CFOM PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTIONS AT THE UN INTER-AGENCY MEETING ON - PDF document

CFOM PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTIONS AT THE UN INTER-AGENCY MEETING ON SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS IN VIENNA, 22-23 NOVEMBER, BY WILLIAM HORSLEY, International Director, Centre for Freedom of the Media, University of Sheffield 22 November 2012: A small piece of UN history was made at the start of this UN Inter-Agency meeting. I and my CFOM colleague Professor Jackie Harrison, accompanied by representatives of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA) and the International Press Institute, handed over the “London Statement” from members of the global media community on the issue of journalists’ safety to the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, Janis Karklins. It was signed by senior figures from 46 leading news media organisations which took part in a Symposium on the killing of journalists and the issue of impunity co-hosted in London on 18 October by CFOM and the BBC College of Journalism, in partnership with the World Association of Newspapers, IPI, the International News Safety Institute and Committee to Protect Journalists. The 8-point London Statement expresses the acute concern of the global news media that the steps taken up to now by the United Nations and the international community have not stemmed the rise in targeted violence and murders of journalists around the world; and it records the determination of the signatory news media organisations to scrutinise the actions of governments and judicial authorities as the UN Action Plan is implemented. The full text is in front of you. The BBC College of Journalism made a short video film entitled The Freedom to Report: A Message from Global News Media, addressed to this meeting. It contains the first-hand comments of leading editors and journalists from many different countries. We can see it now. (VIDEO – DURATION 5 MINUTES – ACCESSIBLE TO VIEW ON www.cfom.org.uk ) Specific points raised by speakers in the video include commitments to increase pressure on governments to safeguard the personal security of journalists and properly investigate violent crimes against them; to devote effort and resources to “investigate the investigators”, reporting and publicising the performance of national law-enforcement and judicial authorities; to give close attention in coverage by major international media in print and on air to attacks on the media and their chilling effect on societies; and to raise the political cost to governments of allowing impunity, meaning the ability of public officials, either by neglect or complicity, to allow crimes against journalists to go unpunished. In addition to the 8 points of the jointly agreed Statement, a number of participants in the London Symposium also wished to communicate three additional points to this meeting and to colleagues in the wider media community. They are that serious consideration should be given to designating the killing of journalists in the course of their duty as a crime against humanity in law; the necessity that UNESCO should require States where journalists have been killed to provide a full and public accounting of the judicial follow-up or lack of it at least once every year; and the need for industry- wide efforts to ensure that journalists who are sent by their employers to work in areas of conflict or danger are provided with adequate training, safety backup and support in case of emergency.

All the points in the London Statement relate to actions called for in the Draft Implementation Strategy for the UN Plan of Action, i.e. the monitoring by media of actions by governments, judicial authorities and United Nations bodies (Follow-up mechanisms/ Strengthening UN Mechanisms – International/regional & National Levels); sharing information necessary for the OHCHR and work of the UN Human Rights Council and encouraging submission of complaints to the UN’s Special Procedures (Partnering other Organisations/Institutions); ensuring comprehensive and continuous coverage of media safety issues (Partnering) and ensuring proper safety equipment, training and working conditions (Partnering), in addition to Awareness-raising measures. The overriding message from the London meeting and the video is that leading editors and journalists recognise that the unprecedented levels of violence against journalists, abductions, killings and other barriers, and the increase in effective impunity protecting those who persecute media workers are making it hard or impossible to report matters of importance from some countries and regions of the world. Senior figures in the press, broadcasting organisations and new media operations acknowledge that they have a direct stake in changing this situation for the better. The reviews and evaluations foreseen in the Implementation Strategy present opportunities for media organisations, together with other civil society organisations, to play an active part in seeking to bring that about, and there is a strong wish for media groups to be informed and included in that those process. Every major news media company has experience of its staff or stringers or support personnel being attacked, imprisoned or intimidated, with results that inhibit the gathering and reporting of news from areas of conflict or instability. The London meeting heard personal accounts of the difficulties of working under conditions of extreme insecurity in Mexico, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Iran, Syria, Russia and elsewhere. Those present – including leading press and broadcasting organisations – understood the extreme distress of colleagues who are forced to work in a climate of fear and intimidation. Some major media groups explicitly accept a responsibility to lead future efforts to reverse the negative trends. The London Statement reflects a keen interest, especially, in seeing that state and public authorities live up to their responsibilities to provide a safe environment for media workers and end impunity. It is now beyond any dispute that state officials are responsible for many acts of violence and persecution against journalists, as well as criminal gangs, other illegal armed groups and insurgent forces. CFOM is one of the concerned organisations which encourages media houses, journalists and academics and lawyers to be proactive and imaginative in seeking ways to help make the UN Plan effective as a matter of upholding international legal norms for the common good. CFOM and the BBC College of Journalism have agreed to build on the partnerships of the London Symposium and to help to spread knowledge and understanding about the value of the goals set out in the UN Plan. And it must be the task of serious media organisations to expose the extent of targeted attacks and intimidation against their colleagues, despite formidable difficulties, just as they are expected to report about other forms of persecution and injustice.