A free open online course on international standards on freedom of expression and the court system in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be available to journalists across the Pacific. 

In cooperation with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights of the University of Oxford, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (U.N.E.S.C.O.) will soon be launching the courses. 

The course for judicial actors is designed to promote international and regional standards on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The course’s five modules will cover the general principles and scope of freedom of expression, limitations on freedom of expression, the right of access to information, the safety of journalists, and challenges created by the digital world, a U.N.E.S.C.O. spokesperson confirmed. 

The course will be led by experts in the field of human rights and freedom of expression and will include guest speakers such as United Nations Special Rapporteurs, judges from regional human rights courts, prosecutors, and human rights lawyers.

The Director of the U.N.E.S.C.O Office of the pacific, Ms. Nisha, told the Samoa Observer the course will focus on international standards for freedom of expression.

The course will cover topics at the intersection of journalism and law such as the interpretation of freedoms, laws, and standards will be covered by the speakers. 

“Both the media and judiciary have a role in the broad fields of human rights and freedom of expression with a difference that journalists monitor the practices, collect facts and communicate, therefore, in some contexts, they may face challenges and threats,” Ms. Nisha said.

“The judges, on the other hand, are responsible for upholding the standards, freedoms and balancing the individual rights against common good and giving verdicts that may not be [to the] media’s liking. 

“Journalists in Samoa, like anywhere else, will benefit when the justice sector and they have [a] shared understanding of the standards for press freedom, access to public information, the safety of journalists and challenges created by the digital world.

“In view of this, [the] benefit to journalists in Samoa or elsewhere is also dependent on legal and human rights related capacities and developments outside [of the] media.”

She said the programme is jointly funded, developed and administered by U.N.E.S.C.O. and the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights under the auspices of the Faculty of Law of the University of Oxford, UK.

“[The] COVID-19 pandemic has created a playing field ripe with misinformation, disinformation, facts and competing rights and interests,” Ms. Nisha said. 

“This situation is hard for both journalists and the justice sector, who need to have lifelong learning skills to continuously acquire knowledge of COVID-19 infection and vaccines as they are evolving.

“Samoa is not a special case in this regard. 

"Journalists need far better communication skills to explain issues related to COVID-19 to their readers and to create fact-based debates on [its] impacts. 

“Their efforts are more effective when the justice sector strikes a balance between public safety and the enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms.

“This [online course will...] support the justice sector to be aware of the international standards on freedom of expression and orient them to look into legal arrangements, provisions, and changes that are taking place or may [develop] in the name of COVID-19 measures to safeguard judicial independence.”