{mosimage} Madame President,
I would like to thank you for taking the
initiative to organize this timely and important debate on the
protection of journalists in armed conflict. I also welcome the remarks
made by the Deputy Secretary General Mr. Jan Eliasson on the issue. My
Delegation aligns itself with the statement (delivered earlier/to be
delivered later) by the European Union.
Depriving or endangering
the life of journalists is an extreme form of censorship, not only
because it silences one voice, but because it aims –and usually
succeeds- at intimidating others. And as the Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns wrote,
“the free flow of ideas and information is replaced by the silent
warning of the grave”. The fact is that the issue of journalists and
others covering armed conflicts or reporting under dangerous conditions
remains highly problematic. According to reports and live testimonies by
journalists and the NGO representatives who are here with us today, the
number of journalists or press operatives killed, kidnapped, wounded or
threatened while carrying out their professional duties remains
alarmingly high. According to the NGO Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), 56
journalists were killed in armed conflicts during the first semester of
2013. Last year alone, an odd record of 141 journalists were killed, a
number that indicates by itself the gravity of the problem. In addition
to this, the number of abductions of journalists is increasing every
year.
Most of these instances are not accidental; the root cause
of targeting journalists remains, in most cases, the fact that they
report on unsettling truths and expose crimes, the perpetrators of
which, whether political autocrats, criminal organizations or terrorist
groups, they have something to loose when a journalist brings their
illegal actions into the forefront.
States indeed have the
necessary legal instruments to protect journalists in armed conflicts.
Both Security Council Resolution 1738 and International Humanitarian Law
and more specifically, the Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional
Protocol I, contain unequivocal provisions on the necessity to protect
media professionals when reporting in dangerous situations. More
recently, a third tool has been added to our hands in order to protect
journalist i.e. the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and
the Issue of Impunity, which promotes the inclusion of freedom of
expression and the media development goals, in particular the safety of
journalists and the fight against impunity, within the wider UN
development agenda. The Plan of Action is a comprehensive and practical
approach to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, aiming
at creating a free and safe environment for journalists and media
workers, both in conflict and non-conflict situations. The establishment
of an inter-agency coordinated mechanism in order to assist countries
to develop legislation and mechanisms that will guarantee the freedom of
expression and information is an important feature of this plan. Strong
support to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of
the Right of Freedom of Opinion and Expression, as well as to the work
of UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, is indispensable for the full
implementation of the principles and the objectives of the Plan of
Action. Moreover, enhancing the UN reporting mechanism is a necessary
condition for the efficient protection of journalists.
At the
same time, combating impunity will undoubtedly decrease the unusually
high occurrences of deaths, abductions and detentions. Insufficient
investigation, lack of convictions or simply impunity perpetuate the
cycle of violence against journalists. The problem of impunity is not
restricted to the failure to investigate the murders of journalists, but
has also impacts freedom of expression. The curtailment of journalists’
expression deprives society as a whole of their contribution and
results in a greater impact against press freedom, since a climate of
fear results to self-censorship. States must ensure that the
perpetrators of such crimes are brought to justice and are punished for
their actions.
Apart from States, the role of civil society in
the protection of journalists is crucial. Several NGOs have dedicated
their work in combating the attacks against journalists and preventing
the violence against them. The death of Tim Hetherington, a dedicated US
photographer, who was killed while covering the conflict in Libya in
2011, has led to the creation of RISC – Reporters Instructed in Saving
Colleagues, an NGO dedicated to promoting the safety of freelance
journalists in combat zones. In the same vein, the Dart Center for
Journalism and Trauma, is dealing with the aftermath of conflict
coverage by offering professional treatment to survivors and by creating
awareness about the impact of trauma coverage on news professionals.
Greece
attaches great attention to the issue of protection of journalists and
the fight against impunity. On that account, and in cooperation with
UNESCO and Costa Rica, we organized, for a second consecutive year a
side event, on the protection of journalists, on the occasion of the
World Press Freedom Day in May. Freedom of expression is a fundamental
right expressed on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
should be universally ensured. Journalists and media professionals are
the main actors in the process of delivery of news and information.
Thank you.
17 Ιουλίου, 2013
