Israeli Press Council 50 th Anniversary with the Association of Independent Press Councils of Europe sept

Session 5: Reporting From Conflict Zones (In memory of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal correspondent murdered in Pakistan 2002). Can a war correspondent adhere to journalistic ethics while reporting under extreme risk. Moderator: Dr Noam Lemelshtrich Latar Dean School Of Communications IDC Herzliya Israel

Presentation: UNESCO’s work in promoting safety of journalists and the issue of impunity. Ms. Tarja Turtia, UNESCO Panel: Mr. Martin Fletcher, NBC News, author Ms. Ilene Prusher, former Iraq/Afghanistan reporter for The Christian Science Monitor Mr. Itai Anghel, Senior correspondent, 'UVDA', Channel 2, Israeli TV Mrs. Llucia Oliva, Catalunya Press Council

UNESCO Condemns Killings of Journalists 5

What is the UN Plan of Action? It is the first systematic UN-wide plan which aims toward the creation of a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, including social media producers, in both conflict and non- conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide 6

Specifically via 5 Action Lines… 1.By Strengthening UN Mechanisms 2.By Cooperating with Member States 3.By Partnering with Other Organizations and Institutions 4.By Raising Awareness 5.By Fostering Safety Initiatives 7

Implementation Strategy Designed by UN agencies, programmes, funds & UN Special Rapporteurs in consultation with intergovernmental organizations, Member States, media houses, professional associations and NGOs. Aims to set out concrete and realistic actions to be put in place during 2013 and Be operationalized at international, regional, national and local level. 8

Working together UNESCO started the process of the UN Plan of Action in consultation with a wide partnership. However, the Plan requires the active contribution from everyone to be a success. Important to note that each agency is working within their organizational mandate to contribute to the issues and within their field of competencies. By doing so, we can ensure that we will have a dynamic and varied response to reach the same objectives. 9

A Multi-stakeholder Approach The issues of safety of journalists and combating impunity are too complex to be resolved by any single organization. The best approach to produce the most effective result is a multi-stakeholder approach A multi-stakeholder approach is also the best way to ensure that we remain accountable to each other. 10

UNGovt.NGO Civil Society MediaAcademicPublicIGO Building Partnerships 11

Operationalization Strategy: Country Level The UN Plan must also be rooted at the country level. Each country is faced with its unique challenges and opportunities. For an effective local operationalization strategy of the UN Plan, each strategy must be based the need of the country. 4 countries to begin to operationalize the UN Plan of Action: South Sudan Iraq Pakistan Nepal 12

Operationalization Strategy: Country Level These needs could include: better legislation to protect and promote freedom of expression, whether for media professionals, bloggers or ordinary citizens; implement existing legislation & improve institutional capacity to do so; decriminalise laws eg. criminal defamation crimes against freedom of expression to be investigated & the perpetrators prosecuted; safety-related training for media professionals, media owners, lawmakers, police forces, lawyers; 13

Operationalization Strategy: Country Level These needs could include: safety fund for journalists in danger; network of lawyers for media professionals; promote a gender-sensitive approach within work on the safety of journalists, including the safety of women journalists. dialogue with all relevant stakeholders & harmonisation of activities. national sensitization campaign develop training manuals and also a module for journalism schools. 14

In-Country Progress: Nepal Received USD 566,000 from UN Peace Fund for Nepal National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will form a multi-stakeholder mechanism for promoting free expression and ensuring safety of Human Rights Defenders, particularly journalists in Nepal. aims to serve as a nationally owned platform for coordinating & addressing threats to FOE, including the safety of individuals and groups who are targeted. It also builds on the UN Plan 15

In-Country Progress: Pakistan June 2012: a national consultative meeting took place where they produced a draft National Plan of Action on Safety of Pakistanis Journalists and Media as well as the Islamabad Declaration. March 2013: a follow-up of an International Conference on Safety and Security of Journalists in Pakistan, to create a formal alliance for taking forward action. June 2013: Funds has been raised from the Norwegian Refugee Council to provide human resource to co-ordinate the UN Plan in Pakistan. Oct 2013: 1 st country to roll out the Journalists’ Safety Indicators (JSI) 16

In-Country Progress: South Sudan A National Plan of Action is being drafted by the Thematic Working Group on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity that includes 20 different organizations Amongst the activities foreseen: Donor meetings within foreseen for July 2013 and January 2014 Monitoring and evaluation of the Country Level Action Plan activities in all 10 States UNESCO Media Development Indicator (MDI) assessment in South Sudan UNMISS HRD will carry out 10 training activities for police and security forces ending December Challenges: sustainable funding and adequate human resources remain an issue to be resolved. 17

In-Country Progress: Iraq The first national consultative meeting is scheduled to take place in October 2013, with the aim to produce a national plan of action. Challenges: there is still difficulty in getting a capable full-time human resource to coordinate the work of UN Plan of Action in the country. 18

Where will we realistically be in 2015? A reduction in the number of killings of journalists. A reduction in the number of uninvestigated or unsolved cases of killings of journalists. A reduction of other forms of attack against journalists An increase of awareness on the issue of safety and impunity amongst the UN agencies, public, civil society, academic, media professionals, NGOs, IGOs, and government officials. 19

Where will we realistically be in 2015? An increase of awareness on the issue of safety and impunity amongst the UN agencies, public, civil society, academic, media professionals, NGOs, IGOs, and government officials. An increase in better legislations and policies gear towards improving safety and combating impunity. An increase in the availability and accessibility of safety mechanisms and resources for journalists in need including better preventive trainings for journalists. 20

New Activity: Journalists’ Safety Indicators (JSI) Based on the UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators methodology. Goal: to provide baseline information on the safety of journalists and impunity, to assess its development over time. National level JSI and Int’l level JSI are available. Types of questions: A. General indicators: Number & types of other threats to journalists. Number & types of actual attacks on journalists. Number & types of attacks on media institutions. 21

JSI (continued) More nuanced and detailed questions: B. What are UN & Other IGOs doing to address the issues in- country? Eg. Does the UN system supports specific projects and activities on building and reinforcing the capacity to monitor and assess safety? Eg. Does the UN system highlights the safety of women journalists? E.g Does international actors have dedicated focal points on the issues? 22

JSI (continued) More nuanced and detailed questions: C. What are States institutions and political actors doing? Eg. Does States have laws which protect journalists? Eg. Does the State publishes updated data about attacks on journalists and impunity? D. What are Civil Society Organisations and Academia doing? Eg. Are CSOs analysing data to produce high quality understanding of circumstances and causes of killings and impunity? Eg. Do CSOs have resources to work on safety issues? 23

New Activity: Global Survey on Women Journalists’ Safety In collaboration with: International News Safety Institute (INSI) International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) Austrian Federal Ministry for European and Int’l Affairs Objective: Comprehensive questions designed to look into the global situation of female journalists and the nature of the dangers they face. URL: s-room-news-release s-room-news-release 24

New Activity: Global Survey on Women Journalists’ Safety Examples: Have you experienced invasion of your personal space? Have you experienced unwanted comments on dress and appearance? Please tell us your ideas as to why the perpetrator acted the way he or she did. Have you experienced racial harassment in relation to your work? Have you ever experienced any physical violence in relation to your work? How did this experience of physical violence affect you? i.e. did you change or leave your job, did it have a psychological impact? 25

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