Arab League: Arab media urged to intensify efforts to support the Palestinian cause and counter hate speech

Cairo -- The Arab League called on Tuesday for intensifying and coordinating Arab media efforts to support the Palestinian cause, convey its message to the international public opinion, and counter hate speech and disinformation. This came in a statement delivered by Assistant Secretary-General for the Media and Communication Sector at the League, Ambassador Ahmed Khatibi, during the opening of the 23rd session of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Media, held under the chairmanship of Kuwait’s Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Acting Minister of Media and Culture, Engineer Omar Al-Omar.

Khatibi emphasized that the Palestinian cause remains the focal point of Arab media attention, given the gravity of the situation in Palestinian territories and the need for a persuasive media discourse that is open to the components of international public opinion and keeps pace with the growing support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. He stressed the necessity for this discourse to confront the systematic violations against Palestinian journalists and the targeting of their safety, which constitute breaches of international law and relevant covenants, while commending the efforts of Arab media outlets in following, analyzing, and covering Palestinian developments.

In this context, he called for enhancing coordination among member states, relevant professional unions, the Arab League’s missions abroad, ambassadors’ councils, and the Arab Radio and Television Union, to contribute to unifying the Arab media message. He pointed to the launch, by the Media and Communication Sector in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the State of Palestine, of a media campaign via the Arab League’s social media platforms, which included broadcasting a series of short films about Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) and its sanctities, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque, achieving record viewership.

Regarding Arab media strategies, Khatibi stressed the importance of moving to the actual implementation phase of the strategies and plans approved by the Council of Arab Ministers of Media, foremost among them being 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. He clarified that mainstreaming media and information literacy in educational curricula, institutes, and specialized colleges represents a crucial step in confronting disinformation, discrimination, and hate speech, commending the cooperation of member states and their proposals aimed at formulating a comprehensive Arab vision in the media field.

He added that the files under discussion include the preparation of an Arab guideline for media in terrorism issues and the Joint Executive Plan to Combat Terrorism for the period (2023-2027), in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers and the Arab Academy for Security Sciences, alongside the preparation of a legal framework to regulate digital media and another guideline to regulate the work of influencers and media content creators.

On the axis of cooperation with international media companies, Khatibi explained that the Standing Committee for Arab Media discussed the operational plan to support the work of the negotiation team with these companies, considering them a negotiating ground that includes proposals from member states. He affirmed that the success of this path requires clear, cohesive collective Arab will and consensus among member states, as well as full support for the negotiation team and the Arab Radio and Television Union.

Khatibi expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation to Kuwait for sponsoring the Arab Media Excellence Award and its commitment to developing it, noting the establishment of a board of trustees for the award to enhance the principles of governance, integrity, and transparency in evaluating participating works.

Regarding the executive office’s internal regulations, it was reported that the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Ministers of Information Council will circulate the draft regulations to member states to complete the necessary procedures in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Arab League. The executive office is scheduled to submit its recommendations and decisions, approved today, to the ministerial meeting tomorrow for adoption. (End) M.M. / N.S.A.