Palestinian Cause Tops Arab Media Priorities , Calls for Joint Front Against Disinformation and Hate Speech: Khattabi at Arab Information Ministers Executive Bureau
Amr Yehia
Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Media and Communication Sector at the League of Arab States, Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, stressed the importance of intensifying Arab media efforts to support the Palestinian cause and enhancing cooperation among member states to confront disinformation, discrimination and hate speech, emphasizing the need to implement the adopted Arab media strategies and keep pace with the rapid transformations in the digital media landscape.
This came in the speech of Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi during the 23rd ordinary session of the Executive Bureau of the Council of Arab Information Ministers, held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo today, chaired by Eng. Omar Saud Abdulaziz Al-Omar, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Acting Minister of Information and Culture of the State of Kuwait.
Khattabi pointed out that the Palestinian cause remains the focus of Arab media attention, in light of the gravity of the situation witnessed in the Palestinian territories, and the need for a convincing media discourse open to international public opinion, keeping pace with the growing support for the Palestinian cause, and rejecting systematic violations against Palestinian journalists and targeting their safety, in violation of the provisions of international law and relevant charters.
He praised the efforts of Arab media outlets in following up, analyzing and covering developments of the Palestinian situation, calling for intensifying and coordinating efforts among member states and relevant professional unions, Arab League missions abroad, councils of ambassadors and the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU).
He indicated that the Media and Communication Sector, in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the State of Palestine, recently launched a media campaign via the Arab League's social media platforms, including broadcasting a series of short films about Al-Quds Al-Sharif and its holy sites, especially Al-Aqsa Al-Mubarak Mosque, which achieved record views.
Khattabi stressed the importance of implementing the strategies and plans adopted by the Council of Arab Information Ministers, foremost among them the Arab Media Strategy 2030, the Media Map Program for Sustainable Development, the Environmental Media Plan, and the Arab Executive Plan for Media and Information Literacy, through generalizing them in educational curricula and specialized institutes and colleges, which contributes to containing disinformation, discrimination and hate speech.
He praised the cooperation of member states that took the initiative to submit their proposals to the Media and Communication Sector, which supports building a comprehensive Arab vision in the media field.
He pointed to the importance of preparing an Arab guiding manual for media in terrorism issues, within the framework of the joint executive plan to combat terrorism 2023-2027, in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences.
He also pointed to work on preparing a draft legal framework for regulating digital media, and a draft guiding legal framework for regulating the work of influencers and media content creators.
Regarding cooperation with international media companies, Khattabi explained that the Permanent Committee for Arab Media discussed this file in depth, stressing the importance of the practical plan to support the work of the negotiation team with international media companies, considering it a negotiating ground that includes proposals submitted by member states.
He affirmed that the success of this track requires a clear, cohesive and agreed-upon collective will, in addition to providing full support to the negotiation team and the Arab States Broadcasting Union.
In the context of encouraging quality and professional media excellence, Khattabi expressed sincere thanks and appreciation to the State of Kuwait for sponsoring the Arab Media Excellence Award and its keenness to develop it.
He welcomed the project to establish a Board of Trustees for the Award, expressing his confidence that the Board will contribute to enhancing governance, integrity and transparency in dealing with submitted works.
The speech also addressed the draft internal regulations of the Executive Bureau, noting that the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Information Ministers will circulate the two drafts to member states, in accordance with the regulations in force within the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States.
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