UN urged to appoint authority for journalists’ safety

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is urging the United Nations to create a Special Representative of  the Secretary- General for the Safety of Journalists to mark Nov.2, 2015 as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ (IDEI).

RSF said despite various resolutions adopted in forwarding the need for an authority in keeping journalists safe in the past decade,   the statistics of journalists killed in the course of their work remain very troubling.

During the last 10 years, more than 700 reporters have been killed in the line of duty, Benjamin Ismaïl, Head of Asia Desk of the Reporters Without Borders said.

Last   May 27,   the day 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 while 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, he said.

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, Ismail said.

A Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the Protection of Journalists would have the main task of monitoring compliance by United Nations member states with their obligations under international law.