Najum Iqbal, head of Communications with the Regional Delegation for East Asia of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), speaks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 27, 2023. Chinese media has played an important role in promoting the development of international humanitarian cause and the implementation of humanitarian laws, said Najum Iqbal. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese media has played an important role in promoting the development of international humanitarian cause and the implementation of humanitarian laws, said Najum Iqbal, Head of Communications with the Regional Delegation for East Asia of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Iqbal told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Monday that the ICRC expects closer cooperation with Chinese media to jointly contribute to world peace, development and progress.
Journalists can be seen in countries and regions inflicted with conflicts, Iqbal said, adding that media coverage can influence how much attention world leaders pay to humanitarian crises and how much humanitarian funding is provided. The voice of the media is crucial, and the media certainly shoulders important responsibilities, he said.
Talking about the extensive cooperation between the ICRC and the Chinese media over the years, Iqbal said that the interest and desire of the Chinese media in reporting international humanitarian affairs are on the rise.
"For Chinese media, your audience is not only the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, but also the global audience to your foreign language services," said Iqbal, adding their news reporting can influence their level of awareness and knowledge about those people living in areas affected by armed conflicts, and helps solicit more support and compassion for those caught up in the crisis.
Amid accelerated paces of cooperation between the ICRC and Xinhua over the recent years, Iqbal said he was impressed by the quality of news reporting by Xinhua, adding it is hoped more media outlets with global influence like Xinhua can join news reporting on the development of humanitarian causes.
As an ICRC representative, Iqbal will be attending the upcoming fifth World Media Summit to be held in early December. He said against the backdrop of many global challenges such as geopolitical tensions in the world today, the summit is held at an important juncture and provides a candid opportunity to discuss public narratives around those issues and the important role media plays in influencing those narratives.
"From humanitarian perspective, I want to see more conversations around how media can bring attention to the less reported conflicts or in other words, forgotten crises, the challenges posed by misinformation and disinformation and its impact on civilian populations, and what news value the humanitarian reporting has in editorial decisions and other similar issues," Iqbal added. ■
