 
“Building Public Pressure for Action on Human Rights through Media Reporting of Rights Violations and Advocacy”
Thursday June 14, 2007 ( Kabul ): The Killid Group and the Crimes of War Project have come together in a year long partnership to raise awareness on international human rights and humanitarian laws and investigate violations.
The project is funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI) and Canada 's International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
The project aims to improve the understanding of human rights and international humanitarian law and report incidents of violations by producing and disseminating in-depth media content nationally and internationally. The messages would be aimed at reaching journalists, politicians/decision-makers, civil society, human rights defenders and the general public.
The overarching goal of the project is to ensure that violators of human rights are made accountable for their (mis)deeds. The project will address the existing informational and awareness gap and pave the way for informed public debate and greater pressure to prevent breaches of the law, and to punish perpetrators. A key objective is to lower the public's level of tolerance of rights violations and end the prevailing culture of impunity.
The Killid Group and Crimes of War Project have been collaborating on human rights and international humanitarian law training and awareness raising initiates since 2006. In October 2006 the Crimes of War Project in partnership with The Killid Group implemented a 3-day training that was focused on improving the understanding of human rights and international humanitarian law among journalists and editors, highlighting the challenges of reporting from conflict areas, spotting and reporting violations and accountability for rights violations and the role of media.
For more information please contact
Aziz Hakimi on +93(0)77 33 33 601, 9799 68 6 18, or e-mail aziz.hakimi@thekillidgroup.com
Najiba Ayubi on +93(0)77 108 88 88, 0799 329832 or email najiba.ayubi@thekillidgroup.com
You can also find more information about the project at www.thekillidgroup.com
Backgrounder: Project Partners
DHSA/TKG
Established in 1992, Development and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan (DHSA) is a registered Afghan not-for-profit, non-governmental organization. Launched in 2002, The Killid Group-( www.thekillidgroup.com) is a public service initiative of DHSA.
The mission of DHSA and The Killid Group is to significantly improve literacy and educational services and public awareness levels by increasing opportunities for education and access to independent media. TKG's corporate policy is to inform, educate and encourage broader civic participation and accountability. TKG is committed to research for development. TKG's principal business activities are in the areas of publishing, broadcasting, communication-for-development and distribution.
TKG owns and operates Radio Killid, broadcasting on 88 FM in Kabul (also reaching neighboring provinces) and Herat . It has over six million listeners in Kabul and Herat . Encouraged by public response in Kabul and Herat , this year TKG will expand its radio network to Mazar, Kandahar and Jalalabad by establishing three new stations. Radio Killid also provides content to and re-broadcasts via 30 provincial radio stations reaching many more millions.
TKG publishes the country's most popular cultural quarterly magazine, Sapaida and two national weeklies. Killid (25,000 copies) and Mursal (15,000 copies), a women's magazine, reach every province.
Nye Express is a leading distribution capacity in Afghanistan with nation-wide reach. Nye Express distributes, among other products, independent press and media resources.
Crimes of War Project
The Crimes of War Project was established in 1999. Crimes of War Project is a private, non-profit corporation, and its educational and awareness programs in international humanitarian law and the laws of war are funded through philanthropic organizations and individual gifts. The Project is a collaboration of journalists, lawyers and scholars dedicated to raising public awareness of the laws of war and their application to situations of conflict.
Crimes of War Project goal is to promote understanding of international humanitarian law among journalists, policymakers, and the general public, in the belief that a wider knowledge of the legal framework governing armed conflict will lead to greater pressure to prevent breaches of the law, and to punish those who commit them. The aim of the Crimes of War Project is to clarify this body of law, and the developments and debates that surround it, for a wider, non-specialist audience.
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