World Press Freedom Day 2007—A UNESCO-organised conference on press freedom called for securing journalist safety and combating impunity, as violence against journalists continue to increase and women journalists become more particularly vulnerable.

Increasing violence against journalists tarnishes this year’s celebration of “World Press Freedom Day,” although a declaration on journalist safety offers some hope. Celebrated on May 3 each year since 1993, World Press Freedom Day serves to remind journalists and non-journalists alike that press freedom is a human right that has to be continually protected and defended.

UNESCO conference declaration secures journalist safety

In celebration of the World Press Freedom Day 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) held a two-day international conference on press freedom in Medellin, Colombia, attended by journalists and other media professionals from all over the world. The outcome of the conference is the “Medellin Declaration Securing the Safety of Journalists and Combating Impunity.”

The Declaration includes concerns over attacks on freedom of the press including murder, abductions, hostage-taking, intimidation, illegal arrests and detention against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel because of their professional activities, noting that most attacks on media professionals occur outside situations of armed conflict.

The Medellin Declaration urges news associations to promote actions that secure the safety of journalists, including safety training, healthcare, life insurance, and equal access to social protection for free-lance employees and full-time staff. It also calls for States to comply with the commitments of Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference in 1997 to combat impunity of crimes against journalists and Resolution 1738, recently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, regarding the status of journalists.

Violence against women journalists increase worldwide

Last year, 2006, was the bloodiest year for journalists thus far as more than 150 murders and unexplained deaths of journalists and media workers were put on record, according to press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Iraq was the deadliest hotspot, accounting for nearly half of those killed last year, most of whom were local journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that nearly nine out of ten killers of media workers go unpunished.

RSF also notes that “More and more women journalists are the victims of murder, arrest, threats or intimidation.” Of the 82 journalists killed across the globe in 2006, 9 (11%) were women. Meanwhile, 7 women journalists are currently in prison in Sri Lanka, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Rwanda, serving jail sentences for work-related cases.

RSF adds, “This increase is due to the fact that more and more women are working as journalists, holding riskier jobs in the media, and doing investigative reporting.”

To read the full text of the “Medellin Declaration Securing the Safety of Journalists and Combating Impunity,” available in Spanish and in English, visit <http://www.medellin.gov.co/alcaldia/jsp/modulos/boletines/RBoletin.jsp?IDBOLETIN=unesco-07>.
 
For more news related to World Press Freedom Day, go to Inter Press Service News Agency “ExPress Freedom” at <www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/expressfreedom/index.asp> or the UNESCO website at <http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22728&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>.
 
Related article:
“Civil society welcomes UN Resolution 1738” in we! January 2007, No.1

Sources:
“Media professionals from around the world adopt Medellin Declaration on Safety of Journalists and Combating Impunity” from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), posted on May 5, 2007, <http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24542&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>.
“Violence against women journalists increasing, reports RSF” from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), posted on March 6, 2007, <http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21199>.
“World Press Freedom Day 2007: Focus on violence against journalists” from International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX), <http://ifex.org/en/content/view/full/82988/>.
“World: Women Journalists Subject To Increasing Violence” from RadioFreeEurope, posted on March 7, 2007, <http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/03/62e534c3-9588-46ed-9205-a97e025a4039.html>.