journalists and government officials, increasing reporting on sexual and gender based violence.
In Canada, its Indigenous Reporters Program has trained and provided scholarships and internships to Indigenous journalists. The organisation also organised a nationwide silent protest in 2006 to raise human rights awareness.
Funding
JHR is a registered Canadian charity. It receives funding from international and Canadian agencies and governments, foundations, and individual donors.
Its financial contributors include:
Media coverage and partnerships
JHR has received media attention in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, from ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'',
[Kelly, Deidre,]
For society, Africa is the cause du jour
" ''globeandmail.com'', October 13, 2007["
Stephens, Lisa]
"Benjamin Peterson, 29 Ontario Co-founder, executive director, Journalists for Human Rights, Toronto"
''globeandmail.com'', May 7, 2007 ''The Toronto Star'', the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and ''CTV.ca''.
[Ien, Marci,]
Marci Ien in Sierra Leone: Human Rights reporting
" ''CTV.ca'', October 22, 2008 In 2012, JHR partnered with CBC and Global News to send journalists from those networks to JHR projects to act as short-term journalism trainers.
In May 2013, CTV's senior editor and news anchor Lisa LaFlamme mentored a network of JHR affiliated journalists in Goma (Eastern DRC), the centre of ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis since 1998. In February 2023, LaFlamme returned to Africa to carry out case studies for JHR in Kenya and Tunisia into the impact of the organisation's work in those countries raising awareness of alternative schooling for teen mothers, domestic violence, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
JHR also partners with The Alva Foundation and the University of Toronto's Massey College on the ''Gordon N. Fisher-JHR Fellowship''. The annual fellowship is part of the Southam Journalism Fellowships program at the University of Toronto.
JHR partners with the Canadian Association of Journalism to present an annual award for human rights reporting
and an award for an emerging Indigenous journalist. JHR also presents an annual award to a news organization or team for the best human rights coverage in Canada.
References
External links
Journalists for Human Rights*English, Kathy (28 September 2013).
One Cause Journalist Can Support. ''The Toronto Star at Newspapers.com''. p. IN6. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Journalists For Human Rights
Organizations established in 2002
Canadian journalism organizations
International human rights organizations
2002 establishments in Ontario