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Jackie Harrison

Jackie Harrison. Chair, Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM), Department of Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield. Attacks against journalism and free press around the world are high UNESCO condemned the killings of 121 journalists, making 2012 the deadliest year for the media.

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Jackie Harrison

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  1. Jackie Harrison Chair, Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM), Department of Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield

  2. Attacks against journalism and free press around the world are high • UNESCO condemned the killings of 121 journalists, making 2012 the deadliest year for the media.

  3. Attacks on Journalism in 2012 • Many (32) were killed as a result of the Syrian conflict and 18 were killed in Somalia. • But, the overwhelming majority were not war correspondents, but local reporters covering illegal activities. • Only one in ten of all cases of journalists’ killings have led to any conviction, and the high rate of impunity leads to fear, self-censorship and more attacks and killings.

  4. 2013 isn’t looking any betterCommittee to Protect Journalists • Deadliest Countries in 2013 • Syria: 7 • Pakistan: 3 • Somalia: 2 • Brazil: 2 • Turkey: 1 • 15 journalists killed – motive confirmed • 8 journalists killed – motive not confirmed

  5. Recent cases: a succession of attacks, intimidation and suppression • Bangladesh – extremely difficult for journalists. Islamic fundamentalists are demanding death for secular bloggers, arrests of editorial staff etc. • Egypt – Morsi Government, targeting critics, bloggers and satirists. • A significant rise in journalist imprisonments sometimes fuelled by the expansion of anti-terrorism and national security laws post-9/11. Such laws can be exploited to silence critical journalists covering sensitive issues such as insurgencies, political opposition parties, and ethnic minorities (prevalent in different ways in Eritrea, Cuba, Turkey, Vietnam, Iran and China).

  6. Several countries show alarming trends to even further deterioration • High murder rates and entrenched impunity in Pakistan, Somalia, and Brazil. • The use of restrictive laws to silence dissent in Ecuador, Turkey, and Russia. • The imprisonment of large numbers of journalists, typically on anti-state charges, to thwart critical reporting in Ethiopia, Turkey, Vietnam, Iran, and Syria. • A very high death rate in Syria where journalists faced multiple risks from all sides in the conflict.

  7. The problem of impunity • UNESCO undertook a worldwide audit of judicial follow-ups 2006 and 2009:- • It documented 244 cases of violent deaths of journalists in 36 countries during that period. • Out of all those cases it was able to verify successful convictions so far only in a total of 8 cases, based on reports from the states concerned.

  8. CPJ Impunity Index 2013 Global index which calculates unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country’s population. Nigeria has recently joined the list of 12, along with Iraq at the top of the list, Somalia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Afghanistan, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil and India. ‘Soaring’ impunity rates in Somalia, Pakistan and Brazil.

  9. The problem of impunity • In recent years, an average of only one in ten cases of crimes against media workers and social media producers has led to a conviction of the perpetrators. • This level of impunity sends a signal to the wider public to keep quiet about corruption etc. This results in self-censorship across society and erodes any previously functioning civil society. • There is a greater chilling effect on when those responsible for the killing of journalists are allowed to go unpunished. • There is an erosion of public faith in the judicial system. • Impunity kills by encouraging more killing because the risks to the perpetrators are seen to be negligible.

  10. Safety The right to freedom of expression must be a precondition to ensure the safety of journalists and lawyers because it allows them to expose injustice, corruption and other non-civil processes. And yet the picture that emerged from the CFOM/BBC CoJo London meeting in October 2012 was that in many regions it has effectively become impossible to report what goes on because of the risks of physical attack or arbitrary imprisonment to journalists who operate there. This also increasingly affects the ability of international journalists to report from certain parts of the world

  11. CFOM Research with editors and frontline journalists in the national media in the UK • Nature of warfare has changed. Often no ‘frontline’, and no clear enemy (regime’s army, opposition fighters, others who seek to kidnap and seek ransoms etc). • Era of ‘respect’ for journalistic neutrality is over. Reporters are now targets. • Casualisation of reporting increases risks – many inexperienced freelances. • Increasingly a zero tolerance for ‘gung-ho’ attitudes. • Had to face shock of loss – Marie Colvin, Sunday Times (Syria), Terry Lloyd, ITN (Iraq) etc.

  12. CFOM Research with editors and frontline journalists in the national media in the UK • Most have developed in-house strategies and protocols to protect their journalists when reporting in highly dangerous situations. • Little or no reporting on intimidation and threats to non-UK journalists in other countries unless a case becomes high profile in some way (Daniel Pearl in Pakistan (2002), Anna Politkovskaya in Russia (2006), Hrant Dink in Turkey (2007), Lasantha Wickrematunge in Sri Lanka (2009) and Marie Colvin in Syria (2012).

  13. CFOM Research with editors and frontline journalists in the national media in the UK Is there fear of exposing one’s own journalists to reprisals; a view that journalists should be neutral and should not engage in lobbying governments as NGOs do? Is there disenchantment with the UN or lack of faith in its ability to make a difference? The unanimous adoption in 2006 of UN Security Council Resolution 1738 on the safety of media workers in war zones raised high expectations.

  14. CFOM Research with editors and frontline journalists in the national media in the UK We found quite a range of attitudes in the UK. But for journalists from overseas who faced intimidation and worse their call was clearly for the international community to act and to act now.

  15. Phases of the UN Inter-agency initiative and the implementation strategy 2013-14 • The UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity is the result of a process that began in 2010 upon request of the Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) • 1st UN Inter-Agency Meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, Paris, 13-14 September 2011. The Plan was prepared during this meeting which was convened by the Director General of UNESCO at the request of the IPDC. • The UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity was endorsed by the UN Chief Executives Board on 12 April 2012. • The 2nd UN Inter-Agency Meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, Vienna, 22-23 November 2012. The purpose of the meeting was to formulate a concrete implementation strategy at global and national levels by outlining more than 100 areas of work by UN bodies and civil society groups to secure the safety of journalists.

  16. The Implementation Strategy 2013-14 • The Implementation Strategy on United Nations Plan for the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity 2013-2014 includes a work-plan of over 100 concrete actions to be put into place by a range of organisations to put the UN Plan of Action into effect. • The strategy is designed to be implemented at global and regional level and for adoption at national level. • The Strategy is at the roll-out stage being adapted to focus on specific locations: Iraq, Nepal, Pakistan, South Sudan and Latin America.

  17. Implementation Strategy 2013-14 The UN Plan of Action is conceived on the basis that the issue of safety of journalists and that of impunity is too complex to be able to be solved by any one organisation. Therefore, it is built on a multi-stakeholder approach involving the various UN agencies, Member States, civil society groups, media houses, and academia.

  18. The significance of WPFD for journalists UNESCO has for 20 years held annual WPFD events to discuss a range of issues, set the scene for international consideration and multi-agency collaboration on key areas related to the fostering an independent, pluralistic and safe environment for journalists to work in, the requirement for freedom of expression and its protection. In 2013 inter-agency and global collaboration is underwritten by an Implementation Strategy that focuses specifically on how safety is fundamental to press freedom and freedom of expression, and how World Press Freedom Day can advance safety in general and the UN Plan of Action in particular. Today’s event at City University is timely and important and feeds into global discussion and debate in an area that is fundamental to the health of every society on the planet: namely the freedom to speak out without fear of reprisals.

  19. Thank you for listening

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