UNESCO conference on safety of journalists

For this conference, UNESCO and members of the Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists will explore effective ways to strengthen international cooperation, such as special procedures, and the role of the judiciary – including judges, prosecutors and lawyers, as well as regional human rights courts and judicial training institutes – in fostering the safety of journalists and combatting impunity for crimes against journalists. While looking at gender dimension in each panel, a special spotlight will be shed on gender-specific and gender-based crimes and the particular challenges faced by women in finding justice. The event will also be an opportunity to highlight the importance of fostering the involvement and cooperation of Member States, UN agencies (UNESCO, UNODC, OHCHR) and regional courts to tackle the wide-ranging threats faced by journalists and the prevailing impunity for crimes committed against them.

Building on the key recommendations of the Forum of Legal Actors launched on 9 December 2020 as part of the World Press Freedom Conference in the Hague, the discussion will continue this dialogue around three themes, namely: (1) reinforcing capacity building efforts for judicial actors including prosecutors; (2) strengthening political will and commitment; and (3), creating or reinforcing robust institutional mechanisms at regional and international level for the safety of journalists and prosecution of crimes and attacks committed against them.

Here all info and here the full video of the event.

This content is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response  (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.