Author: Dr. Gemma Horton (University of Sheffield)

Safety of Journalists

In recent years, the threats that journalists face in their work have grown considerably. The development of technology has meant that journalists are subject to online violence for the work that they do, particularly women who are being targeted and are vulnerable to such attacks as outlined in a recent International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and UNESCO report.

Some States have also used outdated laws to prosecute journalists and, in some cases, submitted them to arbitrary detention . In some instances, the work that journalists do in holding governments to account or exposing crimes can cost them their lives. Journalists such as Daphne Caruana Galizia and Jamal Khashoggi lost their lives because of the investigative work they were conducting. Alongside these attacks taking place, what is even more concerning is that, in a number of instances, crimes against journalists remain unprosecuted and attackers are able to act with impunity.

The United Nations (UN), as the world’s largest inter-governmental organization, plays a key role in holding its member states accountable for crimes committed against journalists. It is made up of a number of bodies that perform different roles and develop policies in order to try and provide a safe and free environment for journalists to work in.

UN Bodies, Resolutions and Journalism Safety

Several relevant bodies within the UN have in recent years stressed the importance of journalism safety. For example, the UN Secretary General prepares reports on the safety of journalists alongside focusing on the implementation of UN General Assembly resolutions and the safety of journalists in armed conflicts. UN Special Rapporteurs, who are experts on specific human rights violations, also conduct fact-finding missions on states when it has been reported that human rights violations have occurred, including violations against journalists. In 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, examined the threats to media freedom and journalists’ safety in the digital age. In her report, she found that digital technology had aggravated the attacks that journalists faced. Journalists are now more likely to be subject to online gender-based violence, targeted surveillance and censorship of the content they produce.

The passing of resolutions by the UN General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and the Security Council have also increasingly focused on journalism safety and the need to end impunity. While UN resolutions are not legally binding on member states, they do serve as a strong political statement. This is because states have to take action that is in line with any binding international human rights law that they have signed up to, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. (ICESR). These include absolute rights (ie, the right to life) alongside rights that are subject to limitations in particular circumstances (ie, the right to freedom of expression).Henceforth, resolutions on the safety of journalists are passed with the knowledge that action must be taken to protect them and the rights that they have in line with international human rights law. Since 2005, UN Resolutions have more frequently focused on journalism safety, with a list of the Resolutions found here. Specific UN Resolutions include the creation of specialized investigative units and prosecutors, alongside calling on States to address attacks. More recently, UN Resolutions have focused on calling for States to address digital security threats alongside attacks against women journalists.

The resolutions also make clear which states must engage with the ‘three p’s’ – prevent, protect and process. In a legal capacity, this includes ensuring that they have the right to freedom of expression protected through legislation, alongside ensuring that national laws are not used to prevent journalists from carrying out their work, such as through the use of arbitrary detention or outdated legislation. Protection focuses on states responding to journalists who are being attacked. This may be through public statements condemning attacks and providing journalists with the ability to respond to the threats they face and be protected, such as through the use of law enforcement. Finally, the prosecution is designed to tackle impunity and ensure that those who have attacked journalists are held accountable through the courts.

Certainly, the UN through the passing of resolutions and the work that a number of bodies conduct, including the aforementioned, considers journalism safety to be of paramount importance in order for journalists to conduct their work and hold power to account. These each play an important role towards policy development regarding the safety of journalists, but it is UNESCO which is, as described by Article 19, “the lead UN agency on the safety bodies of journalists.” The work that UNESCO conducts to protect journalists can be predominantly seen through its multi-stakeholder Plan of Action (UNPA).

United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists (UNPA) and the Issue of Impunity

Launched in 2012, the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity was designed to create a safe and free environment for journalists to carry out their work. It was endorsed by the UN Chief Executive Board and encouraged a multi-stakeholder approach to campaigning and raising awareness of the threats that journalists face. It focuses on the three pillars of prevention, protection and prosecution of crimes committed against journalists (as noted above).

The UNPA has six main aims which include: raising awareness, setting standards and policy making, monitoring and reporting attacks against journalists, capacity building, academic research and coalition building. Annual events, such as World Press Freedom Day and the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, help the UNPA achieve its aims. The UNPA is often reviewed to examine its impact through consultation processes. A five-year anniversary conference took place in Geneva and, most recently, a ten-year anniversary conference took place in Austria.