The publication responds to the difficult situation of many journalists working in the Arab States region. Reflecting the vulnerability of such journalists, the Director-General’s 2016 Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity records that this region registered the highest number of journalists’ killings – 78 deaths in all – in 2014 2015.
The publication comes in the context of the universal call for protecting journalistic safety. Especially relevant is how this safety links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by governments of the world at the UN in 2015.
In particular, the intergovernmental UN body, the UN Statistics Commission, has agreed an indicator that helps us to measure progress on journalistic safety as an integral part of sustainable development. This indicator, for SDG target 16.10, covers verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists and associated media personnel.
This means that the international community will be watching the situation on safety of journalists over the next 15 years, as part of humanity’s efforts to get on a sustainable development footing. The SDG’s specifically include a reference to the importance of public access to information and fundamental freedoms.
Without safety for journalism, we lose information and human rights are not respected. These are points well made in the nine resolutions across the UN in the past five years about the safety of journalists. They also underpin the UN’s Plan of Action the of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which is a framework for joint action by many stakeholders.
Governments have the primary responsibility to put in place effective measures to protect against attacks aimed at silencing those exercising their right to freedom of expression. This made clear by the UN’s Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No.34 on Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). But journalists, media owners, researchers, journalism teachers and students also have very important roles to play.
This publication thus encourages journalism education institutions to develop curricula relevant to the safety of journalists and impunity.
It builds upon the UNESCO Model Curricula for Journalism Education developed in 2007 as well as on subsequent updates in 2013 and 2015 that respond to particular emerging issues, including those relating to digital safety for journalists, gender, human trafficking, among others.
UNESCO believes that attacks against journalists intimidate everyone, and leave society in a condition of information-poverty. Governments, business, civil society
and individuals all lose when the media cannot do its job of bringing reliable information to the public.
Being safe to express yourself is important for each individual. But those at most risk are foreign correspondents and local journalists, freelancers and contracted media employees, as well as bloggers and other social media producers who do journalism. If we are to build knowledge societies, able to deliver sustainable development, we need journalists to know their rights to protection – and what
they can do themselves.
It is in this light that I encourage universities across the Arab States region to integrate this course within their journalism curricula to help ensure a safer future for the next generation of journalists.
- : http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Beirut/EN_07.pdf
- : Dr. Michael Foley, Ms. Clare Arthurs, Ms. Magda Abu-Fadil
- : UNESCO and International Federation of Journalists