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	Street Theatre project spreads messages of peace by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) Kenya   In Kenya, Minority Rights Group partnered with SAFE, a local charity that uses street theatre and community programmes to educate, inspire and deliver social change. MRG staff member Gina recently went to Kenya, to see SAFE performing their peace-building play, Ni Sisi.   Ni Sisi telling the story of a mixed tribe in a beautiful Kenyan village, friends who lived and worked together all their lives, who place no stock in which tribe their neighbour came from.   Then rumours begin to spread and suddenly mistrust takes hold, just as it did in reality in 2008, and friends turn on each other.   In the violence that follows, the two most loved characters are killed. When one of the characters awakes he realises that the violence hasn’t happened yet and that he has to do everything he can to keep the peace. By the end of the play, trust and respect are restored and the audience can celebrate the resilience of this typical community.   After the show audience members are invited on stage to discuss the lessons they have learnt about Kenyan identity, personal responsibility in achieving peace, discrimination, minority rights and the importance of voting wisely. Many in the crowd are children and young male adults, who are keen to participate in the post performance feedback.   The messages of Ni Sisi have been deeply embedded in all the communities our partner has visited - SAFE has now completed fifteen performances of Ni Sisi, reaching over 10,000 people. The next elections are in March 2013 and SAFE is working very hard to galvanise people to keep the peace before then.   * The link below is to the minority voices newsroom, an online multimedia library that allows people to upload, download and share their stories. Members of minorities and indigenous communities, and their advocates, can upload first-hand accounts, interviews, reports, pictures, audio and video footage addressing issues of importance to them. Visit the related web page
	Journalist deaths hit 15-year high by Committee to Protect Journalists & agencies   More journalists have been killed this year while on assignment than at any time in the past 15 years, according to the International Press Institute, a Vienna-based media watchdog.   A total 119 journalists have died so far, IPI"s Death Watch survey found, exceeding the number of deaths in any year since it started keeping track in 1997.   The previous highest figure had been 110 deaths in 2009. Last year, 102 journalists were killed.   Syria was the deadliest country for media to operate in this year, with 36 journalists killed there.   This confirmed "the alarming trend, which IPI has witnessed in most conflicts of the past 15 years, in which journalists are targeted to prevent distribution of information," the watchdog said in a statement.   A further 16 were killed in Somalia, while Mexico, Pakistan and the Philippines remained the next most dangerous countries for journalists.   IPI"s figures differ from that of other media watchdogs such as Reporters without Borders (RSF), as it includes not just targeted killings but all journalist deaths on the job.   22 November 2012   In one of deadliest years for journalists, UN stresses need to defend press freedom.   United Nations officials today highlighted the need to defend freedom of expression and ensure the safety of journalists, noting that 2012 is set to become one of the deadliest years for media workers covering not just conflicts but also illegal activities in their countries.   “Today"s meeting could not be more timely,” the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in her message to the 2nd UN Inter-Agency Meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity in Vienna, Austria.   “More than 100 journalists have been killed so far this year, making 2012 the deadliest year for the media since UNESCO began keeping records on the killings of journalists. And we are only in November.”   The meeting, attended by UN agencies, independent experts, governments, media houses, and civil society organizations will discuss the most pressing issues facing freedom of expression today and will create a new UN strategy to improve the safety of media workers and effectively prosecute those who commit crimes against them.   Of the journalists killed this year, 32 were killed as a result of the Syrian conflict and 18 were killed in Somalia. However, the overwhelming majority were not war correspondents, Ms. Bokova said, but local reporters covering illegal activities such as drug trafficking and illegal logging.   “We must break the vicious cycle that silences journalists, deprives society of important voices and frightens other citizens, preventing them from speaking out”.   Ms. Bokova reiterated UNESCO"s commitment to promote journalists safety and fight against impunity globally, and encouraged participants at the meeting to share best practices and build partnerships to raise awareness about press freedom.   Speakers emphasized that attacks on media workers have a far-reaching effect on society, threatening to silence all citizens.   Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said, “these attacks – not only the many murders and physical assaults, but also the countless abductions, the acts of harassment, the illegal arrests, the arbitrary detentions – have an impact that reaches well beyond the personal suffering of the person involved” he said.   “They chill press freedom and the right of everyone to live as informed citizens in peaceful societies. They aim to silence the journalist and, by extension, all of us.”   In particular, Mr. Launsky-Tieffenthal pointed to the rising number of journalists targeted during conflicts, as was seen most recently in the Gaza crisis.   “In the past week alone, in Gaza and southern Israel, we have seen disturbing reports indicating that journalists and their offices have been targeted during the conflict. We condemn such attacks and I urge all sides to respect the civilian status of journalists and their right to carry out their professional duties,” Mr. Launsky-Tieffenthal said.   The new UN Implementation Strategy on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity for 2013-2014 will need to take into account the changing media environment to ensure laws protect not just journalists but also bloggers and new media reporters, Mr. Launsky-Tieffenthal added.   http://cpj.org/reports/2012/12/imprisoned-journalists-world-record.php   http://cpj.org/blog/2012/12/speak-justice-cpj-campaign-to-fight-impunity.php   Nov. 2012   Taking action against impunity. (Committee to Protect Journalists)   Approximately 30 journalists are targeted and murdered every year, and on average, in only three of these crimes are the killers ever brought to justice. Other attacks on freedom of expression occur daily: bloggers are threatened, photographers beaten, writers kidnapped. And in those instances, justice is even more rare. Today, the Committee to Protect Journalists joins freedom of expression advocates worldwide in a 23-day campaign to dismantle one case at a time a culture of impunity that allows perpetrators to gag journalists, bloggers, photographers and writers, while keeping the rest of us uninformed.   The campaign, sponsored by the IFEX global network for free expression, will highlight cases of individuals who have been threatened or persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Our goal is to draw public awareness to the widespread issue of impunity by asking participants to take a specific action each day.   Today, we are calling on people across the globe to send letters to Belorussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko asking him to put a stop to continuous harassment of Irina Khalip, the Minsk correspondent for the Russian newsweekly Novaya Gazeta, who has been imprisoned, followed, and threatened for her work.   The IFEX campaign will culminate on November 23, the International Day to End Impunity. Designated as such in June 2011, by all IFEX members, the day commemorates the 2009 massacre of 32 journalists and media workers in Maguindanao, Philippines--the single deadliest attack on the press since 1992, when CPJ began keeping detailed records.   On November 23, CPJ will continue the global fight against impunity with the launch of a new digital initiative. Over the past five years, we have sought to bring awareness to the issue, focusing primarily in Russia and the Philippines--two democracies with high numbers of journalist murders and very low conviction rates. The digital campaign will promote a grassroots, global push to end the culture of impunity and drive authorities in Russia, the Philippines, and across the world to bring those responsible for killing journalists to justice.   http://dartcenter.org/blog/international-day-to-end-impunity#.UK2dI2dafL0 Visit the related web page
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