Promoting Freedom of Expression

1. Promoting Freedom of Expression (Journalists arrested in Kathmandu, Photo courtesy of the Nepal Press Union.)

2. The figures speak for themselves INSI’s Top 10 worst countries for journalists and media staff, 2006 Over 1,200 journalists and media staff have been killed in the last 12 years. 137 journalists have been killed in 2007 as of last month. (Source INSI)

3. A Multilayered approach to the problem

4. Institutional Support The 4th Geneva Convention and following protocols state that journalists in armed conflicts shall be considered as civilians. UNESCO’s adoption ofResolution 29C/29 on the Condemnation of violence against journalists, 1997. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 on the safety of journalists in armed conflicts in 2006. UNESCO Medellin Declaration on securing the safety of journalists and combating impunity in 2007.

5. (Ahmad, Shawkat, editor of the daily newspaper Bila Ittijah (Without Direction ), was shot dead October 282003, on the roof of his office in Moscow.Photo courtesy The New York Times.)

6. The Medellin Declaration:Calls States to: Investigate all acts of violence of which journalists, media professionals and associated personnel are victim … Search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to commit, a crime against journalists….. Calls International Community and Professional Associations to: Take resolute action for the safety of journalists in situations of risk and to ensure respect for their professional independence… Promote actions that secure the safety of journalists, including, but not limited to, safety training for journalists…. Calls UNESCO to: Sensitize governments regarding the importance of freedom of expression and threat that impunity for crimes against media professionals represents to this freedom ….. Encourage mechanisms for including media development in program aimed at improving the social, economic and political life of societies in the process of development, political transition or emerging from the crisis of social conflict.

7. Raising Awareness Uses the UNESCO network to extend its links in the developing world. This includes promoting awareness through the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize awarded at World Press Freedom Day. Action Alert Network reports freedom of expression violations and circulates this information to other members and organizations. Supports fledgling freedom of expression organizations in the developing world. Tracks freedom of expression regional trends and circulates information on conferences, workshops and awards. Guillermo Cano,former editor of El Espectador, Colombia, killed December 17, 1986. photo courtesy International Press Institute

8. UNESCO- UN agency with a specific mandate to defend Press FreedomCollaborates with the initiatives of professional organizations to promote safety for local and international news reporters Some examples Supports the “Media in Danger” program of the World Association of Newspapers, notably in: The Basque Country, Spain and Colombia. Cooperation with Reporters sans Frontières on “A Practical Guide for Journalists working in conflict zones” first published in 1998, recently updated Supported certain national initiatives such as a Centre for Solidarity with Colombian Journalists.

9. Supporting local journalists to foster self-empowerment Building Press Houses: Rwanda, Burundi, Mali, Central African Republic. Advising on media law and the wider regulatory frameworks in order to re-enforce transparency of information, freedom of expression and media independence. Example: Helping to draft a Charter for the Safety of Journalists Working in War Zones or Dangerous Areas

10. Self-Empowerment of journalists in Iraq, recent developments... Iraqi Media Safety Group (IMSG) launched last week. The group has mapped out a program of seminars, training and safety initiatives to raise awareness among journalists and media across the country. The IMSG is an initiative led by the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists and the Kurdish Syndicate of Journalists, which was agreed in a meeting with media organizations sponsored by the IFJ (The International Federation of Journalists )and INSI (the International News Safety Institute) earlier this year.

11. Freedom of Expression:The human rights dialogue 60th anniversary of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights will draw attention to freedom of expression as a basic human right. The 34/C5 dedicates specific actions on issues such as safety of journalists, impunity, media and conflict as well as media and good governance. UNESCO will host a donors conference on the behalf of the International News Safety Institute in 2008. These projects will underline the necessity of a free media as a key component of humanitarian aid and the reconstruction process. (Radio Journalists protest in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo AFP/Getty Images)

12. Part of a Greater UN Synergy Accomplishing the Millennium Development Goals Both from a humanitarian perspective and in working towards good governance. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of any democracy. All UN agencies must work together, along with other actors in the field, to support this fundamental right Article 19 :Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Anna Politkovskaya, reporter for Russia’s Novaya Gazeta, was a harsh critic of the Russian government. Her murder on October 7th, 2006 appears to have been a contract killing aimed to silence her. For her commitment to freedom of expression, she was awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize posthumously in 2007.