RSF calls for special UN rep for Safety of Journalists

RSF calls for special UN rep for Safety of Journalists

The press freedom organization urged the UN to create the position as soon as possible, and said in a statement that "despite various resolutions adopted on this topic in the past decade, including by the Security Council and the General Assembly, the statistics of journalists killed in the course of their work remain very troubling."

During the last ten years, more than 700 reporters have been killed in the line of duty, the RDF said, and added that on May 27, Resolution 2222 was adopted by the UN Security Council.

RSF’s Secretary General Christophe Deloire addressed the ambassadors of the Security Council hailing this historic resolution but also calling for concrete action:

“These legal advances have not been translated into action if we are to judge by the number of journalists killed each year. The issue regarding safety of journalists is not an absence of applicable law but rather a lack of means of ensuring compliance. Only a Special Representative working closely with the UN Secretary General will have the political weight, the capacity to act quickly, and the legitimacy to coordinate with all UN bodies to implement change”.

A special representative as proposed by the RSF "would have the main task of monitoring compliance by United Nations member states with their obligations under international law."

Their mandate "could for example be modeled on the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflicts," the organization said.

"Giving the special representative a central and permanent position under the UN Secretary General aegis could significantly empower the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and all UN efforts lead by UNESCO, the Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, as well as reinforce the regional actions of the Council of Europe or the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Organization of American States). Despite the progress that has already been made, more needs to be done," the RSF statement said:

It quoted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as stating on August 6, “I am deeply concerned about the failure to reduce the frequency and the scale of targeted violence that journalists face and the near absolute impunity for such crimes" - noting that, "unfortunately, RSF can only agree with the harsh statement."

"2014 has been marked by an extreme level of violence towards journalists all around the world, including carefully staged threats and beheadings. 71 journalists were killed in 2014, especially in Syria, Palestine, Ukraine, Iraq and Libya. 119 journalists were kidnapped in 2014, a 30 percent increase from 2013’s figures, especially local journalists in Ukraine, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Mexico. Since the start of 2015,48 journalists have been killed across the globe (8 in France, 6 in South Sudan, 5 in Yemen, 5 in Iraq, 5 in Syria, 3 in Mexico, 3 in Brazil)," the organization said.

RSF invited all press freedom and media organizations to join their call.