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NEW
DELHI: Only 6.7 per cent of cases between 1992 and 2007 concerning
the assassination of journalists resulted in the conviction
of those responsible, according to the Committee to Protect
Journalists.
Taking
note of this, the Intergovernmental Council of the International
Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) has
called on governments to report on their investigations into
the assassination of journalists and other intentional crimes
against media personnel.
During
a meeting at the UNESCO Headquarters here from 26 to 28 March,
the Intergovernmental Council unanimously denounced attacks
targeting journalists and urged Member States to comply with
relevant obligations under international law to end impunity
for such crimes.
The
adopted decision, announced by newly elected IPDC Chairman
Ambassador Walter Fust (Switzerland), recalls the UN Security
Council Resolution of 2006 that refers to the Geneva Conventions
and to the responsibility of Member States to “comply
with the relevant obligations under international law to end
impunity”.
The
Council’s decision requests Member States to assume responsibility
for monitoring the investigation of killings condemned by
the Director-General of UNESCO and informing the Organization
of actions taken and of the status of the judicial inquires
conducted into each case.
Over
the past two years, UNESCO has publicly condemned the killings
of 121 journalists – 68 in 2006 and 53 in 2007. The 26th
session of the IPDC Council hosted a debate underlining the
challenges of protecting journalists, and proposed measures
to encourage higher level advocacy both nationally and internationally.
Rodney Pinder of the International News Safety Institute maintained
that impunity continues to be a major problem and that insufficient
measures are in place to ensure the safety of journalists
in the field.
Mogens
Schmidt, Deputy Assistant Director-General for Communication
and Information who represented UNESCO’s Director-General,
stressed the importance of Member States’ compliance
with existing commitments, namely Resolution 29 adopted by
UNESCO’s General Conference in 1997, which requested
governments to adopt the principle that there should be no
statutes of limitations for crimes against a person when these
are perpetrated to prevent freedom of information and expression.
Toby Mendel, Law Programme Director at the human rights organization
Article 19, argued that crimes against journalists not only
violate their freedom of expression but also the right of
other people to receive information. He highlighted the need
for a supportive structural framework to counter impunity.
The decision adopted by all 39 IPDC Council members requests
the Director-General of UNESCO to provide updated information
and an analytical report to the IPDC Council’s 27th session
on the basis of the responses received from Member States
concerned, and to make this report widely available.
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