UN And Partners Renew Pledge to Protect Journalists And Fight Impunity
New York, Nov 23 2012 6:10PM During a United Nations-led meeting in Vienna, the world body and its partners today
renewed their pledge to improve safety for journalists and prosecute those who commit acts against them through a new
plan to protect media workers.
The UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity follows two days of discussions by UN
agencies, independent experts, governments, media houses, and civil society organizations on the most pressing issues
facing freedom of expression, during the 2nd UN Inter-Agency Meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of
Impunity.
More than 100 journalists have been killed so far this year, making 2012 the deadliest year for media since the UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) began keeping records on the issue.
The new action plan outlines more than 100 areas of work that different UN agencies and civil society groups intend to
contribute to securing the safety of journalists, and will operate at the national and global level.
Activities that will be implemented as a result of the plan include: helping governments develop laws on safeguarding
journalists, raising awareness so that citizens understand the damage done when a journalist’s rights to freedom of
expression is curtailed, providing training courses for journalists in safety and safety online, establishing real-time
emergency response mechanisms and strengthening the safety of journalists in conflict zones, among others.
The plan also calls for enhancing protection for women journalists in response to the increasing incidence of sexual
harassment and rape, decriminalizing defamation offences and encouraging adequate remuneration for full-time and
freelance employees.
The Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, <"http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/un_mobilizes_to_improve_safety_for_journalists_and_fight_impunity/">emphasized
that attacks on media workers have a far-reaching effect on society, threatening to silence all citizens.
“These attacks – not only the many murders and physical assaults, but also the countless abductions, the acts of
harassment, the illegal arrests, the arbitrary detentions – have an impact that reaches well beyond the personal
suffering of the person involved,” he said.
“They aim to silence the journalist and, by extension, all of us.”
Civil society delegates issued a statement during the UNESCO-organized meeting welcoming and endorsing the new plan.
They also recommended that it be implemented in a comprehensive manner in Iraq, Nepal, Pakistan, South Sudan and Latin
America.
The action plan is the result of a process that began in 2010, on the request of the Intergovernmental Council of
UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (<"http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/intergovernmental-programmes/ipdc/special-initiatives/safety-of-journalists/">IPDC).
It was endorsed by the UN Chief Executives Board on 12 April 2012.