Report: Adolf Washington
Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Nov 19: “There is an urgent need for the heads of educational institutions to include human rights education in their curriculum. Gross injustices being meted out to so many children often go unnoticed by the public. The media too does not do a serious job of reporting human rights violations. The issue dies down by just living as news for a day.  If the media takes serious interest in these issues, a lot of violations will stop,” said human rights activist, Mathews Philip, to the members of SIGNIS (The world Catholic Association for Communication) during their Karnataka chapter’s meet in the city on Sunay, Novemebr15.
 

Mathews Philip, executive director of SICHREM (South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring), urged Catholic journalists and media personnel, to take up the cause of human Rights violations through their various media organizations. SICHREM has been actively engaged in human rights education in over 300 schools across Karnataka and Kerala. 
 
Secretary of SIGNIS (Karnataka), Fr Francis Guntapilly, who was responsible for starting a human rights cell at the Jesuit-run Indian Social Institute here, urged the gathering to "courageously publish any kind of human rights violations against any person, regardless of what religion one professes.  We have immense potential, given the media networks we possess,” he noted. He also appealed to the members to share whatever resources they possessed.
 
Later, during the day, members of SIGNIS  Karnataka re-elected its present president,  Fr Lawrence D'Silva and secretary,  Fr Francis Guntapilly. The body elected Nirmal Kumar from Bangalore as its vice-president in place of Sr Jacinta Prakashappa from the SMMI congregation.