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***23.01.2012. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the recommendations of the International Conference on the Protection of Journalists in Dangerous Situations (Doha, Qatar, 22 and 23 January) as an historical milestone and an important step forward to enhance the protection of media employees in conflict zones and other dangerous situations.

Recommendations of the Conference, Programme of work, PEC press release, PEC contribution (English, Arabic, French) below. Click also left on page PRESS for PRESS REPORTS on the conference

For more info see the website of NHRC: www.nhrc-qa.org

From left: Blaise Lempen, Secretary General, Press Emblem Campaign; Celso Schroder, President, Latin American Federation of Journalists; Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Chairman, Doha National Human Rights Committee, and Jim Boumelha, President, International Federation of Journalists at a press conference after the closing of International Conference for Protection of Journalists in Dangerous Situations on Monday 23 January at the Ritz-Carlton Doha (Qatar). (photo The Peninsula)

Recommendations of the International Conference to Protect Journalists in dangerous situations


We, representatives of media, human rights and freedom of expression groups and international, regional and national organizations of journalists meeting at the International Conference to protect Journalists held in Doha, Qatar on 22-23 January 2012, organized by the Qatari National Committee for Human Rights (QNCHR)

Recalling all recommendations, covenants, declarations and resolutions promulgated or endorsed by international organizations such as the UN and the Geneva Conventions

Noting all the global initiatives put forth by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with the protection of journalists

Recognizing the importance of media in increasing awareness of the violations of international humanitarian law and human rights

Believing that media and human rights organizations have a responsibility to help put an end to impunity by systematically publicizing crimes against journalists, investigating when necessary all violations and ensuring that perpetrators as well as failure of government to act are exposed

Calling on all organizations representing journalists and NGOs concerned with the safety of journalists to work together in the broadest campaign to ensure great safety of journalists and bring an end to impunity

Following the review of the conference of the current status of the media in dangerous situations and referring to protective measures provided by international law, discussing the idea of a draft convention for the protection of journalists in conflict zones and other dangerous situations

DECLARE

- that although the United Nations and its agencies have a wide range of tools and instruments which can address the issue of safety, scores of journalists and media workers continue to be killed every year while carrying out their professional responsibilities. Many of such abuses are not investigated and remain unpunished.

- that renewed and urgent action is necessary to press for robust implementation to the existing mechanisms and procedures by increasing the effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement of the current instruments

This Conference therefore recommends:

- To the United Nations and its agencies

1. Implement forthwith their latest plan of action agreed at their Paris Autumn conference and enhance their working with specialized non-governmental organizations dedicated to the safety of journalists and
media worker
2. Develop new tools to bind all States to acknowledge and accept a standing obligation to provide particular safeguards and protection for journalists beyond the provisions of UN Security Council resolution reminding States of their obligations to give journalists protection in peacetime as in war
3. Adopt ambitious reforms to its mechanisms and procedures such as through regional security organizations, expanding the mandates of Special Rapporteurs and concerned UN bodies, organizing emergency alerts and
missions, considering intrusive inspections and mandatory sanctions –
developing or renewing existing systems, developing further monitoring and peer review processes and work towards an ultimate goal setting up an international treaty so that countries can collectively adopt a set of radical new measures to afford credible protection to journalists
4. Expand the current legal provisions beyond the obligation to protect journalists against attacks on thier life, and include forced disappearances and kidnapping (by state or private actors), arbitrary arrest, intimidation, deportation/refusal of entry, confiscation/damage to property and new forms of violence experienced by journalists during the 2011 Arab Spring, and further develop Human Rights Council resolutions S-2/1 and S-9/1 concerning the attacks on media installations and allowing access as well as safe media corridors in conflict zones
5. Asking the Human Rights Council to appoint a special rapporteur on the protection of journalists, requesting the High Commissionner for Human Rights (HCHR) to create a unit to follow up media cases.

 - To governments

1. Respect the letter and spirit of all international instruments they signed up to, of the binding and non-binding resolutions, covenants and declarations of the United Nations
2. Include an assessment of other country's record when granting aid and other development assistance. International development institutions,
surch as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, should also scrutinize a country's record on violence journalists when assessing the granting of aid and other assistance
3. Strengthen national laws including criminal laws and overhaul justice system to end impunity and to provide judicial and legislative assistance to prevent serious violations of international humanitarian laws including the targeting of journalists
4. Agree that families of killed journalists have a right to compensation directly or through media institutions and establish a solidarity fund for the victims.

 - To news organizations

1. Acknowledge their duty of care for all their journalists, in particular news gatherers, staff or freelance and their responsibility to provide hostile environment safety training and equipment for dangerous situations in peacetime as in war
2. Arrange trauma counseling through specialized organizations
3. Negotiate at all time with journalists and their representatives all issues of safety in news coverage, including safety protocols, medical care, life insurance, equality to provide those social guarantees to all, including freelancers
4. Increase awareness and knowledge of legal international agreements and conventions as well as regional ones
5. Include awareness of all aspects of the region under coverage in any training
6. Include special training for women in view of the attacks such as sexual harassment and the spate of other violent attacks directly targeted at women

- To Journalists

1. Develop a culture of being responsible for their own safety and seek out training before traveling to conflict zones
2. Develop a culture of solidarity, in particular a duty of care towards each other
3. Be ready at all time to help record any incidents of attacks to provide evidence to cases of violence
4. Develop an understanding of how military works and be ready how to handle them.

FOLLOW-UP TO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS

As a first step, the participants to the Doha conference agree to:

1. Place the issue of the safety and protection of journalists whenever possible on the agenda of international and regional institutions and conferences
2. Work towards a new meeting to be attend by all stakeholders including governments to further discuss and develop the current recommendations after one year
3. Agree to disseminate the current recommendations and to organize press conferences to publicize them
4. Call upon the Qatarai NCHR to create a working group involving all stakeholders to follow up the adopted recommendations.

Participants agree to transmit these recommendations to the President of the General Assembly for adoption by the General Assembly. This would be done by a presentation made by a delegation led by the NCHR and comprising International Federation of Journalists, The Press Emblem Campaign, Federacion de periodistas de America Latina y Caribe, Federation of African Journalists, Federation of the Arab Journalists, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

Participants recommend that all working papers and reports of workshops are considered as official documents of the Doha international conference.

Finally, participants express their appreciation and thanks to the NCHR for its efforts to organize the Doha conference and call upon it to continue its work with other concerned parties to implement the adopted recommendations.

Doha, 23.01.2012

The International Conference on The Protection of Journalists in Dangerous situations
Ritz-Carlton, Doha

**** Programme ****

Day (1) 22/01/2012
08:00-09:00 Registration of participants 

***First Session***

09:00 – 10:00 Opening Session.
 Documentary by Al-Jazeera
�        Speech by HE Dr. Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage .
�        Speech by Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al-Marri; NHRC Chairman
�        Speech by Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani; Al-Jazeera Network Director General
�        Speech by Mr. Blaise Lempen; The Press Emblem Campaign Secretary General

10:30- 10:00 *** Break ***

*** Second Session ***

10:30-11:30 Session Chairperson; Dr. Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri Chairman of National Human Rights committee
First Contribution: A workpaper on the conditions of journalists' professional missions in dangerous territories.
�        By the International Federation of Journalists.

Second Contribution: A workpaper on Journalist on dangerous assignments: protection under international humanitarian law and the ICRC' s hotline.
�        Presented by The International Committee of Red Cross

Third Contribution: A workpaper on the draft international convention specific to the protection of journalists in conflict zones and other violent areas.
�        Presented By The Press Emblem Campaign

Fourth Contribution: A workpaper on Building International Consensus on the Safety of Journalists: an Interagency Perspective.  
�        By the UNESCO.

Fifth Contribution: A workpaper on ability building in the area of journalists' safety standards.
�        By Doha Centre for Media Freedom. 

11:30-13:30 Discussion
13:30-15:30 * Lunch * 

*** Workshops***
15:30-18:00 First Workshop: Concerning the type of protection for journalists and the identification Emblem (as a tool of protection and identification)  

Second Workshop: Concerning ways to develop efficient mechanisms for international protection of journalists  

Third Workshop: Capacity building on safety standards for journalists 

Fourth Workshop:  Developing a campaign plan to mobilize support for the adoption of the conference's recommendations.  

18:00 End of Day (1)
Meeting of Drafting Committee ::: 4 Rapporteurs  + Rapporteur  General 
20:30 Dinner Fontaine courtyad

Day (2) 23/01/2012

09:00-10:00 Session Chairperson: Rapporteur  General
Reading workshops' reports : 4 Rapporteurs
10:00-11:30 Discussion 
11:30-12:00 Break 11:30 – 12:00

***Closing Session***
12:00-13:30 Session Chairperson: NHRC Chairman Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al- Marri.
Reading the closing report and recommendations (Rapporteur  General )
End of Activities. 

13:30-14:00 Press conference

From left: Blaise Lempen, Secretary-General of the Press Emblem Campaign; Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Chairman of NHRC; H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage; and Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Director-General of Aljazeera Network, during the opening session of the Conference on Sunday  January 22 (photo The Peninsula).

Opening session. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) Statement by PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen

Mr Minister,
Mr Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission,
Mr Director General of Al-Jazeera,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Colleagues,

Last year, 107 journalists were killed in the exercise of their professional functions. The uprisings in several Arab countries alone were responsible for 23 victims among media employees in one year. Since the first of January, seven journalists have paid with their life their mission of providing information. Many others were injured, arrested.
It is time to stop this worrying trend.
We warmly salute the initiative taken by Qatar to organize this meeting in order to allow us to exchange views on the ways to remedy this unacceptable situation.
Impunity is a major problem. We must, unfortunately, note that, invarious circumstances, existing law is neither enforced nor unadapted. The nature of conflicts has evolved, the technics of communication also. The number of stakeholders in the field has also increased. How can we oblige all governments to respect their obligations? How can we guarantee access of the media to conflict zones while reducing the risks?
Respect for press freedom means not only public information but also the impartial denunciation of human rights violations.
Over the past several years, journalists' associations throughout the world, several NGOs as well as international organizations and certain governments have become aware of the problem. Several meetings have made it possible to analyse the seriousness of the situation and to study its causes. We must now move beyond verbal condemnations and envisage concrete measures.
Based in Geneva, with the UN consultative status, the Press Emblem Campaign is honored to be able to contribute to a solution of this serious problem in concert will all parties concerned.
This Doha meeting can and must mark a historic step in advancing, concretely, towards a more effective protection of journalists in conflict zones and in other dangers areas.
We thank the Qatar authorities for giving us, all of us, this occasion to talk together, and we hope that, at the end of our discussions, we shall be able to launch, in Doha, a process that will reinforce the safety of journalists in conflict zones both international and internal. Many lives have been sacrificed, more than 500 these past five years. This sort of crime can no longer be tolerated by the international community. 
We must act. With your support, we are persuaded that we can move forward along this difficult road and give governments the clear indications needed to guarantee a safer environment for the independent and indispensable work of the media in conflict zones.

French Version

Monsieur le ministre,
Monsieur le président de la Commission nationale des droits de l'homme,
Monsieur le directeur général d'Al-Jazeera,
Excellences,
Mesdames et Messieurs,
Chers collègues,

L'an dernier, 107 journalistes ont été tués dans l'exercice de leurs fonctions. Les soulèvements dans plusieurs pays arabes ont fait à eux seuls 23 victimes parmi les employés des médias en un an. Depuis le 1er janvier, 7 journalistes ont déjà payé de leur vie leur mission d'information. Beaucoup d'autres ont été agressés, blessés et certains sont actuellement détenus. 
Il est temps d'agir pour non seulement dénoncer, mais arrêter cette évolution très inquiétante. 
Nous saluons chaleureusement l'initiative prise par le Qatar d'organiser cette réunion afin de nous permettre d'échanger nos vues sur les moyens de remédier à cette situation inacceptable.
L'impunité est un problème majeur. Nous devons malheureusement constater que, dans différentes circonstances, le droit existant n'est pas appliqué ou inadapté. La nature des conflits a évolué, Les techniques de communication aussi. Le nombre d'acteurs sur le terrain a augmenté. Comment faire en sorte que tous les gouvernements respectent leurs obligations ? Comment garantir l'accès des medias aux zones de conflit en réduisant les risques ?
Du respect de la liberté de la presse dépend non seulement l'information du public, mais aussi la dénonciation impartiale des violations des droits de l'homme.
Depuis quelques années, les associations de journalistes dans le monde, plusieurs ONG ainsi que des organisations internationales et certains gouvernements ont pris conscience du problème. Plusieurs réunions ont permis d'analyser la gravité de la situation et d'en étudier les causes. Il faut maintenant dépasser les seules condamnations verbales et envisager des mesures concrètes.
Basée à Genève, accréditée auprès de l'ONU, la Press Emblem Campaign est très honorée de pouvoir contribuer à une solution de ce grave problème avec toutes les parties concernées.
La réunion de Doha peut et doit marquer une étape historique pour avancer concrètement vers une protection plus efficace des journalistes dans les zones de conflit et autres zones dangereuses.
Nous remercions les autorités du Qatar de nous donner, à tous, cette occasion de débattre ensemble et nous espérons qu'au terme de nos discussions, nous pourrons lancer à Doha un processus qui renforcera la sécurité des journalistes dans les zones de conflit international et interne.
Beaucoup de vies ont été sacrifiées, plus de 500 ces cinq dernières années. Ce genre de crimes ne doit plus être toléré par la communauté internationale. Nous devons agir. Avec votre soutien, nous sommes persuadés que nous pourrons progresser sur ce chemin difficile et donner aux gouvernements des indications claires pour garantir un environnement plus sûr au travail indépendant et indispensable des medias dans les régions en conflit.

PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi (right) speaks at the plenary session of the Doha International Conference next to IFJ President, ICRC Rep Dorothea Krimitsas, NCHR's Chairman, Jan Keulen Director of the Doha Center for Media Freedom (DCMF) and UNESCO Representative (photo PEC)

PEC press release - PEC welcomes recommendations of Doha conference

Doha/Geneva, Jan 23 (PEC) The Press Emblem Campaign PEC welcomes today the recommendations of the International Conference on the Protection of Journalists in Dangerous Situations (Doha, Qatar, 22 and 23 January) as an historical milestone and an important step forward to enhance the protection of media employees.

"We adopted a new agenda in Doha to enhance the protection of journalists and we launched a new process. It is a great achievement", said PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen at the closing press conference. "We decided concrete measures to bring awareness to the heavy toll paid by journalists and to reach a better implementation of international humanitarian law and human rights", he added. 

In addition the PEC warmly welcomes statements made by Qatari officials in support of a new convention to protect journalists in dangerous zones, said PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi. At the plenary session and during the workshops, many participants, including journalists' associations, supported a proposal for a new international convention to protect journalists.

PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi, PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen and PEC Vice-President Mohamed Cherif attended the conference. PEC Secretary General opened the conference next to Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Chairman of NHRC; H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage; and Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Director-General of Aljazeera Network.

The Doha Conference adopted by consensus a 5 pages Declaration with a broad range of recommendations after two days of meeting with around 150 delegates (NGOs, journalists' associations, human rights experts, representatives of international organizations) coming from more than 40 countries. The recommendations
are addressed to the United Nations and its agencies, to governments, to news organizations and to journalists.
PEC welcomes the recommendations of the conference that highlight that scores of journalists and media workers continue to be killed every year while carrying out their professional responsibilities. Many of such abuses are not investigated and remain unpunished. According to the Doha Declaration, renewed and urgent action is necessary to press for robust implementation to the existing mechanisms and procedures by increasing the effectiveness of monitoring and enforcement of the current instruments.

The Doha Declaration calls for developing new tools to bind all States to acknowledge and accept a standing obligation to provide particular safeguards and protection for journalists beyond the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 1738 reminding States of their obligations to give journalists protection as civilians
in situations of conflict.

It recommends to adopt ambitious reforms to United Nations mechanisms and procedures such as through regional security organizations, expanding the mandates of Special Rapporteurs and concerned UN bodies,
organizing emergency alerts and missions, considering intrusive inspections and mandatory sanctions, developing or renewing existing systems, developing further monitoring and peer review processes and work towards an ultimate goal setting up an international treaty so that countries can collectively adopt a set of radical new measures to afford credible protection to journalists.

The Doha Declaration recommends to expand the current legal provisions beyond the obligation to protect journalists against attacks on their life, and include forced disappearances and kidnapping (by state or private actors), arbitrary arrest, intimidation, deportation/refusal of entry, confiscation/ damage to
property, and new forms of violence experienced by journalists during the 2011 Arab spring, and further develop Human Rights Council resolutions S-2/1 and S-9/1 concerning the attacks on media installations and allowing access as well as safe media corridors in conflict zones.

It requests the Human Rights Council to appoint a special rapporteur on the protection of journalists and the High Commissioner of Human Rights (HCHR) to create a unit to follow up media cases. It requests news organizations and journalists to do more safety training.

Participants agreed to transmit these recommendations to the President of the General Assembly for discussion at the UN General Assembly. This would be done by a delegation led by the Qatari national human rights commission and comprising International Federation of Journalists, The Press Emblem Campain, Federacion de periodistas de America Latina y Caribe, Federation of African Journalists, Federation of the Arab Journalists, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

Participants agreed also to work towards a new meeting to be attended by all stakeholders including governments to further discuss and develop the recommendations after one year.

On Sunday, Qatari minister of culture, art and heritage Dr Hamad Bin Abdelaziz Al Kuwari told the opening session that  the global cause to protect journalists did not receive the necessary attention from many countries despite efforts to develop a new international convention to protect journalists.

Aljazeera network Director General  Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani said that the scope of aggression against
freedom of the media and access to information calls for developing a new international convention for the protection of media in dangerous zones.

Chairman of the Qatari national human rights committee Doctor Ali Bin  Samikh Al Marri said the current situation of the order to protect journalists needs further development taking into account that the
current criteria of international law were crafted 50 years ago, when at that time the media was limited in reaching the whole globe as well as conflicts were different. (END)

PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) CONTRIBUTION (English, Arabic, French below)

Doha Conference on the Protection of Journalists in Dangerous Situations, 22-23 January 2012

Presentation of the draft international convention specific to the protection of journalists in conflict zones and other violent areas. Blaise Lempen, Secretary General of the PEC

Does the current law that is in effect sufficiently protect journalists? This is the question that the organizers of this conference have asked me to answer.

First of all, it is important to state that existing law protects journalists. The question is whether this protection is sufficient and effective.

Existing law protects journalists as it protects any other human being. It is forbidden to kill, to injure, a person except in legitimate defense. This prohibition is found already in the Bible and in the Coran. National
legislation in force in all the countries of the world contain binding provisions to this effect, just as do the international treaties of the United Nations.

Regarding international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions have a specific article regarding the protection of journalists in conflict zones that affirms that journalists benefit from the same protection as
civilians (Article 79 of Protocol 1).

The Facts

Is this enough? Let us examine the facts. This legal protection has not prevented the killing of an average of two journalists every week over the past five years – nearly 550 in five years. Thus, somewhere, something is
seriously wrong. In more than two thirds of the cases, these journalists died in conflict zones or during violent political unrest. For the remaining third, a case can be made for isolated events related to criminal activities in otherwise peaceful regions. Last year, en 2011, at least 20 journalists were killed covering the "Arab Spring" in Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Syria and Tunisia.

One can reasonably conclude that existing law is not effective enough to protect journalists in areas of conflict and violent unrest.

Why? Because in many circumstances, existing law is not observed. There are no effective enforcement mechanisms.

At the international level, there is no legislation dealing specifically and in detail with the protection of journalists in dangerous areas. There are international conventions on the rights of the child, of women, of the
handicapped, of migrants, of sailors, for example. None, however, on the activities of the media. The profession of journalist nonetheless comports duties and rights different from those of other professions. In the Geneva
Conventions, medical personnel benefit from extensive and specific protection in many articles. There is no such provision for journalists.

They have a mission to accomplish, that of providing independent information, of bearing witness, in particular to human rights violations, a mission useful to all society. By the very nature of their work, they
are exposed to substantial risks: rather than fleeing combat or violence, they must approach it in order to be able to tell what is happening as neutrally and impartially as possible.

Non-Solution Solutions

The Americans found two sorts of solutions, first during the Gulf War then during the invasion of Iraq. During the Gulf War, in 1991, journalists were simply excluded from combat zones, and the only information available
was given out by the Pentagon at a high-security military base. It was orchestrated information, unverifiable in any impartial way. Simultaneously, a few rare journalists relayed the Saddam Hussein’s propaganda from the hotel in Baghdad where they were holed up. More recently, journalists did the same thing from a hotel in Tripoli during the last months of the Muammar Gadhafi regime.

During the invasion of Iraq, in 2003, the Americans embedded journalists in their military units. The incorporation of journalists into such military units is a frequent practice, for example today in Afghanistan.
This practice is highly contested by the media: journalists effectively lose their independence. They can be considered an enemy by the adversary, which can result in their losing all legal protection. Using an armed
escort for journalists is sometimes the only possible solution – but it is very dangerous, since journalists can then be taken for combatants.

There is a third possibility, often practiced: clandestine work. A journalist enters a country or region without declaring her/his identity, without official approval, sometimes using local informers. These experiences have often finished badly with hostage taking (numerous in Iraq, for example), arrests and ill treatment (several recently in Libya), expulsions (for example in Syria last year), or even reprisals against the local informers. The "local informers" or "free-lancers" hired by the international media that cannot go into the field themselves are, in this respect, greatly at risk.

These solutions are non-solutions. There is a huge problem of access, of security in areas of combat and violent unrest. Training can be improved to minimize risks. Certain measures are useful, such as traveling in
groups and wearing bullet-proof vests. But it is also essential to improve observance of existing law.

Definitions

One of the first things to do in the framework of the drafting of a convention would be to define what one is talking about. Here, we come to two important points: the evolution of the media and the evolution of the
nature of conflicts.

First, the evolution of the media. The number of information providers has increased. This is related to the rise of the social networks. Are bloggers who create their own blogs journalists? Are citizens who witness
an act of violence and tweet their own information journalists? Is the NGO militant creating an internet site a journalist? They all do important information work, but they are not professional journalists accredited by
a recognized medium. The United Nations, for example, will not accredit as journalists bloggers or internet site web managers. It is a very delicate problem still under discussion. Generally, one must distinguish between
freedom of expression and press freedom.

The second problem in definition is the protection of journalists in areas of conflict or danger. What would be the area of applicability of the future convention? What is a conflict zone? According to the Geneva
Conventions, it is an area of armed conflict, domestic or international. There can, however, be violence without armed conflict strictly speaking, for example during the uprisings that broke out in several Arab countries
last year – or in Latin America in the struggle between the drug cartels and the authorities. Journalists face grave dangers in this sort of situation. The future convention should cover this sort of conflict by
complementing the protection offered by the Geneva Conventions. There is also a great number of extended conflicts that are not overt conflicts but that create high risk areas such as Iraq today and the Russian Caucasus.
There are also terrorist situations that expose media representatives to high risks. Such situations would also have to be included in the area of applicability of the convention, as well as non-state actors.

Impunity

After the indispensable work of definition and the recall of existing law, the convention should provide for mechanisms of concrete application. These provisions should concern obligations in training, access and
identification, complaints, investigations, compensation and reparation, legal action against and conviction of those responsible and follow up.

The Geneva Conventions do not cover investigations. The ICRC never investigates. In fact, nearly 90% of the crimes committed against journalists are not followed up by legal action nor do they they result in
identifying and convicting those really guilty. This problem of impunity is very serious. It encourages others to commit such crimes.

Why this impunity? There are many reasons: for example, the crimes targeting journalists are sometime ordered at a very high level, thus police and judicial investigations are thwarted. Soldiers who have knowingly or by negligence killed journalists in a war zone are protected by their chain of command or else claim that they did not know that the victim was a journalist – a frequently heard argument. Or those behind the killings are not identified because the local authorities, police or judicial, are non-existent or corrupt.

When the investigation mechanisms on the national level are not effective, there must be investigations on the international level. When local justice does not do its work, cannot do its work, when the territory on
which the crime took place is under the control of an armed group or a rogue state or plunged in anarchy, the international community must take over. The convention could thus institute appropriate mechanisms, for
example an international commission of inquiry that the states parties to the convention would be committed to working with. The affected individual or medium would have to be allowed access to it. It is also important to
allow for compensation and reparation, either to the families or to the media. The convention could institutionalize a solidarity fund.

Identification

The problem of identification of journalists must also be discussed. Every journalist must currently prove his/her identity by means of a press card and/or an accreditation letter from a medium. In dangerous areas,
journalists decide whether to identify themselves by a visible emblem in such a way as to show that they are not combatants but media representatives. Such emblems are more often than not cobbled together in
an artisanal manner, and there is an infinite variety of them on all continents. The purpose of the convention should be to create a uniform emblem internationally recognized that journalists could use, as now, when
the situation requires it. It is important to clarify that this emblem would never be compulsory and that the choice of wearing it would be incumbent upon the journalist or the journalist's medium. An internationally recognized emblem would have a more binding legal force for the parties recognizing it in the convention. The PEC has proposed an emblem: an orange disc with the work PRESS in black letters.

The convention should, moreover, reaffirm the necessity for signatory governments to give access to journalists in all circumstances. This is far from being the case at present.

Finally, the convention should create follow-up mechanisms. One can imagine the setting up of an international commission of experts, a body for the implementation of the treaty, and an organization dealing with the
subject, a sort of ICRC of journalists, capable of defending and rescuing media employees in difficulty in all circumstances and of intervening with the competent authorities, or a specialized service within the United
Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. For the time being, the follow-up to all this is done primarily by NGOs that have a high capacity for analysis, alert, sensitizing, but no binding authority
regarding any states or judicial instances. 

The PEC has drafted a preliminary convention which is on its website. This text, proposed for adoption by governments, can serve as a starting point and can be changed, improved, with the agreement of all concerned parties.

It is impossible for me to go into all the details here. However, the members of the PEC, nearly 40 journalist associations throughout the world, are certain of one thing: it is imperative to begin the work of
drafting a convention on the protection of journalists in areas of conflict and violent unrest, with a view to its being adopted as soon as possible. Waiting will not resolve the problem. We encourage as many
countries as possible to join this project and work for its success.

Thank you for your attention.

PEC Vice-President and Swissinfo Representative Mohamed Cherif at the International Conference for Protection of Journalists in Dangerous Zones in Doha (photo pec)

مؤتمر الدوحة حول حماية الصحفيين في المناطق الخطيرة 22-23 يناير 2012

 

ورقة عمل  حول مشروع معاهدة دولية خاصة بحماية الصحفيين في مناطق النزاعات وباقي مناطق الاضطرابات. من تقديم السيد بليز لامبن، الأمين العام للحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي، جنيف سويسرا.

هل القوانين السارية المفعول بها ما يكفي لحماية الصحفيين؟ هذا هو السؤال الذي طلب مني المنظمون تقديم إجابة عنه.

من المهم في البداية القول بأن القوانين السارية المفعول تقدم حماية للصحفيين. ولكن السؤال المطروح هو هل هذه الحماية كافية وفعالة؟.

فالقوانين الحالية تقدم حماية للصحفيين شأنهم في ذلك كباقي البشر. إذ هناك تحريم لقتل إنسان او إصابته بجراح خارج نطاق الدفاع عن النفس. وهذا التحريم ورد في البداية في الإنجيل والقرآن. وكل القوانين الوطنية السارية المفعول في الدول تحتوي على نصوص ملزمة بهذا الخصوص، ونفس الشيء نجده في المواثيق الدولية والمعاهدات الأممية.

وعلى مستوى القانون الانساني الدولي، تحتوي معاهدات جنيف على بند يهتم خصيصا بحماية الصحفيين في مناطق الصراعات، والذي ينص على أن الصحفيين يتمتعون بنفس الحماية التي يتمتع بها باقي المدنيين( البند 79 من البروتوكول الاضافي الأول).

الواقع

هل هذا كاف؟ اسمحوا لي بأن نلقي معا نظرة على الواقع: هذه الحماية القانونية لم تسمح بتجنب أن نشاهد خلال السنوات الخمس الأخيرة، مقتل صحفيين بمعدل اثنين كل أسبوع. أي حوالي 550 في غضون خمسة أعوام. وهذا ما يعني أن هناك خللا في مكان ما.

وأن ثلثا هذا العدد من الصحفيين سقط في مناطق صراعات مسلحة أو في مناطق اضطرابات عنف سياسي. أما بالنسبة للثلث المتبقي، فقد يتعلق الأمر بحالات متفرقة مردها الى نشاطات إجرامية تقع في مناطق لا تعرف اضطرابات.  ففي السنة الماضية 2011، قُتل 20 صحفيا على الأقل أثناء تغطيتهم للأحداث التي لها علاقة ب"الربيع العربي"، في ليبيا ، واليمن، ومصر، وسوريا وتونس.

ويمكن أن نستخلص من ذلك بكل منطقية، بأن القوانين السارية المفعول، ليست فعالة بما يسمح بحماية الصحفيين في مناطق الصراعات المسلحة او الاضطرابات العنيفة.

لماذا؟ لأن القوانين السارية المفعول لا يتم احترامها في ظروف عديدة، ولأن هناك افتقارا لآليات تطبيق فعالة وقادرة على فرض هذا الاحترام.

لا يوجد أي نص قانوني على المستوى الدولي، يهتم خصيصا وبالتفصيل بحماية الصحفيين في المناطق الخطيرة. إذ هناك معاهدات دولية حول حقوق الطفل، والمرأة، والأشخاص ذوي العاهات، والمهاجرين، والبحارة على سبيل المثال. ولكن لا توجد أية معاهدة تعنى بنشاطات العاملين في وسائل الإعلام، على الرغم من كون مهنة الصحفي تحتوى على واجبات وحقوق تختلف عن باقي المهن الأخرى.  وفي معاهدات جنيف يستفيد عمال الاغاثة الطبية بحماية واسعة مفصلة في العديد من البنود، بينما لا يوجد أي من ذلك بالنسبة للصحفيين.

فالصحفيون يتولون مهمة الإعلام بطريقة مستقلة، وتقديم شهادتهم، بالأخص فيما يتعلق بانتهاكات حقوق الإنسان، وهي مهمة لفائدة المجتمع بأكمله. وهم بحكم مهنتهم هذه معرضون لأخطار جسيمة: فهم على العكس، ليسوا مطالبين بمغادرة مناطق القتال والعنف، بل الاقتراب أكثر من مكان وقوعها لنقل ما يقع بطريقة محايدة وغير منحازة.

حلول ليست بحلول على الإطلاق

لقد وجد الأمريكيون نوعين من الحلول أثناء حربي الخليج الأولى والثانية. فقد تم أثناء حرب الخليج الأولى ما بين عامي 1990-1991 اقصاء الصحفيين ببساطة من مناطق الصراع، وأن المعلومات الوحيدة التي كانت متاحة هي التي تصدر عن وزارة الدفاع الأمريكية ( البنتاغون) في قاعدة عسكرية محصنة. ويتعلق الأمر في هذه الحالة بطريقة إعلام موجهة، لا يمكن التأكد من صحتها بطريقة مستقلة. وفي نفس الوقت كان هناك بعض الصحفيين القليلين المحصنين في فندق في بغداد، و الذين كانوا ينقلون الدعاية التي كان يروجها صدام حسين. ونفس الشيء تكرر مؤخرا في أحد فنادق طرابلس أثناء الأشهر الأخيرة من نظام معمر القذافي.

وأثناء حرب الخليج الثانية في عام 2003، أقدم الأمريكيون على إدخال مفهوم  (EMBEDDED) الصحفيين المدمجين في وحداتهم العسكرية. وهناك لجوء أكثر فأكثر الى إدماج الصحفيين في الوحدات العسكرية، مثلما هو الحال اليوم في افغانستان. لكن هناك معارضة قوية لمثل هذا التصرف من قبل وسائل الإعلام: لأن الصحفي يفقد في هذه الحالة استقلاليته ويمكن اعتباره عدوا من قبل الطرف الثاني، الأمر الذي يفقده أية حماية قانونية. وهناك إمكانية مرافقة الصحفيين من قبل مسلحين كحل وحيد، ولكن حتى هذا الحل يعتبر خطيرا للغاية، نظرا لإمكانية اعتبار الصحفي مقاتلا.

وهناك حل ثالث كثيرا ما يلجأ إليه الصحفيون: وهو القيام بالتغطية الصحفية بطريقة سرية. بحيث يتسلل الصحفي الى بلد او الى منطقة بدون الافصاح عن هويته، وبدون الحصول على ترخيص من السلطات، وباستخدام مخبرين  محليين في بعض الأحيان.  ولكن مثل هذه التجارب كثيرا ما انتهت بطريقة غير جيدة: كالتعرض للاختطاف( كثير منها وقع في العراق على سبيل المثال)، او التعرض للاعتقال وسوء المعاملة( العديد من الحالات في ليبيا مؤخرا)، او التعرض للطرد (مثلما وقع في سوريا العام الماضي)، أو تعريض المخبرين المحليين لمضايقات. وهؤلاء المخبرون المحليون او "الصحفيون المستقلون" الذين توظفهم وسائل الاعلام التي لا تستطيع التواجد في عين المكان، هم الذين يعرضون انفسهم أكثر للخطر.

وهذه الحلول المقترحة ليست بحلول بالمرة، نظرا لكون أن هناك عراقيل كثيرة لدخول الصحفيين وتأمين حياتهم في مناطق الصراعات والاضطرابات العنيفة. وهناك إمكانية لتحسين طريقة تكوين هذا الطرف أو ذاك للحد من الأخطار. مثل السفر في مجموعات ، أو ارتداء سترات واقعية من الرصاص، ولكن ما هو أهم هو تحسين احترام القوانين السارية المفعول.

تحديد المفهوم

الخطوة الأولى التي يجب القيام بها في إطار تحضير معاهدة، هو تحديد مفهوم ما نتحدث عنه بدقة.  وهنا يجب أن نتطرق لنقطتين هامتين: تطور الساحة الإعلامية من جهة ، وتطور طبيعة الصراعات المسلحة من جهة أخرى.

فيما يتعلق بتطور الساحة الإعلامية، هناك تكاثر لعدد الشركاء في العملية الإعلامية. وهناك ضرورة لفتح النقاش بهذا الخصوص بعد التطور الكبير الذي عرفته وسائل الاتصال والشبكات الاجتماعية. فالمدون الذي يفتح مدونة على شبكة الإنترنت هل يمكن اعتباره صحفيا أم لا؟ والمواطن الذي يكون شاهد عيان لحادث عنف وينقله على موقعه في تويتر هل هو صحفي؟  والناشط في منظمة غير حكومية الذي يفتح موقعا لمنظمته على الانترنت هل يمكن اعتباره صحفيا أيضا؟ هؤلاء جميعا يقومون بعمل إخباري هام، ولكنهم ليسوا صحفيين محترفين معتمدين من قبل وسيلة إعلامية معترف بها. فالأمم المتحدة على سبيل المثال لا تعتمد لا المدونين او المسؤولين عن مواقع على الإنترنت بصفة صحفيين. وهذا موضوع دقيق في مناقشته ، إذ يتطلب الأمر عموما تفريقا بين حرية التعبير وحرية الصحافة.

 

المشكلة الثانية في عملية تحديد المفاهيم، تكمن في كوننا نتحدث عن حماية الصحفيين في مناطق الصراعات المسلحة او المناطق الخطيرة. وهنا يجب تحديد نطاق تطبيق المعاهدة المقبلة؟ وتحديد ما المقصود بمنطقة الصراع ؟ من منظور معاهدات جنيف هناك منطقة صراع مسلح إما دولية او داخلية. ولكن بالإمكان أن تكون هناك مناطق عنف حتى بدون وجود صراع بمفهوم الصراع المسلح كالتي وقعت في العديد من الدول العربية أثناء انتفاضات الربيع العربي في العام الماضي، أو ما يحدث في أمريكا اللاتينية من مواجهات بين السلطات وكارتيلات المخدرات. وهي حالات يواجه فيها الصحفيون مخاطر كبرى. لذى على المعاهدة الجديدة أن تشمل مثل هذه الصراعات، وأن تكمل التغطية التي توفرها معاهدات جنيف. وهناك العديد من الحالات التي تعرف فيها الصراعات تمديدا لنشاطاتها دون اعتبارها صراعات مفتوحة، لكنها تبقى محفوفة بالمخاطر: ويعتبر العراق من هذه الحالات اليوم، شأنه في ذلك شأن منطقة القوقاز في روسيا. كما أن هناك حالات إرهاب تعرض وسائل الإعلام لمخاطر كبرى. وهو ما يتطلب إدماج هذه الصراعات في المعاهدة الجديدة وإدماج  العناصر غير الحكومية المشاركة في الصراعات المسلحة.

الافلات من العقاب

بعد هذا العمل الضروري في مجال تحديد المفاهيم، وبعد التذكير بالقوانين السارية المفعول، يجب على المعاهدة القادمة أن تحدد آليات تطبيق عملية.  وهذه الإجراءات يجب أن تشمل ضرورة توفير التكوين، وإمكانية الوصول الى مكان الحادث والتعرف على هوية الأطراف، والحق في  التحقيق وفي تقديم الشكوى، والحق في تقديم التعويض عن الأضرار، والحق في المتابعة القانونية وفي إدانة المسئولين عن ذلك، والحق في متابعة الملف.

فمعاهدات جنيف لا تشتمل على أية آليات للتحقيق. كما أن اللجنة الدولية للصليب الأحمر لا تقوم بأية تحقيقات. وأن حوالي 90% من الجرائم المرتكبة ضد الصحفيين لا تتعرض لمتابعة قضائية، ولا تتوصل الى تحديد لهوية مرتكبي تلك الجرائم او الى إدانتهم. ومسالة الافلات من العقاب هذه تعتبر خطيرة للغاية، لأنها تشجع آخرين على مواصلة ارتكاب تلك الجرائم. والسؤال المطروح: لماذا هذا الإفلات من العقاب؟

هناك عدة أسباب لذلك: أولا كون أوامر عمليات استهداف الصحفيين، في بعض الأحيان، تصدر عن جهات رفيعة المستوى، وبالتالي يصبح التحقيق فيها متعذرا على السلطات البوليسية والقضائية. فالجنود الذين قتلوا عن قصد او خطأ صحفيين في مناطق قتال، يتلقون تغطية من قياداتهم او يزعمون بأنهم لم يكونوا يعرفون أن الضحية صحفي، وهي مزاعم كثيرا ما سمعناها. أو أن مرتكبي عمليات القتل لا يتم التعرف عليهم نظرا لكون السلطات المحلية لا تملك قوات شرطة أو قضاء، أو أنها يمكن ارتشاؤها.

فعندما تكون آليات التحقيق على المستوي الوطني غير ناجعة، يجب القيام بتحقيق دولي. وعندما لا تقوم العدالة المحلية بعملها، أو أنها تكون في وضعية لا تسمح لها بذلك، أو عندما تكون المنطقة التي وقع فيها الحادث تحت سيطرة مجموعة مسلحة، أو تحت سلطة دولة مارقة، او تعمها الفوضى، يجب أن تتولى المجموعة الدولية ذلك. لذا يمكن للمعاهدة الجديدة أن تقر مثل هذه الآليات، كتحديد لجنة تحقيق دولية تلزم الدول الموقعة على المعاهدة بالتعاون معها. ويجب أن يتمتع الشخص المتضرر او وسيلة الإعلام المتضررة  بحق  رفع شكوى أمام هذه اللجنة. كما يجب تحديد تعويضات سواء بالنسبة لعائلة الضحية، او لوسيلة الإعلام التي كانت تشغل الضحية. كما أن بإمكان المعاهدة أن تقر إنشاء صندوق تضامن.

شارة مميزة

هناك ضرورة أيضا لمناقشة موضوع تحديد شارة مميزة للصحفي. إذ هناك ضرورة بالنسبة لكل صحفي في أن يثبت هويته كصحفي عن طريق بطاقة صحفية او عبر رسالة اعتماد من وسيلة الإعلام التي يشتغل فيها. لكن الصحفيين عندما يتواجدون في مناطق خطيرة، يلجئون إضافة الى ذلك الى استعمال شارة واضحة للعيان وذلك لتوضيح بأنهم صحفيون وليسوا مقاتلين. وهم في تصميمهم لتلك الشارة يلجئون بطريقة عشوائية الى تصميم عدد لا متناهي من هذه الشارات التي تختلف باختلاف  القارات. لذلك على المعاهدة الجديدة ان تحدد شارة موحدة ومعترف بها دوليا ، يمكن للصحفيين ان يستخدموها عند الضرورة مثلما هو الحال اليوم. ويجب التوضيح بأن هذه الشارة يجب ألا تكون إجبارية وأن استخدامها يبقى من اختيار الصحفي او وسيلة الإعلام التي تشغله. لأن استخدام شارة معترف بها دوليا يكون مدعوما قانونيا بالتزام الدول الموقعة على المعاهدة. وقد قدمت الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي نموذجا للشارة يتمثل في دائرة برتقالية اللون وبداخلها عبارة "PRESS " باللون الأسود.

كما أن على المعاهدة الجديدة ان تؤكد ضرورة افساح المجال أمام الصحفيين في كل الظروف، من قبل الدول الموقعة. وهو ما لا يتوفر اليوم.

و على المعاهدة  تحديد آليات متابعة، كالتفكير في إقامة لجنة خبراء دوليين، ولجنة تطبيق بنود المعاهدة، أو لجنة متخصصة، تكون على شكل اللجنة الدولية للصليب الأحمر ومتخصصة في قضايا الصحفيين ، وبإمكانها الدفاع عنهم  وتقديم الدعم لموظفي وسائل الإعلام عند تعرضهم للمشاكل وفي كل الظروف، والتي بإمكانها التدخل لدى السلطات المعنية، أو إقامة مصلحة متخصصة بالصحفيين لدى مكتب المفوضة السامية لحقوق الإنسان.

إن متابعة هذا الموضوع في الوقت الحالي يتم فقط عبر منظمات غير حكومية  لديها قدرة على التحليل ، والإنذار، والتحسيس، ولكن ليست لديها أية سلطة ملزمة سواء تجاه الدول او أمام القضاء.

وقد قامت الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي بتحديد معالم مشروع معاهدة موجود على موقعها على الإنترنت. وبالإمكان اتخاذ هذا النص المقترح على الدول كأرضية يمكن تحسينها وتنقيحها بمشاركة جميع الأطراف المعنية.

وقد يصعب التطرق لكل التفاصيل الخاصة بموضوع حماية الصحفيين في هذا الظرف الزمني المخصص  لي هنا، لكن الأمر المؤكد منه في الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي التي تضم حوالي 40 جمعية صحفية في العالم، هو أنه يجب الشروع في اشغال تحديد معالم معاهدة لحماية الصحفيين في مناطق الصراعات او الاضطرابات العنيفة، بغرض المصادقة عليها في أقرب وقت. وإن أي انتظار سوف لن يعمل على حل المشكل. أملنا في أن ينضم أكبر عدد من الدول في هذا المشروع وأن يسهم في إثرائه.

شكرا على حسن المتابعة والإصغاء.              

Conférence de Doha sur la protection des journalistes dans les zones dangereuses - 22-23 janvier 2012 - Exposé sur le projet de convention internationale spécifique à la protection des journalistes dans les zones de conflit et autres zones de violences. Blaise Lempen, secrétaire général de la PEC.

Le droit en vigueur protège-t-il suffisamment les journalistes ? Telle est la question à laquelle les organisateurs de la conférence m'ont demandé de répondre.

Il est d'abord important de dire que le droit existant protège les journalistes. La question et de savoir si cette protection est suffisante et efficace.

Le droit existant protège les journalistes comme tout autre être humain: il est interdit de tuer, de blesser une personne, en dehors de la légitime défense. L'interdiction de tuer se trouve déjà dans la Bible et le Coran. Toutes les législations nationales en vigueur dans les Etats comportent des clauses contraignantes à cet effet, de même que sur le plan international les traités de l'ONU.

En droit international humanitaire, les Conventions de Genève comportent un article spécifique à la protection des journalistes dans les zones de conflit qui affirme que les journalistes bénéficient de la même protection que tous les civils (article 79 du protocole 1).

Les faits

Est-ce suffisant ? Observons les faits: cette protection juridique n'a pas évité que ces cinq dernières années, deux journalistes en moyenne soient tués chaque semaine, près de 550 en cinq ans. Il y a donc quelque part une faille.

Pour plus des deux tiers, ces journalistes sont morts dans des zones de conflit ou lors de troubles politiques violents. Pour le tiers restant, il peut s'agir de cas isolés relevant d'activités criminelles dans des régions en paix. L'an dernier, en 2011, au moins 20 journalistes ont été tués en couvrant les événements liés au "printemps arabe", en Libye, au Yémen, en Egypte, en Syrie et en Tunisie.

On peut raisonnablement en conclure que le droit existant n'est pas assez efficace pour protéger les journalistes dans les zones de conflit et de troubles violents.

Pourquoi ? Parce que le droit en vigueur n'est pas respecté dans diverses circonstances. Des mécanismes d'application efficaces, capables de le faire respecter, font défaut.

Il n'existe aucun texte sur le plan international qui traite spécifiquement et de manière détaillée de la protection des journalistes dans les zones dangereuses. Il y a des Conventions internationales sur les droits des enfants, des femmes, des handicapés, des migrants, des marins par exemple. Aucune concernant l'activité des medias. La profession de journaliste comporte pourtant des devoirs et des droits différents d'autres professions. Dans les Conventions de Genève, le personnel médical bénéficie d'une protection étendue et précisée dans de très nombreux articles. Rien de tel pour les journalistes.

Ils ont une mission à accomplir, celle d'informer de manière indépendante, de témoigner, en particulier des violations des droits de l'homme, une mission utile à la société tout entière. De par la nature de leur travail, ils sont exposés à des risques considérables: ils ne doivent pas fuir les combats ou les violences, mais au contraire s'en approcher pour raconter ce qui se passe de manière neutre et impartiale.

Des solutions qui n'en sont pas

Les Américains ont trouvé deux types de solution lors des deux guerres du Golfe. Lors de la première guerre du Golfe, en 1990-1991, les journalistes avaient tout simplement été écartés des zones de combat et la seule information disponible était donnée par le Pentagone dans une base militaire retranchée. Il s'agissait d'une information dirigée, non contrôlable de manière impartiale. Simultanément, de rares journalistes répercutaient la propagande de Saddam Hussein coincés dans un hôtel de Bagdad. Comme plus récemment des journalises l'ont fait dans un hôtel de Tripoli pour les derniers mois du régime de Mouammar Kadhafi.

Lors de la seconde guerre du Golfe, en 2003, les Américains avaient incorporé (embedded) les journalistes dans leurs unités militaires. L'incorporation des journalistes parmi les militaires est fréquemment pratiquée, par exemple encore aujourd'hui en Afghanistan. Cette pratique est très contestée parmi les medias: le journaliste perd en effet son indépendance. Il peut être considéré comme un ennemi par le camp opposé, ce qui peut lui enlever toute protection juridique. La solution d'une escorte armée pour les journalistes est parfois la seule possible - mais elle est très dangereuse, puisque le journaliste peut alors être assimilé à un combattant.

Il existe une troisième possibilité, souvent pratiquée: celle de la clandestinité. Un journaliste s'introduit dans un pays ou une région sans déclarer son identité, sans l'accord des autorités, en utilisant parfois des informateurs locaux. Ces expériences se sont souvent mal terminées: prises d'otages (nombreuses en Irak, par exemple), arrestations et mauvais traitements (plusieurs exemples récents en Libye), expulsions (par exemple, de Syrie l'an dernier), ou bien représailles contre les informateurs locaux. Les dits "informateurs locaux" ou "free-lance" engagés par les medias internationaux qui ne peuvent pas se rendre sur place sont à cet égard très exposés.

Ces solutions n'en sont pas. Il y a un grand problème d'accès, de sécurité dans les zones de combat et de troubles violents. On peut améliorer la formation des uns et des autres pour minimiser les risques. Certaines précautions, comme de voyager en groupe, de revêtir des gilets pare-balle, sont utiles. Mais il est aussi essentiel d'améliorer le respect du droit existant.

Définitions

Une des premières choses à faire dans le cadre de l'élaboration d'une convention serait de définir de quoi on parle. Et là nous abordons deux points importants, celui de l'évolution du paysage médiatique et celui de l'évolution de la nature des conflits.

D'abord, l'évolution des medias. Le nombre d'acteurs de l'information s'est accru. Il y a là un sujet à discuter à la suite de l'explosion des communications et des réseaux sociaux. Le blogeur qui crée son blog est-il ou non un journaliste ? Le citoyen témoin d'un acte de violence qui twitte son info est-il un journaliste ? Le militant d'une ONG qui crée son site internet est-il un journaliste ? Ils font un travail important d'information, mais ce ne sont pas des journalistes professionnels accrédités par un media reconnu. Les Nations Unies, par exemple, n'accréditent pas comme journalistes les blogueurs ou responsables de sites internet. C'est un problème très délicat à discuter. De manière générale, il faut faire la distinction entre liberté d'expression et la liberté de la presse.

Deuxième problème de définition. Nous parlons ici de la protection des journalistes dans les zones de conflit ou zones dangereuses. Quel serait le champ d'application de la future Convention ? Qu'est-ce qu'une zone de conflit ? Au sens des Conventions de Genève, une zone de conflit armé, international et interne. Il peut cependant y avoir des violences sans conflit armé proprement dit, par exemple lors des soulèvements qui ont éclaté dans plusieurs pays arabes l'an dernier - ou bien en Amérique latine dans la lutte entre les autorités et les cartels de la drogue. Les journalistes affrontent dans ce type de situation de très grands dangers. La future Convention devrait couvrir ce type de conflit, en complétant ainsi la protection offerte par les Conventions de Genève. Il existe en outre un grand nombre de conflits prolongés, qui ne sont plus des conflits ouverts, mais sont encore des zones à risques: l'Irak aujourd'hui, le Caucase en Russie, par exemple. Il existe aussi des situations de terrorisme, qui exposent les medias à des risques élevés. Il faudrait inclure ce type de situations, et les acteurs non étatiques, dans le champ d'application de la Convention.

Impunité

Après le travail indispensable de définition, et le rappel du droit en vigueur, la Convention devrait élaborer des mécanismes d'application concrets. Ces dispositions devraient concerner des obligations en matière de formation, d'accès et d'identification, de plainte et d'enquête, d'indemnisation et de réparation, de poursuite et de condamnation des responsables et enfin de suivi.

Les Conventions de Genève ne comportent pas de mécanismes d'enquête. Le CICR ne fait jamais d'enquête. Or, près de 90% des crimes commis contre les journalistes ne sont pas poursuivis ou n'aboutissent pas à identifier et condamner les vrais coupables. Ce problème d'impunité est très grave. Car il encourage d'autres à commettre de tels crimes. Pourquoi cette situation d'impunité ? Il y a de nombreuses raisons: par exemple, les crimes visant des journalistes sont parfois commandités à très haut niveau et donc les investigations poolicières et judiciaires bloquées. Les soldats qui ont tué sciemment ou par mégarde des journalistes dans une zone de guerre sont protégés par leur chaîne de commandement ou bien affirment qu'ils ne savaient pas que la victime était un journaliste - un argument fréquemment entendu. Ou bien encore les auteurs des assassinats ne sont pas identifiés parce que les autorités locales, de police et judiciaires, sont inexistantes ou corrompues.

Lorsque les mécanismes d'enquête sur le plan national ne sont pas efficaces, il faut des enquêtes sur le plan international. Lorsque la justice locale ne fait pas son travail, n'est pas en mesure de fonctionner, que le territoire sur lequel le crime a eu lieu est sous le contrôle d'un groupe armé ou d'un Etat voyou ou plongé dans l'anarchie, il faut que la communauté internationale prenne le relais. La Convention pourrait donc instituer de tels mécanismes, par exemple une commission internationale d'enquête avec laquelle les Etats signataires de la Convention s'engageraient à collaborer. Il faudrait que l'individu ou le media lésé puisse les saisir. Il est important aussi de prévoir des indemnisations et des réparations, soit pour les familles, soit pour les medias. La Convention pourrait institutionnaliser un fonds de solidarité.

Identification

Le problème de l'identification des journalistes doit être aussi discuté. Tout journaliste doit actuellement prouver son identité par une carte de presse ou/et une lettre d'accréditation d'un media. Dans les zones dangereuses, les journalistes décident en outre de s'identifier par un emblème visible à l'extérieur de manière à signaler qu'ils ne sont pas des combattants, mais appartiennent à la presse. Ils fabriquent le plus souvent cet emblème de manière artisanale et il en existe une variété infinie sur tous les continents. Le but de la Convention devrait être de créer un emblème uniforme reconnu internationalement, que les journalistes pourraient utiliser, comme actuellement, lorsque la situation l'exige. Il est important de préciser que cet emblème ne serait jamais obligatoire et que le choix de le porter reviendrait uniquement au journaliste ou à son media. Un emblème reconnu internationalement aurait une force juridique plus contraignante pour les parties le reconnaissant dans la convention. La PEC a fait une proposition d'emblème, un disque orange avec le mot PRESS en lettres noires.

La Convention devrait en outre réaffirmer la nécessité pour les gouvernements signataires de donner accès aux journalistes en toutes circonstances. C'est loin d'être le cas actuellement.

Enfin, la convention devrait créer des mécanismes de suivi. On peut imaginer la création d'une commission internationale d'experts, celle d'un organe de mise en oeuvre du traité, ou encore celle d'une organisation compétente en la matière, un CICR des journalistes, capable de défendre et de porter secours aux employés des medias en difficulté en toutes circonstances et d'intervenir auprès des autorités compétentes, ou encore un service spécialisé au sein du Haut Commissariat aux droits de l'homme. Pour l'instant, le suivi de cette problématique est assuré avant tout par des ONG qui ont une capacité d'analyse, d'alerte, de sensibilisation, mais pas d'autorité contraignante vis-à-vis des Etats ni de pouvoir judiciaire.

La PEC a rédigé un avant-projet de convention qui se trouve sur son site web. Ce texte, proposé pour adoption par les gouvernements, peut servir de point de départ et peut être modifié, amélioré avec le concours de toutes les parties concernées.

Il m'est impossible de rentrer dans tous les détails ici. Mais les membres de la PEC, près de 40 associations de journalistes dans le monde, ont une certitude: il faut commencer les travaux d'élaboration d'une Convention sur la protection des journalistes en zones de conflit et de troubles violents, en vue d'une adoption la plus rapide possible. Attendre ne résoudra pas le problème. Nous souhaitons que le plus grand nombre d'Etats se rallient à ce projet et y collaborent.

Merci de votre attention.

***11.01.2012. Journaliste français tué en Syrie: la PEC consternée (English, Arabic and Spanish below)

Genève (PEC), 11 janvier - La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) est consternée par la mort, ce mercredi, d'un journaliste de la télévision française France 2 Gilles Jacquier (photo) en Syrie et condamne cet attentat dans les termes les plus vifs. Le journaliste se trouvait avec d'autres confrères en reportage à Homs, dans le centre de la Syrie.

Selon un photographe sur place, un obus est tombé sur le groupe de journalistes. Il y a eu également plusieurs blessés dans le groupe de journalistes étrangers, qui se trouvait à Homs dans le cadre d'un
voyage autorisé par les autorités syriennes. Gilles Jacquier était un journaliste très expérimenté qui avait travaillé depuis 1991 notamment en Irak, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Israël et l'an dernier en Côte d'Ivoire et Libye.

La PEC demande l'ouverture d'une enquête indépendante par le Haut Commissariat de l'ONU aux droits de l'homme pour déterminer l'origine des tirs, identifier et poursuivre les responsables.

Le journaliste français est le premier journaliste occidental tué en Syrie depuis le début de la révolte contre le régime le 15 mars. Trois autres journalistes de nationalité syrienne ont été tués en Syrie depuis le
début des troubles. "Les autorités de Damas doivent non seulement assurer l'accès des journalistes indépendants à leur territoire, mais assurer leur sécurité", a affirmé la PEC.

Ce nouvel attentat démontre encore une fois la nécessité pour la communauté internationale de prendre d'urgence des mesures supplémentaires afin de renforcer la sécurité des journalistes dans les zones de conflit, a affirmé la PEC. La PEC exprime sa profonde sympathie aux familles des journalistes tués et blessés en Syrie qui paient, elles aussi, un prix très élevé.

Au total, 23 journalistes ont été tués en un an à l'occasion du "printemps arabe" (Tunisie, Egypte, Libye, Yémen, Bahreïn et Syrie) et 107 journalistes sont morts dans l'exercice de leur métier l'an dernier, rappelle la PEC.

Gilles Jacquier, grand reporter témoin des conflits des 20 dernières années

PARIS (AFP) Kosovo, Afghanistan, Algérie, révolutions arabes, Gilles Jacquier, grand reporter de France 2 tué mercredi à Homs, a couvert la plupart des conflits des 20 dernières années et obtenu le prix Albert Londres pour des reportages lors de la seconde Intifada.

"J'ai horreur de la guerre mais sur ces terrains, je peux faire de vraies rencontres. Le plus souvent les gens sont eux-mêmes, très sincères face à une caméra et on ne peut rester insensible à leur souffrance", racontait le journaliste dans une interview.

"Moi, j'aime surtout filmer les gens au plus près de l'action, avec leurs émotions et sans voyeurisme", ajoutait-il.

Né le 25 octobre 1968, ce passionné d'images depuis sa plus tendre enfance, démarre sa carrière comme journaliste reporter d'images (JRI) dans une chaîne locale à Annecy en 1989, TV HUIT Mt Blanc.

Deux ans plus tard, il entre à France télévisions et rejoint la rédaction nationale de France 3 en 1994.

Il sillonne le monde, couvre les Jeux olympiques d'hiver de Lillehammer, de Nagano, le Festival de Cannes, les élections en Afrique du Sud.

Mais surtout, caméra sur l'épaule, Jacquier couvre tous les conflits depuis les années 1990, à commencer par celui du Kosovo. Suivront la République démocratique du Congo (ex-Zaïre), l'Algérie, la Côte d'Ivoire, Haïti, l'Irak, Israël, la Palestine, jusqu'aux révolutions arabes.

Jacquier dit avoir vu la "mort à grande échelle, avec des trous béants et des dizaines de cadavres arrivant sur des brancards et jetés là toutes les heures".

Il est particulièrement bouleversé par les massacres en Algérie dans les années 1990 et dans la jungle de Kisangani au Zaïre, avant la chute de Mobutu en 1997.

En 2003, Jacquier obtient le prestigieux prix Albert Londres avec Bertrand Coq, autre grand reporter, pour sa couverture durant la deuxième Intifada.

"Gilles était un excellent reporter de guerre, il n'avait peur de rien, avait un côté casse-cou mais ne prenait jamais de risques inconsidérés", témoigne Bertrand Coq, interrogé par l'AFP.

Lors des reportages à Naplouse, Jaquier est blessé. "Une balle avait pénétré par le côté de son gilet pare-balles et l'avait touché à la clavicule. La balle avait été extraite par un médecin suisse à l'hôpital de Naplouse", se rappelle Bertrand Coq.

Féru de sport, ancien champion de descente à ski, le grand reporter "mettait dans son travail tout l'acharnement, tout le talent et toute la motivation d'un grand sportif. Il ne rentrait jamais sans les images. Jamais", souligne Bertrand Coq.

"Gilles était un des meilleurs de France 2, un homme hors norme, on est tous sous le choc, il va beaucoup, beaucoup nous manquer", a déclaré Thierry Thuillier, directeur de l'information du groupe France Télévisions.

bur-bow/jca/far/ej# LIRE AUSSI TEMOIGNAGES EN PAGE PRESS

PEC saddened by the death of Gilles Jacquier

Geneva (PEC) – 11 January 2012- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is deeply saddened by the death of French TV journalist of France 2 Gilles Jacquier, who was killed in Syria by a bomb blast in Homs.

The PEC condemns the killing of Gilles Jacquier in the strongest possible manner.

According to a cameraman the blast fell over many journalists. Mostly foreign journalists were covering the Syrian uprising and the visit was organized by the Syrian authorities.

Gilles Jacquier was an experienced journalist who worked in several war zones since 1991: Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Israel, Ivory Coast and Libya.

The PEC calls for an independent enquiry by the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to locate the firing of the blast, those responsible and to bring them to justice.

The French TV journalist is the first Western journalist killed since the beginning of the people’s uprising in Syria as of 15 March 2011.

Three other Syrian journalists were killed since the beginning of the uprising and the PEC calls upon the Syrian authorities not only to ensure access for media but to provide the necessary actions for their protection.

The Geneva based NGO; with special UN consultative status calls upon the international community to take up the necessary additional measures for the protection of journalists in conflict zones.

The PEC expresses its deep sympathy with the families of journalists killed or wounded in Syria, who they themselves like the journalists pay a very high price.

23 journalistes so far were killed during the current Arab uprising, in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bharain and Syria.

107 journalists were killed in 2011 while exercising their profession. 

حملة الشارة الدولية ادين مقتل
الصحفي الفرنسي جيل جاكيه

جنيف-القاهرة (حملة الشارة) – 12 يناير 2012- دانت اليوم حملة الشارة الدولية لحماية الصحفي بأقصى الكلمات مقتل صحفي فرانس 2 الفرنسي جيل جاكيه حينما سقطت عليه و زملائه قذيفة و هم يقومون بتغطية لمسيرة مؤيدة في "منطقة الزهراء- حي عكرمة" في مدينة حمص.

يذكر أن السلطات السورية كانت المنظمة لهذه الزيارة.

و كان الصحفي الفرنسي من أصحاب الخبرة في تغطية الحروب أذ قام بتغطية العراق و افغانستان و كوسوفو و إسرائيل.

و طالبت حملة الشارة الدولية بتحقيق مستقل من قبل مكتب مفوضة حقوق الانسان لتحديد مكان اطلاق القذيفة و ملاحقة من اطلقها و تقديمه للمحاكمة.

و الصحفي الفرنسي المقتول هو أول صحفي غربي يقتل في سوريا في حين قتل من قبله 3 من الصحفيين السوريين منذ بداية انتفاضة الشعب السوري في 15 مارس الماضي.

و حملت الحملة الدولية الحكومة السورية المسئولية في توفير التغطية للصحفيين للأحداث و في حمايتهم.

و طالبت المجتمع الدولي باتخاذ خطوات عاجلة و ضرورية من أجل حماية الصحفيين في مناطق النزاع المسلح.

و اعربت حملة الشارة عن عميق تعازيها لأسر القتلى من الصحفيين في سوريا و أيضاً الجرحى منهم لأنهم يدفعون ثمنا باهظاً في فقدان أحبائهم.

يذكر ان 23 من الصحفيين قتلوا أثناء انتفاضة الربيع العربي في تونس و مصر و ليبيا و اليمن و البحرين و سوريا.

و تذكر حملة الشارة أن 107 من الصحفيين قتلوا في 2011 و هم يؤدون عملهم.

لمزيد من المعلومات برجاء الاطلاع على موقع الشارة 

SIRIA : La PEC consternada por asesinato de periodista francés

Ginebra,  11 ene (PEC) La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC*) está consternada por la muerte, este miércoles, del periodista  Gilles Jacquier, de la televisión francesa France 2, en Siria y condena este atentando en los términos más enérgicos. El periodista se encontraba junto a otros colegas realizando un reportaje en Homs, en el centro del país.

Según un fotógrafo que se hallaba en el lugar, un obús cayó sobre el grupo de periodistas. Hubo también varios heridos en el grupo de periodistas extranjeros, que se encontraban en Homs como parte de un viaje autorizado por las autoridades sirias. Gilles Jacquier era un periodista experimentado que había trabajado desde 1991 en Irak, Afganistán, Kosovo e Israel, fundamentalmente.

La PEC demanda la apertura de una investigación independiente por parte del Alto Comisariado de la ONU para los derechos humanos, a fin de determinar el origen de los tiros, identificar a los responsables y llevarlos  ante la justicia.

El periodista francés es el primer periodista occidental muerto en Siria desde el inicio de la revuelta contra el régimen, el pasado 15 de marzo. Tres otros periodistas de nacionalidad siria resultaron muertos en Siria desde que comenzaron los disturbios. “Las autoridades de Damasco deben no sólo asegurar el acceso de los periodistas independientes a su territorio, sino garantizar la seguridad de los mismos”, ha afirmado la PEC.

Este nuevo atentado demuestra una vez más la necesidad de que la comunidad internacional adopte urgentemente medidas adicionales a fin de reforzar la seguridad de los periodistas en zonas de conflicto, ha reiterado la PEC.   La Campaña Emblema de Prensa expresa  sus condolencias a los familiares de los periodistas muertos o heridos en Siria que pagan, ellas también,  un precio muy alto.

En total, 23 periodistas han sido asesinados en un año en la “primavera árabe” (Túnez, Egipto, Libia, Yemen, Bahrein y Siria) y 107 periodistas perdieron la vida en el ejercicio de su profesión en el transcurso  del pasado año.

(*) Siglas en inglés.

***10.01.2012. PEC SPECIAL REPORT ON LATIN AMERICA - PERIODISMO INDEPENDIENTE BAJO FUEGO CRUZADO EN LATINOAMERICA (Summary in English below)

En América Latina no importa el país, no importa el gobierno, no importa la ideología de los Estados, el periodismo independiente y el derecho de la sociedad a la información se encuentran a fuego cruzado entre la
agresión física de unos grupos, y las amenazas y acoso psicológico de otros, en una atmósfera de impunidad y corrupción sin límites.
Actualmente, el problema para los comunicadores independientes es crítico in extremis porque el ejercicio de la violencia contra ellos va acompañada de otros agravantes como amenazas de muerte, atentados terroristas a
instalaciones, ataques a familiares y la imposición de autocensura a los medios para acallar la voz de la sociedad representada en el periodismo.
Latinoamérica lleva el triste liderazgo a nivel global, de violencia y muerte ejercida contra los profesionales de la comunicación independiente.
Según el Ticking Clock de Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), en América Latina, al menos 35 periodistas han sido asesinados sólo en 2011, lo que representa un 33% de un total de 107, las evidencias colectadas por PEC
muestran inequívocamente que cada vez son más los países implicados donde la violencia se inflinge directamente contra periodistas de parte de diferentes actores.
Por países, han sido asesinados: 12 en México, 6 en Honduras, 6 en Brasil, 3 en Perú, 1 en: Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Haití, Panamá, R. Dominicana, El Salvador y Venezuela. 1 Lo que muestra a Centro América,
con 23 asesinatos, como la región más crítica para el periodismo, siendo México con el 11.5% el que lleva la bandera de sangre contra profesionales y medios a nivel global. Efectivamente, la intensidad de la violencia en
México da cuenta, desde el 2008, que un periodista (+) muere o desaparece cada mes (con una frecuencia de 1.13). Chihuahua, Guerrero y Tamaulipas son las regiones más inseguras para los periodistas, donde se comete el 50% de los atentados, mientras que Michoacán es la región con mayor número de desapariciones de periodistas. A este fenómeno de muertes violentas de comunicadores, hay que adjuntar situaciones de amenazas y desapariciones y exilios.
18 DESAPARICIONES FORZADAS. Se han reportado 18 periodistas desaparecidos en México desde el 2003, de los cuales 4 han sido encontrados muertos, de acuerdo a la agencia latinoamericana de información AMENAZAS DE MUERTE.
Al menos, 34 periodistas han sido amenazados de muerte en América Latina: 7 en Honduras; 5 en Colombia; 3 en Perú; 3 en Argentina; 3 en Venezuela; 2 en Ecuador; 2 en Haití y uno en: República Dominicana, Brasil, Argentina, Bolivia y Paraguay. Notando que en la práctica, las muertes de periodistas van precedidas de amenazas, por lo que muchos periodistas se han exiliado.
EXILIADOS DE: Venezuela, G. Zuloaga, R. Poleo y P. Poleo. Nicaragua, S. Gonzáles; México, A. Hernández y Rosa Pérez; Ecuador, E. Palacio y Mary Luz Avendaño.
En la práctica, las amenazas de muerte a los periodistas son mucho más numerosas de lo que pueden recoger las estadísticas, ya que por ejemplo, las Networks del narco-terror se extienden fácilmente desde México hacia
pequeños pueblos en el interior del resto de países centroamericanos, donde constantemente, medios como radio y televisión son amenazados y atacados.

FULGURANTE AGRESION AL PERIODISMO. AMERICAS: DE LA CENSURA A LA AUTOCENSURA
Las muertes, amenazas y desapariciones no son los únicos fenómenos que se producen en Latinoamérica, la realidad muestra que se están desarrollando otros tipos de violencia contra la labor del periodismo independiente.
Analizamos por país esta perspectiva:
MEXICO. AGRESIONES : el 49.03 % de agresiones durante el 2010 y 2011 fueron cometidas por autoridades públicas. Las agresiones pueden ser físicas y verbales, individuales y colectivas contra comunicadores
independientes. SECUESTROS: 4 secuestros en el 2011 donde no se pidió dinero de rescate sino difusión de videos. La Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos ha detectado en e último decenio, más de 600 casos de
quejas por violaciones, sin contar extorsiones, amenazas, secuestros, que provienen tanto del crimen como del aparato estatal. VIOLENCIA CONTRAFAMILIARES: En este período uno de los hechos de mayor impacto
ocurrió el 20 de junio 2011, en Veracruz, cuando fue asesinado Miguel Ángel López Velasco, columnista del periódico Notiver, junto con su hijo Misael López, y su esposa Agustina Solana. VIOLENCIA SIMBOLICA: El 2 de
julio, un grupo de sujetos desconocidos arrojó los cadáveres de dos hombres decapitados a las instalaciones de los periódicos Noroeste y El Debate del puerto de Mazatlán. Dos chicas estudiantes ejecutadas por sus
denuncias sobre narcotráfico en las redes sociales, M- Macías encontrada con su cuerpo desmembrado y su cabeza juto a un teclado y ratón de computadora. 11 ATAQUES A INSTALACIONES: según Artículo 19 se han
perpetrado dos a Vanguardia y uno a: Televisa Piedras Negras; El Norte Suplemento; Radiorama; Canal 9 Multimedios; El Sur; El Sol de Chilpancingo; El Debate; El Noroeste; El Siglo de Torreón.Notando que la
violencia tiene aspectos de guerra, por ejemplo, en mayo 2011 fueron atacadas con granadas a fragmentación las oficinas del periódico La Vanguardia. Cinco reporteros de ese medio decidieron abandonar la ciudad
ante la falta de garantías para su protección.
HONDURAS. Existe evidencia irrefutable de 28 casos de atentados a la prensa en el 2011, remarcables sobre todo por la violencia extrema contra el ejercicio del periodismo IMPUNIDAD ESCANDALOSA: 17 periodistas han sido asesinados en los últimos 20 meses y ningún caso se ha investigado.
AMENAZAS E INTIMIDACIONES: realizadas contra periodistas y editores (y familiares) de: El Heraldo, La Tribuna, Televicentro, Radio Globo, y Globo TV. El problema de las amenazas a periodistas es de tal grado, que ha
debido intervenir la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos con medidas cautelares, en los casos de Aguilar y Gadalmez, por ejemplo.
ATENTADOS: Gabriel Alvarez, hijo de una pareja de periodistas recibió amenazas de muerte.El 23 de mayo Manuel Acosta Medina sufrió un atentado en la ciudad de Tegucigalpa, recibió cuatro impactos de bala y sobrevivió gracias a una oportuna intervención médica. DENEGACION DE JUSTICIA: El 8 de octubre, la empresa Teleunsa interpuso recursos legales ante la Corte Suprema de Justicia por la confiscación del Canal 8. Asimismo, el grupo denunció denegación de justicia en los casos de interferencia de las frecuencias de sus otros dos canales de televisión de parte de un operador privado y de la no inclusión de los mismos de parte de un operador de cable a pesar que la ley los obliga a ello.
BRASIL. 33 AGRESIONES: seis asesinatos, dos intentos de asesinato, dos detenciones, ocho casos de agresión física, seis casos de censura judicial y tres abusos de poder. 3 confiscaciones de equipos. 3 acusaciones de
desacato con multas. SENSURA JUDICIAL: Hace dos años y medio se impuso judicialmente una cessura al diario O Estado de Sao Paulo y al grupo Estado. Un fallo dictado por el juez de apelaciones Dacio Vieira, del
Tribunal de Justicia del Distrito Federal y Territorios, prohibió la publicación por el diario O Estado de S. Paulo, o cualquier otro medio suscrito a los servicios editoriales del grupo O Estado, de informes que contengan información resultante de archivos obtenidos por la Policía Federal de Maranhão sobre supuestas irregularidades de parte del empresario Fernando Sarney, hijo de José Sarney, presidente del Senado y ex presidente de la República, so pena de incurrir en una multa de R $ 150,000 por “cada acto de violación de esta orden judicial”.
COLOMBIA. ATENTADOS: Rodríguez periodista radial, salió ileso de un atentado a bala por su labor periodística. G. Guillén, robo disco duro de 1000 gigas y computador con información sensible. ACCIONES JUDICIALES: en
la actualidad, es muy preocupante la prescripción jurídica de crímenes contra periodistas y el uso de acciones civiles como la tutela y la acción popular, para demandar información sobre reportes judiciales que publican
los medios, a los que la policía entrega datos. Medios demandados por este hecho: El Tiempo, El País, El Colombiano y el Meridiano de Córdoba. Un fallo condenando a Luis González director del Cundinamarca Democrática, 20 meses de prisión y pago de veinte salarios mínimos mensuales, por delito de injuria y calumnia agravada.
VENEZUELA. AGRESIONES: L a libertad de expresión bajo fuego del Estado en un 81%. 113 agresiones directas contra la prensa y 34 radios embargadas. Tres periodistas y la directora de Control Ciudadano R. San Miguel
declarados como ¡objetivo militar!. CONDENAS JUDICIALES: siete procesos contra Globovisión, y por la cobertura de una crisis carcelaria que dejó unos 30 muertos, detienen a su directora, y condena al pago millonario de
2.16 millones de dólares. MECANISMOS DE SENSURA INDIRECTA: abuso de la publicidad oficial para castigar a los supuestos opositores y premiar a los obedientes; se abren procesos intimidatorios sin fundamentos; se
utilizan dineros del Estado para comprar medios independientes. Según el Consejo Nacional de Periodistas sección Zulia, la empresa Zuvisión dejó en la calle a mas de 50 trabajadores cuando tuvo que cerrar, comprado luego por grupos del gobierno igual que Tele N. Descalificación de la oposición con hackers y por Internet. CLAUSURA DE MEDIOS: 32 radios las concesiones fueron clausuradas. Cierre de canal de televisión en Pedraza y cierre de Zuvisión. ATAQUE A INSTALACIONES Y EQUIPOS: canal Anzátegui TV, robo de equipos técnicos del control máster. Canal de TV Vive de Maracaibo atacado a balazos hiriendo a dos periodistas.
PERU. ACOSO Y ACUSACIONES CONTRA LA JUSTICIA: 5 acusaciones, querellas judiciales y condenas contra periodistas por opinar sobre corrupción. 7 casos de periodistas obligados a renunciar a su trabajo por presiones,
censura y amenazas. Condena a tres años de pena privativa de la libertad efectiva y multa al periodista Garay Ramírez por 3500 S/.
GUATEMALA. INTIMIDACIONES: aunque registra en el 2011 un periodista asesinado, las amenazas son incalculables en los pequeños pueblos. Por ejemplo, el director de El Periódico denunció que grupos dedicados al
narcotráfico intentan sobornar a funcionarios y jueces para ser procesado y así acallar sus investigaciones periodísticas.
ARGENTINA. SECUESTROS: 2 en Argentina por cubrir denuncias sobre tráfico humano. ADJUDICACION INDISCRIMINADA DE PUBLICIDAD: según el informe 2011 de la sociedad interamericana de prensa, hasta un 44% de la publicidad destinada al sector, le ha sido adjudicada a un medio dócil al gobierno.
De las adjudicaciones a televisión, un 48% se otorgó a un canal de tercera categoría en audiencia, mientras que un 0,5% al de primera categoría (…).
ATAQUE DIRECTO AL PERIODISMO INDEPENDIENTE: a través de la declaración de interés público de la producción, comercialización y distribución del papel periódico y contenidos, concesión de licencias e instalación de sanciones a medios audiovisuales.
HAITI. DESPIDOS: 5 periodistas despedidos de la Haïti TNH presuntamente, por su postura política contra el presidente. ATAQUE A INSTALACIONES: Incendiada estación de radio comunitaria Tét Ansanm Karis. ACUSADOS Y DETENIDOS: Ernst Joseph y Wolf Duralph de radio Prévention.
CHILE : en los últimos 2 años, Más de 700 han perdido su trabajo en los últimos dos años según la red Bitacoras, así: unos 200 de Canal 13; unos 350 de Copesa; 67 de RedTV; 120 de El Mercurio; 30 de Iberoamericana. 500 periodistas están en cesantía según CIAP-FELAP.
ECUADOR. PROCESOS JUDICIALES: contra 3 directivos y 1 editor de El Universo, tres años de prisión y 40 millones de dólares a favor del presidente Correa. 1 periodista Walter Vite, sentenciado por injurias y
encarcelado y 500 mil dólares. 4 periodistas y 1 director de El Diario demandados penalmente y pago de un millón 500 mil dólares, por publicar noticias de corrupción. ENCARCELADOS: 1 bloguero y 1 camarógrafo.
QUERELLAS: administrativas en contra 1 diario (Hoy), 1 Canal (Ecuavisa) y 5 denuncias contra la revista vistazo. 2 autores C. Zurita y J. Calderón por libro “El Gran Hermano”. Procesados por la administración Correa y pago de 10 millones de dólares. Los 2anteriores tienen: 4 demandas de secretarios del gobierno, piden cinco años de prisión..2 a Franco de El Universo, prisión y 3 000 dólares, y en segunda denuncia pago de 10 millones de dólares. La Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones notificó a 7 estaciones de radio con procesos judiciales por haberse enlazado sin autorización el día de la independencia 10 de Agosto. Fotoperiodista S. DÍaz detenido. Un actor Alberto Cajamarca planteó contra presentadores de canal RTS, demanda indemnización de 40 millones del canal y 10 millones de una reportera y 5 millones por cada uno de los 3 presentadores total 65 millones. AGRESIONES : 1 Peter Tavra, ataque a su vivienda y captura. Ataque a bala a las instalaciones de El Diario de Manta. En Chone, una amenaza de muerte. Eduardo Benítez de Telecosta herido a bala en un brazo. Aquiles Arismendi de La Voz, disparos contra su vehículo junto a su familia y amenaza de muerte. Elena Rodríguez de Telesur pateada en el suelo con traumatismo craneal y amenazada de muerte (Fuente: CIDH).
Un total de 19 medios de comunicación entre periódicos, canales de televisión y otros, han pasado a manos del gobierno. en 2010,hubo 151 agresiones a comunicadores y 156 en el 2011 (Fuente: Fundamedios). En
total los periodistas en Ecuador han sido demandados entre el 2010 y 2011 al pago de más de 127 millones de dólares.
Una propuesta del ejecutivo de reforma al Código Penal dedicada a los periodistas establece 3 años de prisión a la injuria contra una autoridad.
Se introduce una figura penal de responsabilidad de un contenido difundido por un medio de comunicación a los directivos de la empresa que no da a las autoridades el nombre de la persona que hizo la noticia.
CONCLUSIONES: El periodismo se encuentra a fuego cruzado de cuerpos de seguridad del Estado y de grupos armados ilegales, los asesinatos y agresiones a periodistas se presentan en países de tendencia derechista e
izquierdista. Si en la época de la guerra fría el enemigo de los gobiernos eran los ejércitos revolucionarios, actualmente, se está instrumentalizando al periodismo independiente como al nuevo enemigo
interno. En Latinoamérica, cada vez hay más países en los que más medios pasan a manos del Estado, el objetivo es construir una estructura mediática para oficial a la que los gobiernos no tienen que rendir
cuentas. Asesinatos, atentados, amenazas, juicios, agresión a familiares, encarcelamientos e indemnizaciones millonarias han impuesto una censura estratégica que yugula la libre opinión y atenta contra el derecho de la
sociedad a la información. Este macabro contexto en el que se instrumentaliza al miedo está ayudando a que se instale, definitiva y firmemente, la autocensura.
Para Press Emblem Campaign PEC.
Darío Cervantes.

SUMMARY: PEC SPECIAL REPORT ON LATIN AMERICA 2011 
By: Dario Cervantes (PEC board member)
This paper shows that violent deaths are not the unique danger faced by journalists in Latin America. Effective violence is always preceded by direct threats against journalists and their families: killings, enforced
disappearances and terrorist attacks against local and national journalism agencies. But the Latin American context provides a large range of grievances, which goes beyond physical violence, making journalism
activities more critical in a variety of ways, and rising Latin America to the most dangerous region, for freedom of expression, at global level.
VIOLENT DEATHS. According to Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) in 2011, 35 journalists were killed in the region, which means 33% out a total of 107. Implicated countries are Mexico 12; Honduras 6; Brazil 6; Peru 3; and
Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Panama, Dominican R., El Salvador and Venezuela, 1 for each one. There is no doubt, Mexico is globally the most dangerous with 11.5%, besides, since 2008, with a frequency of 1.13
journalists killed or disappeared.
18 ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES, 30 DEATH THREATS AND 8 EXILES. All enforced disappearances correspond to Mexico only, where 4 of them have been found right dead. Death threats concern countries like: Honduras 7; Colombia 5; Peru, Argentina and Venezuela 3 by country; Ecuador 2; Haiti 2; and Dominican R., Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, 1 in each country.
Exiled journalists from: Venezuela 3; Mexico 2; Ecuador 2; Nicaragua 1. In this context it is important to highlight that journalist murders are always preceded by threats and enforced disappearances.
ATTEMPTED MURDERS OF JOURNALISTS. In Honduras, Manuel Acosta received four gunshots and survived thanks to timely medical assistance. In Colombia, Rodriguez escaped a fire attack for his labour as a radio journalist. In Venezuela, two journalists were injured following an attack to TV Vive channel. In Ecuador, following a heavy attack to the daily El Diario, fortunately, no human injury was reported, but, in another case, Eduardo Benitez from Telecosta and A. Arismendi from La Voz were seriously wounded.
ATTACKS ON PRESS FACILITIES. Attacking media facilities seems to be a new way of stifling freedom of expression. With 11 cases, Mexico is on top of the list, where violence has rather aspects of war; i.e. on May 2011, La Vanguardia was attacked with fragmentation weapons. In Mazatlán, unknown people threw beheaded bodies of two men into the premises of the newspapers Noroeste and El Debate. Venezuela with 2 cases is another country where war has shown different forms; i.e. TV Vive channel from Maracaibo was heavily attacked with weapons, two journalists were injured.
In Haiti was burned down a radio station. In Ecuador, the newspaper El Diario from Manta was fired.
THREATS AGAINST JOURNALISTS AND THEIR RELATIVES. This kind of violence is particularly aggressive to intimidate journalists. In Veracruz Mexico, on June of this year, a journalist from the Notiver newspaper was murdered, besides his son and his wife were brutally killed. In Honduras, Gabriel Alvarez, the son of a journalist couple was threatened of death. In Ecuador, Aquiles Arismendi of La Voz radio was furiously fire attacked
while he was with his family.
MASSIVE AGRESSIONS AND INTIMIDATIONS. In Honduras, there are irrefutable evidences of at least 28 cases of attacks against the press. In Brazil the have been 33 aggressions. In Venezuela, 113 direct aggressions, 34
embargoed radios, and 3 journalists and Watch director declared a “military target”. In Chile, more than 700 journalists have been fired from their jobs, about 200 of Channel 13 and about 350 of Copesa (…). In
Colombia, 67 attack on journalists according to FLIP. Ecuador with 156 cases has the aggression record of the continent. In addition, journalists in this country have been sued for the payment of more than 127 million
dollars, and there are 40 millions outstanding a legal process in favour of the President.
OUTRAGEOUS IMPUNITY. In Latin America, there is a widespread climate of impunity, where cases of victims involving journalists and their families are the least investigated ones. In México, impunity reaches 98.5%
according to Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey. In Honduras, 17 journalists have been murdered in the last 20 months and no case has ever been investigated. In Colombia, impunity is part of a rational strategic
construction; there is a strong concern on legal prescription of crimes against journalists, in 2011, eight crime cases have, already, legally prescribed.
ABUSE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. Another challenge is the abuse of legal system from governmental authorities against those whose comments are seen as “political or personal offence” by the regime. In Brazil, judicial censorship is being used against media, emblematic is the case against the O Estado newspaper, in which a judgement prohibits any edition concerning information about the family of
former president Sarney. In Colombia is used “la tutela” to control information from newspapers. In Venezuela 7 court sentences and 32 radios closed down. In Peru 5 legal charges and 7 journalists forced to quit
their job. In Guatemala is normal to bribe judges to prosecute journalists. En Ecuador, 19 media have been shifted to the State. In Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua etc. lucrative advertising contracts are awarded to media in recognition of his pro-government editions.
CONCLUSIONS : Journalism finds itself cross fired by State and Non-State actors, and this context is very far to come to an end. Where there have been no death, it has been repression, manipulation and abuse of legal
framework against media. If at the time of the Cold War illegal armed groups were considered enemies by governments, in L.A. nowadays, independent journalism is being, dangerously, manipulated as “the new
internal enemy”. There are more countries where more media pass in government’s hands; additionally huge advertising rewards are being used by some States to build devices in order to put information media under
their absolute control.
END

***19.12.2011. PEC ANNUAL REPORT 2011 - at least 106 JOURNALISTS KILLED IN 2011 // Rapport annuel de la PEC: au moins 106 journalistes tués en 2011 // PEC INFORME: Al menos 106 periodistas asesinados en 2011 (English, French, Spanish, Arabic) (Click left on Ticking clock for details on casualties)

PEC report 2011 (French, Spanish and Arabic below)

At least 106 journalists killed in the course of the year

Geneva, 19 December 2011 (PEC) -- According to the figures registered by the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), at least 106 journalists have been killed during the current year in 39 countries -- around 2 every week. The revolutions of the Arab Spring resulted in at least 20 journalists killed.

Compared with 2010 (105 killed), the figure on 18th December shows no improvement - while 2009 was a record year, largely owing to the massacre of 32 journalists in the Philippines in one day, for a total of 122 killed. 91 journalists were killed in 2008 and 115 in 2007.

PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen said that 2011 was a particularly dangerous year for media work because of the coverage of the uprisings in many Arab countries. In addition to the killing of more than 20 journalists during the Arab Spring, more than 100 others were attacked, intimidated, arrested and wounded in countries of the region, including Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

Mexico, Pakistan most dangerous countries

For the second year in a row, Mexico has been the most dangerous country for media work with 12 journalists killed since January. The raging war between the army and the drug cartels in the north explains this heavy toll in Mexico. The casualties could be higher if figures were known for journalists who were victims of enforced disappearances.

Again for the second year in a row, Pakistan comes in second with 11 journalists killed, the majority of whom were killed on the border with Afghanistan.

Iraq is tied for third place with Libya with 7 journalists killed during the Libyan armed conflict. In these 4 countries are concentrated more than one third (37) of all casualties.

Next come the Philippines with 6 killed, Brazil (6) and Honduras (6), then Yemen with 5 killed followed by Somalia (4), then Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Peru, and Russia with 3 each.

Two journalists died in Bahrain, 2 in Thailand. One was killed in each of the following countries: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Gaza (OPT), Guatemala, Haiti, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Uganda, Panama, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Latin America the most dangerous region

By region, Latin America leads with 35 killed in one year. The situation is worrying. In addition to the killing of journalists, threats and attacks against media and their representatives have increased. Press freedom is threatened in many Latin American countries by government tactics to obtain control of information and to discredit, intimidate and prosecute journalists, all of which leads to self-censorship. Asia (excluding the Middle East) is the second most dangerous region with 30 killed, then the Middle East and North Africa with 28 killed. In Africa (excluding North Africa) 9 journalists were killed, in Europe 4 (3 in Russia and 1 in Ukraine).

One year after the beginning of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, PEC president Hedayat Abdelnabi noted that improvements are very slow in the field and that remnants of the past still prevail in curbing freedom of expression. When young people express thenmselves through social media and internet and flood into the streets in peaceful demonstrations, they are faced with the brutal use of force.

One year later, the security apparatus is still using the tactics of the past, remarked Abdelnabi, and hunting down journalists. As 2011 ends and 2012 starts, says Abdelnabi, impunity must disappear and the rule of law must take precedence over all current conflicting interests. Women journalists in particular paid the highest price when attacked sexually both in Libya and Egypt.

Owing to the gravity and intensity of the situation, the Geneva based NGO with UN consultative status issued 46 press statements and intervened 11 times during the Human Rights Council's discussions this year.

Intentionnaly targeted

Two thirds of the journalists killed, that is some 70 of the total, were intentionally targeted, especially in Latin America. Others were accidentally killed during demonstrations, in fights, in suicide bombings or in mine explosions. There are half a dozen cases worldwide where the causes leading to the death of journalists are still unclear, stressed PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen.

Lempen added that 68 of the fallen journalists were killed in countries experiencing armed conflict, popular uprisings, repression, terrorism and crime. Others were killed in countries where peace prevailed.

Some progress

In view of this serious situation, the PEC warmly applauds the governments and international organizations for their growing awareness that the journalism profession faces growing dangers in totally novel situations.

A number of countries have launched initiatives for the protection of journalists, and a number of conferences have been organized to this effect, notably that of UNESCO in Paris in September, one in Vienna organized by the Austria government in November, and a forthcoming conference organized by Qatar and scheduled for January 2012 in Doha.

In the Amman - Dead Sea forum organized by the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ), a resounding call echoed throughout the forum for an Arab convention for the protection of journalists, which would draw on the current document circulated as the PEC's December 2007 draft convention.

Rapport annuel de la PEC
Au moins 106 journalistes tués en 2011

Genève (PEC, 19 décembre 2011) - Au moins 106 journalistes ont été tués dans 39 pays en 2011, a affirmé la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) dans son rapport annuel, soit près de deux journalistes par semaine. Les troubles liés au "printemps arabe" ont  été à l'origine d'au moins 20 décès.

Comparativement à 2010 (105 journalistes tués), le chiffre de 2011 (jusqu'au 18 décembre)  ne marque aucune amélioration. En 2007, 115 journalistes avaient été tués, et en 2008 : 91. L'année 2009 avait constitué un record avec 122 journalistes tués (en raison du massacre de 32 journalistes aux Philippines en un seul jour),  selon le décompte de la PEC.

"L'année écoulée a été particulièrement dangereuse pour de nombreux employés des medias, en raison des soulèvements dans plusieurs pays arabes. Au moins 20 journalistes sont morts dans l'exercice de leur métier pendant ces troubles. Une centaine d'autres employés des medias ont été attaqués, harcelés, arrêtés, blessés lors des événements en Egypte, Libye, Syrie, Tunisie et Yémen", a affirmé le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen.

Mexique, Pakistan pays les plus dangereux

Le pays le plus dangereux pour les journalistes est le Mexique, comme l'an dernier, avec au moins 12 victimes depuis janvier. La guerre qui fait rage entre l'armée et les cartels de la drogue dans le nord du pays explique ce bilan très élevé. A noter que le bilan réel pourrait être encore plus lourd dans ce pays, en raison de plusieurs cas de disparition non élucidés.

Le Pakistan a été le deuxième pays le plus meurtrier (comme en 2010), avec 11 tués, principalement dans les zones frontalières de l'Afghanistan.

L'Irak a été le troisième pays le plus dangereux, avec sept morts, en même temps que la Libye, où sept journalistes sont décédés en relation avec le conflit.

Les Philippines sont au 5e rang (six tués),  avec le Brésil (six) et le Honduras (six). Suivent le Yémen (cinq), la Somalie (quatre), puis l'Afghanistan (trois), l'Inde (trois), l'Egypte (trois), la Russie (trois) et le Pérou (trois).

Deux journalistes sont morts au Bahraïn,  et 2 en Thaïlande. Un journaliste a été tué dans chacun des pays suivants: Algérie, Azerbaïdjan, Bolivie, Chine, Colombie, Côte d'Ivoire, Gaza (territoires palestiniens occupés), Guatemala, Haïti, Népal, Nigéria, Ouganda, Panama,  République démocratique du Congo, République dominicaine, Salvador, Sierra Leone, Syrie, Tunisie, Ukraine, Venezuela, Vietnam.

Amérique latine en tête

Par région, l'Amérique latine a été la plus meurtrière, avec 35 journalistes tués en un an. L'évolution y est inquiétante. Outre les assassinats de journalistes, les menaces et attaques à l'encontre de medias se sont multipliées. La liberté de la presse y est menacée dans plusieurs pays par des manoeuvres de gouvernements visant à contrôler l'information en discréditant et intimidant les journalistes, les harcelant sur le plan judiciaire et en les contraignant à l'autocensure.

Suit l'Asie avec 30 tués. Au Moyen-Orient plus l'Afrique du Nord, 28 journalistes sont morts, en raison des troubles dans plusieurs pays arabes. Neuf journalistes ont été tués en Afrique (sans l'Afrique du Nord). En Europe, quatre victimes sont à déplorer (3 en Russie et 1 en Ukraine).

"Un an après le début de la révolution en Tunisie le 17 décembre, les progrès sont très lents sur le terrain et les habitudes du passé continuent de restreindre la liberté de la presse. Les jeunes qui manifestent sur les réseaux sociaux, dans les blogs et dans la rue continuent de se heurter à l'usage de la force", a déclaré la présidente de la PEC Hedayat Abdel Nabi.

"Un an après, l'appareil de sécurité continue d'agir avec les tactiques du passé et de pourchasser les journalistes", a ajouté la présidente de la PEC. Elle a appelé à lutter contre l'impunité et pour le respect de l'Etat de droit en 2012.

Les journalistes femmes ont payé en particulier un prix très lourd lors du "printemps arabe", avec plusieurs cas de violences sexuelles en Egypte et Libye.

Visés intentionnellement

Plus des deux tiers des journalistes (70) ont été visés intentionnellement (pratiquement tous ceux tués en Amérique latine). Les autres sont morts accidentellement lors de manifestations, dans des combats, lors d'attentats à la bombe ou d'explosions de mines. Les causes sont encore incertaines dans une demi-douzaine de cas, a souligné le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen.

Plus des deux tiers des victimes (68) sont mortes dans des pays traversant une période de conflit (guerre ouverte, soulèvements populaires, répression sanglante, terrorisme, criminalité à grande échelle); le reste dans des pays en paix.

Conséquence de cette forte actualité, la PEC a publié cette année un record de 46 communiqués et est intervenue 11 fois lors des débats du Conseil des droits de l'homme à Genève.

Des progrès

La PEC salue une plus grande prise de conscience de gouvernements et des organisations internationales sur le fait que la profession de journaliste est confrontée à des risques accrus et doit bénéficier d'une plus grande protection en raison de la multiplication des conflits.

Plusieurs pays ont lancé des initiatives au cours de l'année écoulée. Des réunions ont eu lieu sur la nécessité de renforcer la sécurité des journalistes, notamment à Paris en septembre, à l'initiative de l'UNESCO, et en novembre à Vienne, organisée par l'Autriche. Une conférence organisée par le Qatar sur la protection des journalistes dans les zones dangereuses est en outre prévue en janvier à Doha.

Lors du forum organisé par le Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) début décembre à Amman (Jordanie), le projet de convention internationale de la PEC a reçu un large soutien.

PEC Informe
Al menos 106 periodistas asesinados en 2011

Ginebra, 19 dic 2011 (PEC). Por lo menos 106 periodistas fueron asesinados en 39 países durante 2001, es decir cerca de dos periodistas por semana, según afirma la Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC*) en su informe anual. Los acontecimientos vinculados a la « primavera árabe » fueron la causa de al menos 20 muertes.

En comparación con 2010 (105 periodistas asesinados, hasta el 18 de diciembre)  2011 no muestra mejoria. El año 2009 constituyó un récord con 122 periodistas muertos, en particular debido a la matanza en un solo día de 32 periodistas en Filipinas. En orden decreciente siguen 2007 con 115 y 2008 con 91 periodistas asesinados, según las cifras de la PEC.

«El año transcurrido ha sido particularmente peligroso para numerosos trabajadores de los medios, debido a los levantamientos en países árabes. Al menos 20 periodistas perdieron la vida en el ejercicio de su profesión durante la cobertura de estos acontecimientos. Un centenar de otros empleados de los medios fueron objeto de ataques, acoso, detenciones, o resultaron heridos durante los sucesos en Egipto, Libia, Siria, Túnez y Yemen», ha afirmado el secretario general de la PEC, Blaise Lempen.

México y Pakistán, países de mayor peligrosidad

México es el país de mayor peligrosidad por segundo año consecutivo. Desde el pasado enero, se han reportado por lo menos 12 víctimas mortales. La guerra entre el ejército y los carteles de la droga en el Norte del país son las causantes de este elevado balance. Sin embargo, hay que tener en cuenta que el registro podría incluso ser más pesado a causa de numerosos casos no resueltos de desaparecidos.

Pakistán –al igual que en 2010- es el segundo país más sangriento, con un total de 11 periodistas asesinados, en particular en las zonas fronterizas con Afganistán.

Irak fue el tercer país más peligroso, con siete muertes, junto con Libia, donde siete periodistas murieron en relación con el conflicto.

Le siguen las Filipinas (seis muertos), Brasil (seis), Honduras (seis), Yemen (cinco), Somalia (cuatro), Afganistan (tres), Egipto (tres), India (tres), Rusia (tres) y el Perú (tres).

Dos periodistas murieron en Bahréin, y Tailandia. Un periodista fue asesinado en cada uno de los siguientes países: Argelia, Azerbaidjan, Bolivia, China, Colombia,  Costa de Marfil, Gaza (territorio ocupado por Israel), Guatemala, Haití, Nepal, Nigeria, Nueva Zelanda, Uganda, Panamá, República Democrática del Congo, República Dominicana, El Salvador, Sierra Leona, Siria, Túnez, Ucrania, Venezuela y Vietnam.

América Latina la mas mortifera

Por regiones, América Latina fue la más mortífera en 2011, con 35 periodistas asesinados durante el año. La evolución de la situación es inquietante. Además de los asesinatos de periodistas, se han mutiplicado las amenazas y ataques contra los medios. La libertad de prensa está amenazada en varios países debido a las maniobras de los gobiernos tendientes a controlar la información mediante el descrédito y la intimidación de los periodistas, el acoso sobre el plano judicial y el obligarlos a la autocensura.

Seguidamente viene Asia, con 30 asesinados. En el Medio Oriente y en África del Norte, respectivamente, 28 periodistas han muerto a causa de los disturbios en numerosos países árabes. Finalmente, nueve periodistas fueron asesinados en África (a excepción de África del Norte). En Europa, cuatros asesinatos en total, de ellos tres en Rusia y uno en Ucrania.

« Un año después del inicio de la revolución en Túnez el 17 de diciembre, el progreso ha sido lento sobre el terreno y los hábitos del pasado siguen restringiendo la libertad de expresión. Los jóvenes que se expresan a través de las redes sociales, en los “blogs” y en las calles continúan enfrentándose al uso de la fuerza », afirmó la presidenta de la PEC, Hedayat Abdel Nabi.

«Un año después, el aparato de seguridad ha continuado haciendo uso de los métodos del pasado y persiguiendo a los periodistas », ha añadido la presidenta de la PEC, quien – además- ha exhortado a luchar contra la impunidad y por el respeto del Estado de derecho en el 2012.

Las mujeres periodistas en particular han pagado un precio muy pesado en la « primavera árabe », durante la cual fueron objeto de numerosos casos de violencia sexual en Egipto y Libia.

Como consecuencia de esta gran actualidad, la PEC ha publicado este año un récord de 46 comunicados y ha intervenido en 11 ocasiones en los debates del Consejode Derechos Humanos en Ginebra.

Ataques dirigidos

Más de dos tercios de los periodistas (70) fueron atacados intencionalmente (casi todos los muertos en América Latina). Los otros murieron accidentalmente durante manifestaciones, en combates, en ocasión de atentados suicidas o de explosiones de minas. Las causas de una docena de casos todavía siguen siendo inciertas, según subrayó el secretario general de la PEC, Blaise Lempen.

Más de dos tercios de las víctimas (68) murieron en países que atraviesan un período de conflictos (guerra, levantamientos populares, represión sangrienta, terrorismo, criminalidad a gran escala) y el resto en países en condiciones de paz.

Progresos

La PEC saluda una mayor toma de conciencia por parte de gobiernos y organizaciones internacionales sobre el hecho de que la profesión de periodista se enfrenta a riesgos mayores y debe beneficiarse de una mayor protección en razón de la multiplicación de los conflictos.

En el último año varios países han puesto en marcha iniciativas. Se han celebrado reuniones sobre la necesidad de reforzar la seguridad de los periodistas, en especial la que tuvo lugar en Paris el pasado septiembre, a iniciativa de la UNESCO, y otra en noviembre en Viena, organizada por Austria. Una tercera conferencia, auspiciada por Qatar sobre la protección de los periodistas en las zonas peligrosas está prevista para efectuarse en Doha, en enero de 2012.

A principios de diciembre, el proyecto de convención internacional que patrocina la PEC ha recibido un amplio apoyo en ocasión de un foro organizado por el Centro para la Defensa de la Libertad de los Periodistas (CDFJ*) en Amman, Jordania.

(*) Siglas en inglés

تقرير حملة الشارة السنوي

106 ضحايا النزاعات من الصحفيين

جنيف-القاهرة 19 ديسمبر (حملة الشارة) – أعلنت الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي أنه طبقاً للأرقام التي رصدتها فإن 106 من الصحفيين قد قتلوا في عام 2011 في 39 دولة بمعدل 2 من الصحفيين في الأسبوع. و كان عدد القتلى من الصحفيين في دول الربيع العربي 20 على الأقل.

و بالمقارنة بالأرقام التي رصدت حتى 15 ديسمبر من قبل حملة الشارة فلا يوجد تحسن يذكر في حماية الصحفيين، بينما قفز العدد في 2009 إلى 122 من الصحفيين بسبب مذبحة الفلبين الذي قتل فيها في يوم واحد أو ربما خلال ساعة واحدة 32 من الصحفيين، و قتل 91 في 2008 و توقف العدد في 2007 عند 115 من الصحفيين. 

و صرح سكرتير عام الحملة بليز ليمبان أن سنة 2011 كانت سنة خطيرة للغاية فيما يتعلق بالتغطية الإعلامية بسبب اعتقال الصحفيين في عدد من دول الربيع العربي فضلاً عن مقتل أكثر من 20 في تغطية هذه الأحداث و مشيرا إلى أن مائة صحفي على الأقل واجهوا الترهيب و التخويف و هوجمت الصحفيات و تحرشن بهن جنسياً و بصفة خاصة في ليبيا و مصر.   

و يعد يومين من إحياء الذكرى الأولى للثورة التونسية، التي الهبت الوجدان و عقول الشباب في العالم العربي و دفعتهم إلى الثورة، صرحت رئيسة حملة الشارة هدايت عبد النبي بأن ما يطرأ من تحسن في الميدان في المنطقة العربية بطئ بطئ و أن فلول العقود السابقة مازالت تقود حرية الرأي و التعبير حين يلجأ الشباب إلى مظاهرات سلمية فيواجهون باستخدام وحشي و مفرط للقوة. 

و أضافت عبد النبي أن الأجهزة الأمنية لازالت تعمل بعقيلة العقود السابقة و تقوم بصيد الصحفيين.

و قالت أنه و نحن ننهي عام 2011، عام الثورات العربية، و نبدأ عاما جديداً، فلابد من التخلص من عدم تقديم مرتكبي الجرائم ضد الصحفيين للمحاكمة و يجب أن نرى حكم سيادة القانون يعتلي على كل مصالح متضاربة و دول الربيع العربي تبدأ في عملية إعادة البناء إلى دول حديثة من عقود أتت عليها.

و بسبب خطورة الموقف بالنسبة للصحفيين اذاعت الحملة الدولية 46 بيانا و أدلت بـ 11 بيانا في مجلس حقوق الإنسان هذا العام.

المكسيك تظل الخطر للسنة الثانية على التوال

و رصدت حملة الشارة إلى أن المكسيك هي أخطر دولة في العالم للسنة الثانية على التوالي بسقوط 12 من الصحفيين بسبب الحرب الضروس بين الجيش و كارتلات المخدرات و قد تكون الأرقام أعلى لو أن هناك رصداً لعدد الصحفيين الذين اختفوا بشكل قسري.

و مرة ثانية و للسنة الثانية على التوال جاءت باكستان في المرتبة الثانية بسقوط 11 صحفياً في منطقة الحدود مع أفغانستان.

و جاءت العراق في المرتبة الثالثة و ليبيا بسقوط في كل منهما 7 صحفيين قتلا، و في حالة ليبيا قتلوا خلال النزاع المسلح الأخير.

و في هذه الدول الأربعة مجتمعة قتل على الأقل ثلث عدد الصحفيين ضحايا العمل الصحفي هذا العام بواقع 37 من بين الـ 105.   

و قتل في الفلبين 6 و في البرازيل 5 و في هندوراس 6 و في اليمن 5 ثم في أفغانستان 3 و في الصومال 4 و في مصر 3 و في بيرو 3 

و قتل 2 من الصحفيين في البحرين و تايلاند و صحفي واحد في كل من: الجزائر، أذربيجان، بوليفيا، الصين، كولومبيا، كوت ديفوار، غزة، جواتيمالا، هايتي، نيبال، نيجيريا، أوغندا، بنما، جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية، جمهورية الدومينكان، السلفادور، سيراليون، سوريا، تونس، أوكرانيا، فنزويلا و فيتنام.

  
أمريكا اللاتينية تتصدر أكثر المناطق خطورة

و تشير الأرقام أن أكثر 7 دول خطرة قتل فيها 53 من الصحفيين أي أكثر من نصف الرقم العالمي، و سقط في أمريكا اللاتينية 35، و في آسيا 30، و في الشرق الأوسط و شمال إفريقيا 28، و في إفريقيا بدون شمال إفريقيا 8، و في أوروبا 4 من بينهم 3 في روسيا و واحد في أوكرانيا. 

و يذكر أن ثلثي الصحفيين الذين قتلوا سقطوا في حوادث مرتبطة باستهدافهم وهم يقومون بتغطية حدث صحفي أي نحو 70 من الصحفيين. 

و في مصر استهدفت عيون المصورين الصحفيين في شارع محمد محمود بالقاهرة المعروف اليوم بشارع عيون الحرية في نوفمبر 2011. 

 
بعض التقدم

تهيب حملة الشارة باهتمام متزايد من قبل الحكومات و المنظمات الدولية للأخطار المتزايدة ضد الصحفيين، و أن نوعية الأخطار جديدة و متنوعة في مواجهة آلة القمع.

و أيدت عدد من الدول المبادرات المطروحة لحماية الصحفيين كما عقد عدد من المؤتمرات منها مؤتمر باريس لليونسكو في سبتمبر، و مؤتمر في فيينا نظمته الحكومة الاسترالية في نوفمبر، فيما يعقد في الدوحة بقطر اجتماعا في يناير 2012 في نفس الاتجاه. 

و في عمان – البحر الميت بالأردن عقد منتدى المدافعين عن حرية الاعلام في العالم العربي حيث دوت كلمات الدعم لمعاهدة عربية لحماية الصحفيين و تستفيد من الوثيقة التي وزعتها حملة الشارة و هي مشروع معاهدة دولية لحماية الصحفيين وزعت على الحكومات في ديسمبر 2007.



و صرح نضال منصور المدير التنفيذي لمركز حماية و حرية الصحفيين، بأنه يؤيد فكرة الشارة المعترف بها دولياً و التوصل إلى معاهدة دولية لحماية الصحفيين.

بينما أعرب مدير البرامج بالمركز فتح منصور عن ضرورة تشكيل تحالف دولي لمساندة جهود شارة الصحفي من أجل التوصل إلى معاهدة دولية لحماية الصحفيين في مناطق النزاع المسلح و ظروف أخرى خطرة. 

لمزيد من المعلومات رجاء تصفح إلكترونيا موقع حملة الشارة  

***02.12.2011. SYRIA. PEC written statement at the 18th special session of the UN Human Rights Council (English, French, Spanish) - see Human Rights documents A/HRC/18/NGO/57

General Assembly - Human Rights Council - 18th special session

Insure the security of journalists during civil unrests in the Syrian Arab Republic

Last August, at the 17th special session of the Human Rights Council, Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) requested the Syrian authorities to grant immediate access to the country to any foreign journalist wanting to carry out an assignment on the country's territory. Today, PEC deeply regrets that his call has been ignored by the Syrian government, in violation of international standards subscribed to by the Syrian Arab Republic.

More than three months later, PEC notes that the situation of press freedom has deteriorated in Syria. As the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (IICI) point out[1] that «A number of journalists and web activists claimed they had been detained and tortured for reporting on demonstrations.» PEC holds information on threats, arrests and torture during interrogation, committed against employees of international media in Syria. The family members of some of them were subjected to threats and reprisals.

Last November 20, was found in Al-Qasir the mutilated and lifeless body of Ferzat Jarban, a freelance Syrian cameraman. PEC condemns in the strongest terms this deliberated killing.

Cases of disappearances have been reported among journalists and media. PEC calls upon the IICI to further investigate these cases to clarify their fate and to prosecute those responsible.

This case demonstrates once again the need for a new international instrument that provides greater protection for journalists and their staff.

PEC supports the recommendation addressed by the IICI to the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic[2] to ensure full access for media and allow both national and international journalists to cover the events in the country without harassment or intimidation;

PEC demands that those responsible for violations of freedoms and rights of journalists be brought to justice and that the victims and the members of their families be entitled to reparation.

 
[1] A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1 par.56[2] Ibid, par. 112(h)

SYRIE. Déclaration écrite de la PEC à la 18e session spéciale du Conseil des droits de l'homme

Assemblée générale - Conseil des droits de l'homme - 18e session spéciale

Assurer la sécurité des journalistes au cours des violences en Syrie

En août dernier, à l'occasion de la 17e session spéciale du Conseil des droits de l'homme, la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) a demandé aux autorités syriennes de donner immédiatement accès au pays à tout
journaliste étranger désireux de couvrir les événements. Aujourd'hui, la PEC regrette profondément que cet appel ait été ignoré par le gouvernement syrien, en violation des obligations internationales acceptées par la
République arabe syrienne.

Plus de trois mois plus tard, la PEC note que la situation de la liberté de la presse s'est encore détériorée en Syrie. Comme la Commission internationale d'enquête l'a affirmé: "un certain nombre de journalistes
et de militants sur le web ont indiqué avoir été détenus et torturés pour avoir diffusé des informations sur les manifestations".

La PEC a reçu des informations sur des menaces, arrestations et tortures pendant les interrogatoires, commis contre des employés locaux des médias internationaux. Les membres de la famille de certains d'entre eux ont été harcelés et menacés de représailles.

Le 20 novembre dernier, le corps mutilé sans vie du cameraman freelance syrien Ferzat Jarban a été retrouvé à Al-Qasir. La PEC condamne dans les termes les plus vifs cet assassinat. D'autres cas de disparition ont été
rapportés parmi des journalistes et employés des médias.

La PEC demande à la Commission d'enquête internationale de poursuivre son enquête sur ces cas de disparition afin de clarifier leur sort et de poursuivre les responsables en justice. Ces cas démontrent une fois encore
la nécessité d'élaborer un nouvel instrument international renforçant la protection des journalistes et des employés des medias.

La PEC exprime son soutien à la recommandation de la Commission d'enquête faite au gouvernement de Damas d'assurer le plein accès des medias et de permettre aux journalistes nationaux et étrangers de couvrir les
événements dans le pays sans subir d'entraves et de menaces. La PEC demande que les responsables de violations des droits des journalistes soient traduits en justice et que les victimes ainsi que les membres de
leur famille obtiennent réparation.

Garantizar la seguridad de los periodistas durante la violencia en Siria

El pasado agosto, en ocasión de la 17a sesión especial del Consejo de Derechos Humanos, la Campaña Emblema de Prensa (*) pidió a las autoridades sirias que permitieran el acceso inmediato al país de todo periodista extranjero interesado en cubrir los acontecimientos en ese país. Hoy, la PEC lamenta profundamente que el Gobierno sirio haya ignorado este llamamiento, en franca violación de las obligaciones internacionales
aceptadas por la República árabe de Siria.

Más de tres meses después de ese llamamiento, la PEC ha notado que la situación de la libertad de prensa en Siria continúa deteriorándose. Asimismo, recuerda y cita las afirmaciones hechas por la Comisión
internacional de investigación: “Un cierto número de periodistas y de militantes han indicado sobre la WEB haber sido detenidos y torturados por haber difundido informaciones sobre las manifestaciones”.

La PEC ha recibido informaciones de amenazas, arrestos y torturas durante los interrogatorios, que han sido cometidas contra empleados locales de medios internacionales. Los miembros de la familia de algunos de ellos
fueron hostigados y amenazados con represalias.

El 20 de noviembre último, fue hallado en Al-Qazir el cuerpo mutilado y sin vida del camarógrafo independiente sirio Ferzat Jarban. La PEC condena en los términos más severos este asesinado. Asimismo recuerda que otros
casos de desapariciones de periodistas y empleados de los medios han sido también reportados.
La Campaña pide a la Comisión internacional de investigación que prosiga su encuesta sobre estos casos de desapariciones a fin de esclarecer la suerte de estos periodistas y de llevar a los responsables ante la
justicia. Estos casos demuestran una vez más la necesidad de elaborar un nuevo instrumento internacional que refuerce la protección de los periodistas y de los empleados de los medios.
La PEC expresa su apoyo a la recomendación hecha por la Comisión de investigación al Gobierno de Damasco de asegurar el pleno acceso de los medios y de permitir a los periodistas nacionales e internacionales la
cobertura de los acontecimientos en el país sin que sean objeto de obstrucción y de amenazas. La PEC demanda que los responsables de violaciones a los derechos de los periodistas sean llevados ante la
justicia y que las víctimas, así como los miembros de sus familias, obtengan una compensación.

***25.11.2011. PEC statement. PEC strongly condemns sexual assaults on women journalists in Egypt (read also on page PRESS, OTHER NEWS)

Geneva/Cairo, November 25 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns in the strongest possible manner attacks against women journalists including sexual harassment and calls for an urgent enquiry in those attacks with the goal of bringing the perpetrators to justice and paying compensation to the victims.
The PEC, a Geneva based NGO with special UN consultative status, expresses its horror at the detailed narration of Egyptian-American journalist Mona Al Tahawi of the assault on her by security forces that included sexual harassment.
According to Al Tahawi both her hands were broken and she was thrown on the ground by several security forces for a final sexual assault, she escaped this demeaning criminal act by standing up again.
Then she was detained for hours and hours with no medical help. She appeared Thursday with the renowned Egyptian anchorman Yosri Fouda where she went into the details of the crime.
Another French TV journalist, a woman Caroline Sinz, was sexually attacked, but saved by the young demonstrators who took her to safe haven in a nearby apartment and barricaded the entrance to protect her, under intense shock.
The PEC says this must stop immediately and an immediate enquiry must be in place on specifically attacks against women journalists and a wider enquiry on the attacks against journalists covering the demonstrations against the military council in Egypt.
The PEC calls upon all media parties to be involved in this urgent enquiry and is ready to be part of it.

***21.11.2011. PEC statement. PEC expresses solidarity with the Egyptian journalists and calls for an independent enquiry (Arabic and Spanish below) 

PEC expresses solidarity with the Egyptian journalists 

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses its strong solidarity with the Egyptian journalists covering the serious unfoldoing extreme dangerous situation. 

Horror stories have been reported by the members of the board of the Egyptian Syndicate of journalists among those stories that are  unimaginable event whereby journalist Sarhan Sennara, working for  one of the leading government newspaper,  ALAKHBAR, was stripped off his clothes by an identified group, assaulted with bad language then taken to custody for a couple of hours. The Chairman of the Syndicate of Egyptian journalists Mamdouh Al Wali told the PEC that Sennara was crying on the phone after his release. Al Wali said Sennara was crying out of shame of what happened to him. It is not known yet what took place between stripping him off his clothes, taking him to custody and his release.  
 
So far the number of journalists that were injured comes close to 14, a photo journalist, Ahmad Abdel Fatah, from Al Masry Al Youm, a leading independent newspaper, was shot by snipers in the right eye. 
 
Whether the figure is a dozen or 14, reports indicate that Journalists were targeted to obstruct their mission from being witnesses to the tragic events.  

The PEC believes that Egypt's obligations under international law and its signature on international conventions obligates it to respect freedom of opinion and expression according to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
 
The Geneva based NGO, with special UN consultative status, calls for an urgent neutral independent inquiry with results made public as soon as possible.

Alaa Al Atar, a board member of the syndicate of journalists, told the PEC that the board held an emergency meeting this morning and has formed an emergency operation room.   

Egypt, says the PEC, is in a dangerous crossroad, it is a must that basic human rights be protected and respected, at the forefront of those rights is the basic human right to life.

The PEC re-states its position that the developments of the Arab Spring and the media casualties is a solid proof of the validity of its call for an international convention to protect journalists in conflict zones, dangerous situations, civil unrest such as peaceful demonstrations like those taking place currently in Egypt and Syria while being crushed by the excessive unjustified use of force. 

The indiscriminate attacks on Saturday and on Sunday in Tahrir square and in Alexandria and elsewhere in Egypt prooves the PEC position on the protection of journalists.

Since January, 95 journalists were killed, according to the PEC, among them more than 22 in the "Arab spring".  

حملة الشارة تتضامن مع الصحفيين المصريين

جنيف في 21 نوفمبر 2011 – أعلنت الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي و مقرها جنيف تضامنها الكامل مع الصحفيين المصريين في هذه الظروف الصعبة التي يقومون فيها بتغطية أحداث خطيرة للغاية تعرضهم لأخطار كبيرة.

و طبقا لحملة الشارة و نقلاً عن نقيب الصحفيين المصريين ممدوح الولي فقد تعرض سرحان سناره الصحفي بالأخبار إلى نزع ملابسه كاملا من قبل مجموعة غير معروفة ثم اعتقل لعدة ساعات و تلقى اهانات بالغة و بكى بعد الافراج عنه في مكالمه هاتفية مع الولي. و طبقاً للولي في محادثة هاتفية مع الحملة فإنه ليس معروفاً بالضبط ملابسات ما حدث ما بين نزع ملابسه فاعتقاله فالإفراج عنه.

و طبقا للأرقام المبدئية لنقابة الصحفيين فقد تعرض نحو 14 صحفياً و صحفية لإصابات مختلفة و من بينهم أحمد عبد الفتاح مصور المصري اليوم الذي فقد عينه اليمنى.

و طبقاً لشهود في مناطق المظاهرات سواء ميدان التحرير أو الإسكندرية أو منطقة قناة السويس فإن الاعتداءات على الحصفيين كانت تستهدف عملهم و منعهم من التغطية كشهود على انتهاكات جسمية.

و قالت المنظمة من جنيف أن لدى مصر التزامات دولية تتطلب احترام حرية الرأي و التعبير و احترام المادة 19 من الاعلان العالمي لحقوق الانسان. 

و طالبت الحملة الدولية بتحقيق فوري و سريع و شفاف في هذه الأحداث و أن تعلن نتائجه في أقرب وقت.

و صرح علاء العطار، عضو مجلس نقابة الصحفيين، أن مجلس النقابة برئاسة الولي اعقد اجتماعاً طارئاً صباح اليوم من أجل الاتفاق على الخطوات الضرورية لحماية الصحفيين.   

و قالت الحملة الدولية في بيانها العاجل اليوم أن مصر في منعطف خطير و أنه لابد لها من احترام حقوق الانسان و حمايتها و أن في مقدمة هذه الحقوق هو حق الحياة.

و أكدت الحملة في بيانها أن تطورات الربيع العربي و الاصابات الخطيرة بين الصحفيين و الاعلاميين تؤكد من جديد صحة موقف الحملة من ضرورة التوصل الى معاهدة دولية لحماية الصحفي و العمل الإعلامي في حالات تغطية المظاهرات السلمية و الحروب و الظروف الخطيرة في مواجهة استخدام القوة المفرطة غير المبررة مثلما يحدث في مصر و الأحداث المستمرة في سوريا.

و طبقا للحملة الدولية فإن 95 من الصحفيين قد قتلوا منذ بداية العام و بينهم على الأقل 22 في ثورات الربيع العربي.   
  

PEC-EGIPTO

PEC se solidariza con los periodistas egipcios y pide una investigación independiente

Ginebra/Cairo (PEC, nov 21) La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC*) expresa su firme solidaridad con los periodistas egipcios que cubren el desarrollo de tan extremadamente grave situación en el país.

Historias de terror han sido reportadas por miembros de la junta directiva del Sindicato Egipcio de periodistas, entre las cuales resalta un hecho tan insólito como lo ocurrido al periodista Sarhan Sennara, de uno de los principales periódicos del país, Al Akhbar, y quien fuera despojado de sus ropas por un grupo identificado, asaltado con insultos y retenido durante un par de horas.

El Presidente del Sindicato de Periodistas egipcios, Mamdouh Al Wali, dijo a la PEC que después de su liberación, Sennara estaba llorando en el teléfono. Según Al Wali,  “Sennara lloraba llorando de vergüenza por lo que le sucedió”. No se sabe aún con exactitude lo ocurrido en el tiempo transcurrido entre el quitarle la ropa, tomarle en  custodia y su puesta en libertad.

Hasta el momento, el número de periodistas que han resultado heridos se acerca a los 14. El fotógrafo Ahmad Abdel Fatah, del diario independiente As Masry Al Youm, fue alcanzado en el ojo derecho por disparos de francotiradores. Según las informaciones, los periodistas han devenido objetivos a eliminar a fin de impedir que sean testigos de los trágicos acontecimientos en curso.

La organización no gubernamental, radicada en Ginebra y con estatuto consultivo en la ONU, pide una investigación urgente, neutral e  independiente, cuyos resultados se den a conocer lo antes posible.

La PEC cree que las obligaciones contraídas por Egipto bajo las leyes internacionales y  la firma de las convenciones internacionales, lo obliga a respetar la libertad de opinion y de expresión, de acuerdo con el artículo 19 de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos.

Alaa Al Atar, un miembro de la junta del sindicato de  periodistas, dijo a la  PEC que la Junta celebró una reunión de emergencia esta mañana, en la cual se decidió formar una sala de operaciones de emergencia.

Egipto se encuentra en una encrucijada peligrosa y es imprescindible que  los derechos humanos básicos sean protegidos y respetados, y por encima de todos el derecho a la vida, afirma la Campaña Emblema de Prensa.

La PEC reafirma su posición de que los acontecimientos de la primavera árabe y las víctimas los medios de comunicación constituyen una prueba contundente de la validez de su petición de una convención internacional para proteger a los periodistas en zonas de conflicto, situaciones peligrosas, disturbios civiles, así como manifestaciones pacíficas similares a las que que tienen lugar actualmente en Egipto y Siria, al mismo tiempo que advierte que éstas podrían  ser aplastadas por el uso excesivo de la fuerza.

Los ataques indiscriminados, del sábado y el domingo últimos en la plaza Tahrir y en Alejandría y en otras partes de Egipto refuerza la posición de la PEC sobre la necesidad de dar protección a los periodistas.

Finalmente, la PEC subraya el hecho de que desde enero, 95 periodistas fueron asesinados, entre ellos más de 22 en la "primavera árabe".  

***17.11.2011. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes Vienna Expert Consultations on „Safety of Journalists: Towards a more effective international protection framework” 23 November 2011, Austrian Foreign Ministry

The Vienna consultations will discuss an Austrian non-paper on "Safety of Journalists: Towards a more effective international protection framework". The PEC warmly welcomes this initiative among others and will take part in the meeting. According to the Austrian non-paper:

"There is a worldwide increase in attacks against journalists. In most cases, these are a direct response to critical reporting, in particular on issues like organised crime, drug trafficking, environmental questions,
human rights violations and corruption. Local journalists are particularly vulnerable to attacks. Many are threatened, detained or forced to leave their country, but it is the increase in targeted killings of journalists
that is of particular concern.
According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of
opinion and expression, 81% of journalists who lost their life while on duty are victims of targeted killings. While there are particular risks for journalists reporting in conflict zones, a high percentage of targeted
killings occurrs outside of the context of conflicts. The Special Rapporteur highlighted in his 2010 report to the General Assembly, for instance, the Philippines, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan, Mexico and the Russian
Federation as countries with the highest number of casualties.

International Protection Framework

It is widely acknowledged that there is no legal gap for the protection of journalists at the international level. There are, however, serious shortcomings in the implementation of universally accepted international
standards and norms, in particular at the national level.
Experts, and journalists themselves, caution against the qualification of journalists as a „vulnerable group“ and
against granting a specific status to journalists (such as that, e.g., of refugees). Measures such as stricter
requirements for formality, status (e.g. registration) and visibility (e.g. specific symbols) could compromise their
protection. In addition to human rights norms, which apply in all situations, journalists in armed conflicts enjoy
the full protection of international humanitarian law, as they are considered civilians.

From both a human rights perspective as well as a democratic and rule of law point of view, attacks against journalists are an especially deplorable form of violence. Independent reporting of journalists is an
essential requirement for the freedom of the media, which is considered a corner-stone of any democratic state based on the rule of law. Each state has a clear duty to protect journalists, which includes a guarantee to enable them to exercise their work independently without any interference, as well as to ensure access to information. This obligation applies in conflict as well as in times of peace. Measures to limit the freedom of
the press can only be taken in strict accordance with human rights standards.

Efforts to improve the protection of journalists are presently ongoing in various international as well as
regional fora. The OSCE, in particular, is currently preparing a draft Decision on the safety of journalists to be
adopted by the Ministerial Council.

Impunity

Impunity for those responsible for attacks constitutes the biggest obstacle for the effective protection of journalists. 94% of reported cases of abuse remain unresolved. Moreover, the situation of freelance
journalists is especially problematic, because they usually lack institutional backing.

It is important to continue to call for swift and independent investigations into attacks in accordance with international standards. To put an end to impunity is the most effective way to guarantee the safety
of journalists. The Human Rights Council and its mechanisms play an essential role in this respect. International criminal courts and tribunals, such as the ICC, also have a responsibility in this context.

Prevention

The overarching goal is the prevention of attacks against journalists. At the national level it is crucial to raise awareness for the protection of journalists, in particular in training programmes of the police and the
military. This also includes the question of how to deal with non-state actors. The prevention of violations must also include the establishment of early warning mechanisms. Existing models for protection schemes for
human rights defenders can be used in this respect. In order to prevent violations against journalists it is important to call on states to amend laws which unduly limit freedom of expression and the media. The
development of „model legislations” in the area of press freedom would contribute to greater coherence in the implementation of international obligations.

Effective protection of journalists can only be ensured in a sustainable way through democratic institutions and adherence to the rule of law. Technical assistance in the development of these institutions is
essential, and so is support for civil society, especially through development assistance.

Self-Protection and strengthening the existing legal framework

Physical attacks against media professionals are never justified. Professional standards and ethics such as the Principles for the Conduct of Journalists, are designed to guide journalists in their work with a view to preventing and dissipating hostilities. In cases of conflict situations, adequate preparation through specific training by media companies themselves is of highest importance. However, limited resources and capacities can become a problem for the implementation of such standards, particularly in the context of less developed countries. A number of media companies have also developed guidelines to strengthen the protection of journalists in conflict situations.
Consolidation of existing standards and guidelines, as well as concrete measures to promote them, may be necessary. Many open questions remain with regard to the protection for what is generally referred to as „citizen journalists“, which are not affiliated with any media company. Discussions should explore the options how best to approach this issue in the international context.

The Protection of Journalists and the United Nations System

Security Council Resolution 1738 lays out a set of measures to protect journalists in armed conflict situations. The Council’s call on states and other parties to a conflict to prevent attacks against journalists and to
prosecute those responsible for these attacks has to be more vigorously enforced. The UN Secretary-General reports on the protection of journalists in the framework of his regular reports on the protection of
civilians. In his latest report of November 2010, he highlighted the important role the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms have to play in strengthening the protection of journalists.

The protection of journalists is of concern to a number of special procedures of the Human Rights Council. The work of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and
expression is particularly relevant: States should pay high attention to his recommendations on how the
protection of journalists can be enhanced. In particular, his recommendation to develop UN guidelines for the
protection of journalists should be pursued further. In addition, coordination within the UN system has to be further strengthened. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should play a more
pivotal role in this respect.

The protection of journalists is a key element in the work of UNESCO, where important initiatives have been introduced and implemented (e.g. the Medellin Declaration, and regular public statements by the Director
General of UNESCO on individual cases). Overall, synergies between the human rights component of the UN, its field presences and the work of UNESCO need to be harnessed more effectively.

The Protection of Journalists: A concern for Austria

In the framework of its membership in the UN Human Rights Council 2011-2014, Austria intends to pursue these issues together with partners from civil society, governments, and international organizations, taking
into account experiences of journalists and media representatives.

In order to move this agenda forward, Austria is planning a one day expert consultation in Vienna towards the end of November 2011. This workshop aims at gathering a number of eminent experts to discuss the international and regional legal framework guiding the protection of journalists and its implementation at national level. Topics to be addressed shall include the fight against impunity, preventive measures, the role of citizen
journalists and successful best practice examples.

Participants will be independent experts, representatives of UN organizations (e.g. UNESCO, OHCHR), regional organizations and bodies (Council of Europe, OSCE, European Union Fundamental Rights Agency) as
well as a of a number of states and civil society organizations representing journalists and / or paying particular attention to the issue of press freedom and the protection of journalists.

As a result, we expect operational recommendations on how the protection of journalists can be strengthened. Particular attention shall be given to the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council. Subsequently, the results will be introduced into activities in the framework of the Human Rights Council as well as into the UN
system as a whole".

Vienna, September 2011.

***07.10.2011. The PEC congratulates Tawakkol Karman for the Nobel Peace Prize

Geneva (PEC), Oct 7 - The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) heartily congratulates Yemeni journalist Tawakkol Karman for winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The award which was bestowed on Tawakkol Karman (photo) as well as two other prominent women Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and women’s rights activist Leyna Gbowee is a tribute to the Arab revolutions and the continuing revolution in Yemen. 

Karman in her first reaction said that the dedication of the award to her is honoring those who sacrificed their lives for freedom of opinion and expression and those who were injured during the current unfolding revolution. 

She added that she will continue her struggle until the Yemeni regime is overthrown. 

Karman's struggle as a journalist and as a political activist goes back to 2007 in staunch opposition to the current Yemeni regime. She heads the human rights group “Women Journalists without Chains”.

PEC President Hedayat Abdelnabi, said that while rejoicing that the first Arab woman and journalist has been dedicated the Nobel award, she reminds the Yemeni government and all governments and holders of power in the region that repression will not work and that freedom of opinion and expression will prevail. 

PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen on this historic occasion reminds the world of the vital role journalists play to safeguard the tenants of democracy. In many cases they are harassed, intimidated and killed. He adds that so far 79 journalists were killed in 2011, among them 3 in Yemen.  

Korman represents the struggle of all journalists in the  world and what makes it extremely significant is that the Nobel committee before the world recognized that vital role in bestowing the award to her, said the PEC.  
The PEC believes that the Nobel award going to a woman journalist with an outstanding struggle to put the rule of law in place gratifies the 7-year efforts of the PEC, which are still continuing in full force, to  protect journalists in dangerous and conflict situations.

As an active woman journalist, Korman has achieved a dual victory by not only honoring the profession by being at the center of the struggle but also a woman leading the news of the day. 

This June, the PEC bestowed its annual award to the Tunisian journalists, a Libyan NGO and the Egyptian bloggers for honoring their vital role in the Arab Spring and the success of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.  

حملة الشارة الدولية تهنئ توكل كارمان بجائزة نوبل للسلام 

 
هنأت اليوم بحرارة بالغة الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي و هي منظمة غير حكومية معتمدة لدى الأمم المتحدة و مقرها جنيف الصحفية و الناشطة السياسية اليمنية توكل كارامان بحصولها على جائزة نوبل للسلام  

 
و قالت الحملة في بيانها أن حصول الصحفية اليمنية على جائزة نوبل هو تكريم للثورات العربية و الثورة اليمنية
 

و في أول رد فعل لها أهدت كارمان جائزتها لشهداء الثورة اليمنية و المصابين في الثورة المستمرة من الذين ضحوا بكل ما عندهم من أجل حرية الرأي و التعبير.

و صرحت رئيسة الحملة الدولية هدايت عبد النبي أنها في الوقت الذي تشعر بالسعادة لحوصل كارمان بالجائزة الأكثر شهره في العالم و لكونها أول إمرأة عربية تحصل عليها، فإنها تذكر الحكومة اليمنية و من يحكمون دول الثورات العربية الناجحة أنه لا مفر من نجاح حرية الرأي و التعبير و الديمقراطية و لا مكان للطغاة و الدكتاتورية و القمع


و أكد سكرتير عام حملة الشارة الدولية بليز ليمبان أنه في هذه المناسبة التاريخية فإنه يذكر العالم بالدور الحيوي للصحفيين و الإعلاميين في حماية اسس الديمقراطية حيث يواجهون بالقمع و التهديد و القتل في كثير من الأحوال 
 

و قالت حملة الشارة، في بيانها، أن كورمان تمثل كفاح الصحفيين في كل أنحاء العالم و أن ما يجعل هذه المناسبة ذات أهمية كبيرة أن لجنة نوبل قبل العالم أجمع أدركت هذا الدور المهم في تقديم الجائزة لكورمان.

و أضافت الحملة أن ذهاب الجائزة مناصفة بين كورمان و رئيسة ليبريا و ناشطة ثالثة يؤكد للحملة صحة موقفها و كفاحها مدة السنوات السبع الماضية لوضع وثيقة قانونية لحماية الصحفيين  
 .    

***27.09.2011. PEC STATEMENT AT THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. So far, 78 journalists killed in 2011 - the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) alarmed by the deterioration in Latin America with 30 journalists killed in nine months. Statement delivered by the PEC UN Representative Gianfranco Fattorini. (see also on page PRESS for stories in Spanish and French)

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
18th session

Item 8     Follow-up and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
 
General debate

Madame President,

The international community, in adopting the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action underlined the importance of objective, responsible and impartial information about human rights and humanitarian issues and encouraged the increased involvement of the media, for whom freedom and protection should be guaranteed (par. 39).

In fact, since 1993, hundreds of journalists lost their lives in performing their duty.

Madame President,

It is undeniable that the collection and dissemination of information participate directly to the human development, the formation of consciences and as well as the formation of personal and collective will. As stated by the Human Rights Committee in his last July General Comment (CCPR/C/GC/34) on article 19 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, journalists often face threats, intimidation and attacks because of their activities.

As of today, in 2011, 78 journalists died in the world in the exercise of their mission. Many others were injured, harassed, expelled. The PEC is particularly alarmed by the deteriorating situation in Mexico, the most dangerous country for journalists, where 12 journalists have been killed so far this year, including seven in the last three months.

In general, the protection of journalists is not improving in Latin America: thus, this year, four journalists were killed in Honduras, four in Brazil, three in Peru, one in Colombia, one in Guatemala, one in Venezuela, one in Bolivia, one in El Salvador, one in Dominican Republic and one in Haiti. A total of 30 journalists have been killed in Latin America in nine months.

The PEC is also deeply concerned by the evolution in several countries in conflict or post-conflict situations around the world. Since January 1st, in Pakistan, the second most dangerous country this year, nine journalists have been killed, seven in Iraq, five in Libya, two in Afghanistan and two in Somalia. The majority of victims are the result of targeted killings and the perpetrators of those crimes are rarely prosecuted.

The PEC is convinced that the international community has to find the means and ways to better fulfil his engagement to guarantee the freedom and protection of the media.

I thank you Madame President.

27th September 2011

***19.09.2011. LIBYA. PEC STATEMENT AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. Statement delivered by the PEC Representative Gianfranco Fattorini.  

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
18th session

Item 4  -  Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Oral report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Libya

Madame President,

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has listened carefully to the Oral update of the International Commission of Inquiry on Libya and wishes to complete it with respect to journalistic profession.

In the report presented to the 17th session, the International Commission rightly pointed out that « Media professionals have been subject to arbitrary arrest, torture, ill-treatment, harassment, intimidation, enforced disappearances and, in some cases, have been the subject of targeted attacks. »

In fact, journalists have paid dearly for their professional duty in the course of the uprising in Libya, five of them lost their live: Ali Hassan Al-Jaber, a Qatari cameramen (Benghazi, 12 March 2011), Mohammed al-Nabbous a Libyan journalist (Benghazi, 19 March 2011), Anton Hammerl an Austrian / South African freelance photographer (Brega, 20 May 2011), Tim Hetherington a Britton photo reporter (Misrata, 20 April 2011) and Chris Hondros an American photo reporter (Misrata, 20 April 2011).

Many media professional were released and were able to testify intimidation, persecution, abuses and torture they suffered; some others must still be regarded as disappeared because in reality there is no evidence of their whereabouts. Two journalists have been injured in recent days.

The Press Emblem Campaign will appreciate when the International Commission of Inquiry will consider pursuing its investigations into the fate of media professionals.

The PEC calls upon the new transitional government in Libya:

Ø        to rapidly investigate in all the incidents that involved the killing, kidnapping and ambushing of journalists and to report to the International Commission;

Ø        to bring the responsible to justice, insure that they will be prosecuted in accordance with applicable law and that victims will be entitled to compensation;

Ø        and to uphold the principles of freedom of opinion in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Furthermore, the PEC would like to see the creation of a new, independent syndicate of journalists in Libya.

19th September 2011

***15.09.2011. PEC calls on the Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution which will allow the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a study that will document the grave violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms of journalists in the last 10 years and to investigate causes and consequences of these violations; propose the best means to protect journalists in zones of conflict or civil unrest - oral statement delivered by the PEC UN Representative Gianfranco Fattorini:

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
18th session

Item 3    Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights, including the right to development

General debate

Madame President,

The Press Emblem Campaign, supported by some thirty organizations representing over 80,000 journalists throughout the world, wishes to draw the attention of the Council on the last General comment (CCPR/C/GC/34)  issued by the Human Rights Committee, last July, on article 19 related to Freedoms of opinion and expression.

In paragraph 3 of the General comment, the Committee states that « Freedom of expression is a necessary condition for the realization of the principles of transparency and accountability that are, in turn, essential for the promotion and protection of human rights. »

The Arab Spring shows us, once again, that it always comes a time in history when peoples raise their voices and demand politicians to account. Journalists, of course, are an essential vector for the dissemination of information, opinions that participate in the formation of the individual and the collective will.

In paragraph 7 of the General comment, the Committee emphasizes that « The obligation to respect freedoms of opinion and expression is binding on every State party as a whole. All branches of the State (executive, legislative and judicial)   are in a position to engage the responsibility of the State party. »

In too many countries, the current laws or the adoption of exceptional measures targeting the media constitute a permanent threat to the freedoms of opinion and expression. Too often, on every continent, journalists are physically targeted. As reported in our written statement (A/HRC/18/NGO/57), from January 2006-to December 2010, 534 journalists were killed. In nearly 90% of the cases, these crimes have gone unpunished and were not prosecuted.

This year, 72 journalists were killed in the course of their work. Since the end of the Council’s 17th session, we are particularly alarmed by the upsurge of killings of journalists in Latin America, particularly in two countries: Mexico where 5 journalists were killed and Honduras where 3 journalists were killed since July.

Madame President,

PEC calls on the Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution which will allow the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a study that will:

Ø             document the grave violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms of journalists in the last 10 years and to investigate causes and consequences of these violations;

Ø             propose the best means to protect journalists in zones of conflict or civil unrest.

I thank you Madame President.

15th September 2011

Read the full PEC written statement as a UN official document at:
 
Human Rights Documents
Body, Session, Date, Symbol, Title, Documents. HRC, 18th ...
ap.ohchr.org/documents/alldocs.aspx?doc_id=19000

***13.09.2011. STATEMENT OF THE PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) DELIVERED AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - PANEL ON PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE CONTEXT OF PEACEFUL PROTESTS

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
18th session

Panel on promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests

Madame President,

Press Emblem Campaign, supported by some thirty organizations representing over 80,000 journalists throughout the world, is particularly concerned by the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests. PEC wishes to thank Switzerland for this timely initiative.

PEC believes that freedom of peaceful assembly and of association can not be dissociated from freedom of expression. Journalists are not only, in many occasions, the only impartial witnesses, but undoubtedly they are an essential vector for both fundamental freedoms.

Since the beginning of the development of journalism, journalists have been targeted, too often intentionally, by the various actors. Since last century, many States have enacted legislations to regulate the profession: sometimes to fully ensure the freedom of journalists and sometimes in order to better control the flow of information.

Today, the development of communications technologies poses new challenges, to both the social body and the legislator: in fact we can also witness popular gathering having immoral, when not illegal scope, for example when the aim is the incitement to racial or religious hatred.

The implementation of exceptional measures towards the freedom of expression, as well as the targeting of bloggers and journalists constitute a real threat to the freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

The PEC has followed the Arab uprising with deep concern, the most worrying of its aspects to us is the indiscriminate attacks against dozens of journalists in all the countries that witnessed the uprising be it Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Bahrain or Yemen. Previously, some journalists were killed in protests in countries like Thailand in April and May 2010 and Myanmar in September 2007.

Today, PEC wishes to pay a particular tribute to three journalists who were killed in 2011 by security forces while covering peaceful protests:

·        Lucas Mebrouk Dolega, photograph for EPA agency, who received a bullet in the head on the 16th of January in Tunis;

·        Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud, working for Al-Taawun, killed in Cairo on the 4th of February;

·        Jamal al-Sharabi, photograph for Al-Masdar, killed in Sanaa, Yemen, on the 18th of March.

It is important where regimes have fell and a new order is in place that those who hold the strings of power learn from the lessons of subjecting journalists, cameramen, radio and TV broadcasters to the most inhuman brutal treatments. Such conduct did not save the former regimes from falling apart. It is the stories that witnessed human rights violations that prevailed.

Madame President,

There is an urgent need today to specifically protect journalists in the context of peaceful protests which could degenerate in violence and to distinguish journalists both, legally from the general definition of “civilians” and physically by adopting an internationally recognized Emblem.

I thank you Madame President.

13th September 2011

***05.09.2011. THE PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) WELCOMES THE UN INTER-AGENCY MEETING ON THE SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS AND THE ISSUE OF IMPUNITY

A United Nations Inter-Agency meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 13 and 14 September 2011. On Tuesday 13, the meeting will be open to all participants, as well as to the Permanent Delegations and Observers to UNESCO. The session on Wednesday 14 September will be devoted to the preparation of a UN concrete plan of action and will only be open to UN agencies.

The event will bring together UN system organizations and will provide them with a forum in which to consult with other invited international and regional institutions, professional organizations and NGOs, with a view to formulating a comprehensive, coherent and action-oriented plan of action to address the issue of safety of journalists and the impunity of perpetrators of assaults against journalists.

Over the last ten years, more than 500 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide, and many more were wounded or injured while carrying out their professional responsibilities. The great majority of casualties were not international war correspondents, but local journalists working in their own countries, mostly in peacetime, and covering local stories. In most of these cases, impunity precludes the way of justice, and if this trend prevails, journalists will remain easy targets.

Attacks on journalists, media professionals and associated personnel include abductions, hostage-taking, harassment, intimidation, illegal arrest, detention and even more, killings. Furthermore the threat of sexual attack is also frequently used as a weapon for silencing women journalists. The conference is being organized by UNESCO following the adoption of the Decision on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity at the 27th session of the Intergovernmental Council of the UNESCO International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) in March 2010. This Decision requests “the Director-General of UNESCO to consult with Member States on the feasibility of convening an inter-agency meeting of all the relevant UN agencies with a view to formulating a comprehensive, coherent, and action-oriented approach to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity.”

On the basis of the responses received following a consultation with Member States, Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, announced the organization of the meeting on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, as part of UNESCO´s role to promote freedom of expression.  Ms. Bokova has publicly condemned attacks and the killings of journalists and media professionals (see UNESCO website “UNESCO Remembers Assassinated Journalists”), reminding the world that “Attacks on the right of journalists to work free from the threat of violence are attacks on everyone’s right to freedom of opinion and expression”.

As a first step towards this event, a meeting entitled Safety and Protection for Journalists: A Responsibility for the World was organized in June 2011 by the Initiative on Impunity and the Rule of Law, which is a joint project between the London City University’s Centre for Law, Justice & Journalism (CLJJ), and the University of Sheffield’s Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM). The conclusions drawn from this meeting will be presented at the UN Inter-Agency Meeting in Paris. The meeting will be webcasted.

***25.08.2011. LIBYA – PEC statement: PEC calls for the immediate release of 4 Italian journalists abducted in Libya

Geneva, August 25 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the flagrant attacks against journalists and hostage taking in Libya and calls for the immediate release of four Italian journalists kidnapped. The situation in Libya remains very dangerous, warns the NGO.

Two of the Italian reporters were covering the conflict for Italy's top newspaper, Corriere della Sera, while another writes for La Stampa, and the fourth for Avvenire.

The news that two French journalists shot and wounded while covering the fighting around ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli escaped death is a relief. A French cameraman working for the state-owned France 2 network, Bruno Girodon, was hit by a bullet yesterday as he worked near the Bab al-Aziziya complex. Separately, the news magazine Paris Match said photographer Alvaro Canovas had been shot through the thigh by an assault rifle round while covering Tuesday's rebel assault on the fortified base.

The PEC thanks the ICRC

News of the injuries came as around 35 journalists managed to escape from a Tripoli hotel where they had been held hostage by Gaddafi loyalists.

The PEC thanks the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for helping the journalists to leave the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli unharmed. The reporters had been unable to leave the hotel for several days.

"Our recognized role as a neutral intermediary enabled us to carry out this operation. We are glad that everything went smoothly, but we remain concerned about other civilians and journalists who may find themselves in danger,” said Georges Comninos, the head of the ICRC delegation in Libya. "Journalists must be protected and respected", said Mr Comninos.

However, though rejoicing for the events in Tripoli, PEC condemns the absence of safe media corridors to protect journalists when covering armed conflicts which put the lives of journalists in extreme danger. At least five journalists have been killed in Libya since the beginning of the conflict in February, dozens have been detained and illtreated. Since the beginning of the year, ICRC has received around 50 requests for help from media organizations and families of journalists, according to an ICRC news release.

The PEC reminds the parties of resolution 1738 of the UN Security Council which prohibits and condemns attacks against journalists in zones of conflict. The Geneva based NGO, PEC, expresses its hope that the Human Rights Council would move towards the adoption of a concrete resolution to protect journalists covering conflicts, civil unrest and dangerous situations in its September session. At least 65 journalists have been killed in 26 countries since January, according to the PEC.

For more info, click left on page PRESS - see also OTHER NEWS
 

***22.08.2011. SYRIA. 17th special session of the Human Rights Council on the situation in Syria. Oral statement of the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), delivered by the PEC Representative Gianfranco Fattorini (en français ci-dessous)

On Monday 22 August the PEC Representative to the UN addressed in Geneva a special session of the Human Rights Council on the situation in Syria asking the Syrian authorities to remove all restrictions on the exercise of the profession of journalism and free any journalists imprisoned for anything related to the exercise of the profession; to grant immediate access to the country to any foreign journalist wanting to carry out an assignment on the country's territory (photo PEC).

"Mr Chairman,
 
The Press Emblem Campaign, supported by some thirty organizations representing over 50,000 journalists throughout the world, denounces here the total absence of press freedom in the Syrian Arab Republic.
 
Besides the implementation of exceptional measures in force for ages, the very structure of the body of legislation curently in force incorporates within itself the constitutive elements of the systematic violation of freedoms and rights of the people of Syria.
 
The various provisions limiting -- indeed, prohibiting -- any critical analysis of the policies implemented by the state authorities violate freedom of the press and freedom of expression in general. Further, for decades, journalists, and today, bloggers, too, have been arrested, judged (often by the High Court of State Security) and sentenced to long prison terms.
 
In fact, for decades, the state has exercised a monopoly over the Syrian media, in particular the press. As the criteria for censorship have not been clearly defined, the security forces have been able, at their leisure, to exercise strict control over the profession, practicing harassment against its more recalcitrant members and thus creating a system of self-censorship within the profession.
 
Today, the Syrian authorities justify the use of force to deal with armed groups operating with the support of external forces: the presence in the country of independent representatives of the international media would certainly result in useful information.

The Press Emblem Campaign requests that the Syrian Arab Republic immediately:
-- remove all restrictions on the exercise of the profession of journalism and free any journalists imprisoned for anything related to the exercise of the profession;
-- grant immediate access to the country to any foreign journalist wanting to carry out an assignment on the country's territory.
I thank you, Mr Chairman. S

Assemblée générale
Conseil des droits de l’homme
17ème  session spéciale

"Monsieur le Président,
La Presse Emblème Campagne, soutenue par une trentaine d’organisations représentant 50'000 journalistes de par le monde dénonce ici l’absence totale de la liberté de presse dans la République arabe syrienne.
Au-delà de l’application des mesures d’exception en vigueur depuis des lustres, c’est bien la structure du corps législatif qui porte en elle les éléments constitutifs de la violation systématique des libertés et droits
des peuples de Syrie.
Les différentes dispositions en vigueur limitant, voire interdisant, toute analyse critique des politiques mises en œuvre par les autorités de l’Etat portent atteinte à la liberté de la presse et à la liberté d’expression en
générale. Ainsi, depuis des décennies les journalistes, et aujourd’hui les bloggers aussi, sont arrêtés, jugés (souvent par la Haute Cour de Sécurité de l’Etat) et condamnés à de lourdes peines d’emprisonnement.
Dans les faits, depuis des décennies l’Etat exerce le monopole sur les médias syriens, notamment la presse écrite. Les critères régissant la censure n’ayant pas été clairement définis, les forces de sécurité ont eu
tout loisir d’exercer un strict contrôle sur la profession, pratiquant le harcèlement à l’encontre des plus récalcitrants, instaurant finalement un système d’auto-censure au sein de la profession.
Aujourd’hui, les autorités syriennes justifient l’emploi de la force pour faire face à des groupes armés opérant avec l’appui de forces extérieures: la présence dans le pays de représentants indépendants des organes de la
presse internationale apporterait certainement des éléments d’information utiles.
La Presse Emblème Campagne demande instamment à la République arabe syrienne:

- de lever toute restriction à l’exercice de la profession de journaliste et de libérer tout journaliste emprisonné pour des motifs liés à l’exercice de sa profession ;
- d’accorder immédiatement l’accès au pays à tout journaliste étranger qui souhaite accomplir sa mission sur le territoire syrien.
Je vous remercie, Monsieur le Président."

***04.07.2011.  PEC report January-June 2011. Worldwide 52 journalists killed during the first 6 months of 2011 - Casualties among media represent a heavy toll in Arab countries   

(See French, Spanish and Arabic after English)

Worldwide 52 journalists killed during the first 6 months of 2011 - Casualties among media represent a heavy toll in Arab countries  

Geneva, 4 July 2011 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), in its biennium report, deplores that at least 52 journalists have been killed in 25 countries since the beginning of the year and denounces the fact that the international community does not react proactively.

The Arab Spring and its uprising has led to the death and targeting of at least 11 of the 52 journalists killed worldwide.

PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen noted with regret that there is no improvement in the working conditions of journalists in conflict zones, civil unrest and elsewhere, on average the figure remained unchanged 2 journalists killed weekly since the PEC started monitoring the situation several years ago.

Compared to the same period the figure of  52 journalists killed so far is a slight improvement from last year which stood at 59 (53 for the same period in 2009).

The PEC noted that there is a slight improvement in the media casualties in Latin America, Africa and Europe. However, the Arab uprising has had a heavy toll on journalists, at least 5 killed in Libya, two in Bahrain, one in Yemen, one in Egypt, one in Tunisia, and one in Algeria.    

Pakistan most dangerous country

Pakistan leads the most dangerous countries since January with 8 journalists killed; Mexico follows with 6 and Iraq with 6, a worrying deterioration from past year.

In Libya at least 5 journalists were killed in the fightings, others have disappeared and their fate remains unknown. The Philippines follow at the 5th place with 3 journalists killed since January.

Bahrain, Brazil, India, Russia witnessed the killing of 2 journalists in each country. One journalist was killed in the following countries: Algeria, Bolivia, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gaza, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Peru, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Salvador, Sirra leone, Tunisia, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.  

Heaviest toll in the Arab region                                                                                                            

The Middle East and North Africa top the regions of the world in terms of media casualties: 18, followed by Latin America:  15, while 24 were killed during the same period in 2010, Asia: 14 killed a similar tally like 2010.

Sub-Sahran Africa saw a decline in the number of journalists killed (three in Cote d’Ivoire, DRC and Sierra Leone) compared to 9 killed during the same period last year, and in Europe 2 were killed in Russia, a decline to the figures of 2010.

PEC President Hedayat Abdelnabi calls upon the Human Rights Council, the highest UN body entrusted with the protection of the values of human rights as well as basic human rights most importantly the right to life, to take the lead in the global issue of the protection of journalists.    

Abdelnabi added that the PEC welcomes the way forward from the Council  towards a resolution in its September 2011 session on the protection of journalists that would include the following ingredients: 1) that the specific profession of journalism unfolds a  unique situation in the field and journalists therefore need added protection, 2) establishing a working group to develop guidelines along this theme, 3) launching  a study documenting the urgency and need for such a bold step forward.

The PEC, says Abdelnabi, is reiterating its willingness to spearhead those efforts with likeminded associations and groups as well as UN member states.    

List of victims on page Ticking clock


52 journalistes tués au cours des six premiers mois de 2011 - lourd bilan dans les pays arabes

Genève (PEC), 4 juillet 2011 - Au moins 52 journalistes ont été tués dans 25 pays depuis le 1er janvier de cette année, a déploré lundi la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC). Elle a dénoncé le fait que la communauté internationale ne réagit pas avec suffisamment de fermeté.

Les troubles liés au "printemps arabe" ont fait à eux seuls au moins 11 morts parmi les employés des medias.

"Il est grave de constater qu'il n'y a pas d'amélioration sensible dans les zones de conflit et de troubles internes et que l'on en reste depuis plusieurs années à une moyenne de deux journalistes tués par semaine", a déclaré le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen en présentant le rapport semestriel de l'organisation.

Les 52 journalistes tués au premier semestre 2011 marquent un léger recul par rapport aux 59 tués au cours de la même période de l'an dernier (53 au premier semestre 2009). Si une amélioration a été constatée en Amérique latine, en Afrique subsaharienne et en Europe, les troubles liés au "printemps arabe" ont pesé depuis janvier d'un poids particulier: cinq journalistes au moins sont morts jusqu'ici dans le conflit en Libye, deux au Bahreïn, un au Yémen, un en Egypte, un en Tunisie et un en Algérie.

Pakistan pays le plus dangereux

Le pays le plus dangereux depuis le début de l'année est le Pakistan, avec huit tués, dont plusieurs dans des attentats à la bombe, la plupart dans les régions frontalières de l'Afghanistan. Le Mexique se classe au second rang, avec six tués, en même temps que l’Irak, avec six tués également, ce qui marque une inquiétante recrudescence de l'insécurité pour les médias dans ce pays.

La Libye arrive au 4e rang, avec au moins cinq tués – alors que plusieurs cas de disparition ne sont pas encore éclaircis. Les Philippines se classent 5e, avec trois tués.

Viennent ensuite au 6e rang le Bahreïn (2 tués), le Brésil (2), l'Inde (2), la Russie (2). Un journaliste a en outre été tué dans les pays suivants depuis le 1er janvier: Algérie, Bolivie, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypte, Gaza, Guatemala, Haïti, Honduras, Pérou, République démocratique du Congo, Salvador, Sierra Leone, Tunisie, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yémen.

Pays arabes en tête

Par région, le Moyen-orient plus l'Afrique du Nord (soit les pays arabes) arrive en tête avec 18 tués, en nette hausse.  Suit l'Amérique latine avec 15 tués, nettement moins que les 24 tués du premier semestre 2010 (surtout grâce à une amélioration au Honduras et en Colombie). L'Asie vient au 3e rang avec 14 tués dans quatre pays (Pakistan, Philippines, Inde et Vietnam), un chiffre identique à l'an dernier.

L'Afrique subsaharienne a recensé moins de journalistes tués au premier semestre, soit trois tués dans trois pays (Côte d'Ivoire, RDC et Sierra Leone) contre neuf tués au premier semestre de l'an dernier, et l'Europe deux seulement (Russie), également en baisse par rapport à 2010.

Pour la présidente de la PEC Hedayat Abdelnabi, le Conseil des droits de l'homme, comme organe chargé de promouvoir les droits humains dans le monde, porte la responsabilité de renforcer la protection des journalistes."Il faut une volonté politique pour aller de l'avant", a déclaré la présidente de la PEC. Elle a invité le Conseil à adopter une résolution sur la protection des journalistes lors de sa session de septembre 2011 comportant les éléments suivants: 1) l'affirmation que la profession de journaliste nécessite un statut spécial et que les employés des medias ont besoin d'une protection accrue 2) la création d'un groupe de travail pour développer des directives sur ce sujet 3) le lancement d'une étude documentant la situation et établissant le besoin d'une protection renforcée.

La PEC, a souligné Hedayat Abdelnabi, renouvelle sa volonté de ne pas ménager ses efforts avec les autres associations concernées et les pays membres de l'ONU.

Liste des victimes sur la page Ticking clock

52 PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS EN EL TRANSCURSO DEL PRIMER SEMESTRE DE 2011. PESADO BALANCE EN LOS PAISES ARABES.

GINEBRA, 4 julio 2011.- Al menos 52 periodistas han sido asesinados en 25 países desde el 1 de enero de este año, deploró este lunes la Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC, por sus siglas en inglés). Ella denunció el hecho de que la comunidad internacional no reaccionó con suficiente firmeza ante estos acontecimientos.

Los desordenes ligados a la “primavera árabe” han producido, ellos solos, al menos 11 muertos entre los empleados de los medios.

“Es grave constatar que no hay una mejora sensible en las zonas de conflicto y de desordenes internos y que se sigue manteniendo desde hace muchos años un promedio de dos periodistas asesinados por semana”, declaró el Secretario General de la PEC, Blaise Lempen, al presentar el informe semestral de la organización.

Los 52 periodistas asesinados en el primer semestre de 2011 marcan un ligero descenso con relación a los 59 muertos en el transcurso del mismo período del año pasado (53 en el primer semestre de 2010).

Si una mejora ha sido constatada en América Latina, en Africa subsahariana y en Europa, los desordenes ligados a la “primavera árabe” han pesado particularmente fuerte: al menos 5 periodistas han sido muertos en el conflicto en Libia, 2 en Bahrain, 1 en Yemén, 1 en Egipto, 1 en Tunez y 1 en Argelia.

Paquistán, el país más peligroso

El país máa peligroso desde comienzos de año es Paquistán, con 8 muertos, entre las cuales se incluyen los asesinados por los atentados con bombas, la mayoría ocurridos en las regiones fronterizas con Agfanistán.

México se ubica en el segundo sitio, con 6 muertos.

Irak es el tercer país más peligroso, con 6 muertos igualmente, lo que marca une inquietante recrudescencia de la inseguridad para los medios de comunicación (3 periodistas asesinados unicamente en el transcurso del mismo período de 2010).

Libia se clasifica en el 4 sitio, con al menos 5 muertos; varios casos de desaparición no se han aclarado tampoco en este país.

Filipinas está colocado en la 5 posición, con 3 muertos.

Enseguida se ubican en el 6 rango los siguientes países: Bahrain (2), Brasil (2), India (2), Rusia (2). Además, un periodista ha sido asesinado en cada uno de los sigueintes países, desde el 1 de enero de 2011: Argelia, Bolivia, Costa de Marfil, Egipto, Gaza, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Perú, República Democrática del Congo, El Salvador, Sierra Leona, Túnez, Venezuela, Vietnam y Yemén.


Los países árabes a la cabeza

Por región, el Medio Oriente (incluyendo al Norte de Africa), es decir, los países árabes, se clasifican a la cabeza de este informe con 18 asesinatos, en neta alza. Sigue América Latina con 15 muertos, notamente menos que los 24 asesinados del primer semestre del 2010 (sobre todo, gracias a una mejora en Honduras y en Colombia). Asia viene en el tercer puesto con 14 asesinatos en 4 países (Paquistán, Filipinas, India y Vietnam), una cifra idéntica a la del año pasado.

El Africa subsahariana registró menos periodistas asesinados en el primer semestre, es decir, 3 muertos en 3 países (Costa de Marfil, República Democrática del Congo y Sierra Leona), contra 9 muertes en el primer semestre del año pasado.

Europa registra unicamente dos muertes (en Rusia), igualmente en baja con respecto al informe del 2010.

Para la presidenta de la PEC, Hedayat Abdel Nabi, el Consejo de Derechos Humanos, como organo responsable de promover los derechos humanos en el mundo, tiene la responsabilidad de reforzar la protección de los periodistas.

“Es necesaria una voluntad política para ir hacia adelante”, declaró la presidenta de la PEC.

Ella invitó al Consejo a adoptar una resolución sobre la protección de periodistas en zonas de peligro durante la próxima sesion del mes de septiembre del año en curso. Esta resolución tendría que incluir los siguientes puntos: 1) la afirmación de que la profesión de periodista necesita un statuto especial y que los empleados de los medios de comunicación tienen necesidad de una protección cada vez más fuerte; 2) la creación de un grupo de trabajo para desarrollar las directivas sobre este punto; 3) el lanzamiento de un estudio que documente la situación y que establezca la necesidad de una protección reforzada.

La PEC, señaló Hedayat Abdel Nabi, renueva su voluntad para no escatimar sus esfuerzos con las otras asociaciones relacionadas con esta práctica, asi como con los países miembros de la ONU.

 Lista de víctimas en el Ticking clock 

مقتل 52 صحفيا في الأشهر الستة الأولى من هذا العام

أكثر الضحايا سقطوا في أحداث انتفاضة الربيع العربي

جنيف 4 يوليو (حملة الشارة) – اعلنت الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي و مقرها جنيف أن 52 صحفياً قد قتلوا منذ بداية العام الحالي لاستهداف عملهم و النيل منه أو لوجودهم في موقع الأحداث.

و اضافت حملة الشارة في بيانها النصف السنوي أن 11 صحفياً قتلوا على الأقل في أحداث انتفاضة الشعوب العربية المعروفة بالربيع العربي.

و أعرب سكرتير عام حملة الشارة الدولية بليز ليمبان أنه لا يوجد تحسن في الوضع بالنسبة لعمل الصحفيين في مناطق النزاع و التوتر الداخلي و غيرها لأنه في المتوسط فإن 2 من الصحفيين يقتلون اسبوعياً بنفس المعدل منذ بداية رصد الحملة لقتل الصحفيين.

يذكر أن 59 صحفياً قد قتلوا في نفس الفترة من العام الماضي و 53 لنفس الفترة في 2009.

تأتي باكستان في المرتبة الأولى من حيث عدد القتلى من الصحفيين على الأقل ثمانية تليها المكسيك (6)، ثم ليبيا (5) في حين اختفى عدد كبير أخر، و جاءت الفلبين في المرتبة الرابعة بمقتل 3 صحفيين، فالبحرين (2) و كذلك البرازيل و الهند و روسيا، كما قتل صحفي واحد في كل من الجزائر و بوليفيا و كوت ديفوار و مصر و غزة و جواتيمالا و هايتي و هندوراس و بيرو، و جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية و السلفادور و سيراليون و تونس و فنزويلا و فيتنام و اليمن.

تصدرت المنطقة العربية  أكثر مناطق العالم خطورة بالنسبة للعمل الصحفي حيث قتل 18 صحفيا، فيما قتل في امريكا اللاتينية 15 صحفيا.

و قالت الحملة الدولية في بيانها أنه حين يقتل الصحفيون ربما تكون هناك مقولة أنهم يقتربون بشدة من موقع الخطر و لكن أحداث ليبيا قد اثبتت أن الصحفيين يواجهون هناك الكمائن و الاستهداف المباشر لمنع خروج الرسالة الصحفية التي هي المصدر الأساسي في العالم للانتهاكات الخطيرة لحقوق الانسان، و هو أمر لم يقتصر على ليبيا فقط ففي تونس حيث كان حكم بن على حكماً ديكتاتوريا تم اسكات صوت الاعلام المستقل و استبعاده و كذلك تم نصفية البعض من الصحفيين جسدياً.  

و طالبت رئيسة حملة الشارة هدايت عبد النبي مجلس حقوق الانسان أن يأخذ المبادرة و يقود الجهد من أجل حماية الصحفيين بطرح مشروع قرار في دورته القادمة في سبتمبر بتبني قرار لحماية الصحفيين يتضمن العناصر التالية: أن العمل الصحفي من الأعمال ذات الخصوصية الخاصة التي تتطلب اقتراب الصحفي من الخطر إلى حد الموت، و لذلك فالصحفيون في حاجة إلى حماية اضافية غير المنصوص عليها في المواثيق الدولية، تشكيل مجموعة عمل تنظر في المضي قدماً لتحقيق هذه المطالب، اعتبار "المدونون" صحفيون و عدم إغلاق وسائط الانترنت تحت أي ظرف من الظروف، عمل دراسة تبين الحاجة الملحة لهذه التدابير العاجلة. 

و قالت عبد النبي أن هذه الخطوات لا تمثل خارطة طريق معقدة بل واحدة سهلة المنال.

و أضافت أن حملة الشارة على استعداد لقيادة هذا الجهد بالتعاون مع المنظمات و الدول التي ترى أهمية في ذلك.

لمزيد من المعلومات 

***29.06.2011. La PEC soulagée par la libération des journalistes français otages depuis un an et demi en Afghanistan 

Les deux journalistes français enfin libres à leur arrivée jeudi matin à l'aéroport de Villacoublay où ils ont été accueillis par le président français Nicolas Sarkozy  (voir press reports on our page PRESS)

Genève, 29 juin (PEC) - La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) exprime son immense soulagement après la libération des deux journalistes français Hervé Ghesquière et Stéphane Taponier et de leurs accompagnateurs afghans. Ils ont été relâchés mercredi exactement après un an et demi de détention en Afghanistan. La PEC partage la joie des familles qui seront bientôt réunies et félicite les deux journalistes pour avoir surmonté cette dramatique épreuve.

Ils avaient été enlevés le 29 décembre 2009 à 60 km de Kaboul, dans la province de Kapisa, alors qu'ils réalisaient un reportage pour la chaîne de télévision France 3, et détenus par les talibans. "Rien ne justifie une aussi longue détention de ces journalistes. Elle démontre malheureusement une fois de plus les risques graves encourus de plus en plus par des journalistes courageux qui veulent témoigner de graves violations des droits de l'homme dans les zones de conflit", a déclaré la PEC. "Les journalistes sont des témoins indépendants de leur gouvernement et non une monnaie d'échange pour les groupes armés", a insisté l'ONG.

Les responsables de cet enlèvement odieux doivent être poursuivis, a ajouté la PEC. L'ONG de défense des journalistes basée à Genève demande qu'une enquête indépendante soit diligentée pour
clarifier les circonstances de cette détention.

The PEC rejoices by the release of the two French journalists in Afghanistan after a year and a half in captivity

Geneva, June 29 (PEC) The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) rejoices whole heartedly by the release of the two French journalists Hervé Ghesquière et Stéphane Taponier and their three Afghan assistants. They were released from captivity on Wednesday after spending exactly a year and a half in captivity in
Afghanistan since 29 December 2009. The PEC congratulates them and their families who will soon be united with them.

They were abducted by a Taliban group on 29 December 2009 60 km away from Kabul in the northeastern province of Kapisa while doing a report for the French TV station France 3. "Nothing justifies the holding hostage of journalists for such a long time. Once more it is a proof of the serious risks undertaken by courageous journalists who want to be witnesses of gross human rights violations in conflict zones", said the PEC. "Journalists are independent witnesses and must not be used as bargaining chips by armed groupes", stressed the NGO based in Geneva.

Those who abducted the journalists must be held responsible for such heinous crimes, said the PEC. The PEC calls for an independent enquiry into the circumstances that led to their captivity.

***16.06.2011. Human rights situation in SYRIA. Oral statement delivered by the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) Representative Gianfranco Fattorini.

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
17th session

Item 4:            Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Mr. President,

The Press Emblem Campaign believes that denying access to foreign media in Syria and hindering independent Syrian journalists from objective coverage of the turbulent events is a violation of article 19, on freedom of opinion and expression, of the International Covenant on civil and political rights.

The Geneva based NGO calls upon the Syrian government to grant access to foreign journalists to enter the country and cover the current explosive situation as well as to allow independent Syrian journalists to cover freely. If any are detained the PEC calls for their immediate release.

The world has observed that the developments in Syria were covered by amateur videos channeled through world satellite media, no first hand coverage was allowed by independent media.    

The PEC shares the views of Irina Bokova, the UNESCO Director-General on the situation of journalists in Syria.

In this regards she was concerned about reports of journalists covering anti-government protests in countries such as Syria going missing or being subjected to threats and physical violence.

The PEC calls upon the Council to endorse a recommendation that would allow a study on such serious violations against journalists including the right to life covering 2010 and 2011 and to be presented to the Council in March 2012. The PEC expresses its willingness to spearhead this effort with other like-minded organizations.

I thank you Mr. President.

16th June 2011 

***14.06.2011. Human rights situation in Palestine. Oral statement of the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) delivered by the PEC representative Gianfranco Fattorini

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
17th session

Item 1:            Organizational and procedural matters

Report of the HC on the status of the implementation of the conclusions contained in the report of the fact-finding mission  (HRC/17/47)

Item 7:            Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories

"Mr. President,

The Press Emblem Campaign would like to thank Madame High-Commissioner for her report.

Justice Karl Hudson-Phillips, Chair of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission said the Mission made critical findings. As far as journalists are concerned Justice Karl Hudson-Phillips noted in a press conference last March that the attack on the Mavi Marmara started from where the press center was functioning. He added Israeli Special Forces confiscated all equipment of journalists, several journalists were severely injured and at least one, a Turkish journalist was brutally killed.

The PEC asks whether the inaction of the international community on crimes against journalists will turn those tragedies in forgotten stories and requests the Council to take concrete action to bring the perpetrators of those attacks to justice.

The flotilla attacks reflect the escalating nature of killings which require an added attention from the international community to the global problem of the protection of journalists.

Mr. President,

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) monitored 218 violations against journalists and media outlets during 2010 in West Bank and Gaza Strip. During the Year 2011 there were no improvements regarding media freedoms in the Palestinian occupied territories. MADA has monitored many violations against journalists, committed by both the Israeli Occupation Forces and Palestinian security services.

The Center monitored 12 violations against media during last May. The Israeli Occupation Forces attacked 13 journalists, detained 5, prevented one from traveling, arrested two and prevented a group of journalists from covering. On the Palestinian side, there were many violations against journalists in the West Bank and the Gaza strip.

The PEC reminds the Council that during period of the Gaza war carried out by Israel a cap on media coverage was imposed by the Israeli authorities.

The Press Emblem Campaign would suggest to the Council to organize a working group to document all violations against journalists in 2010 and 2011 as a yardstick that would encourage the Council to embark on a resolution that would accord journalists in situations of military conflict a special status.

I thank you Mr. President.

14th June 2011"

***10.06.2011. LIBYA. PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) ORAL STATEMENT AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL delivered by the PEC Rep Gianfranco Fattorini 

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
17th session

Item 4:            Interactive dialogue
Report of the HC on the situation of human rights in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

"Mr. President,

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the detailed report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mme Navi Pillay on the serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed during the current military conflict in Libya.

The PEC would like to draw the attention of members of the Human Rights Council that 5 journalists were killed during the current conflict from Qatar, Libya, the UK, the US and South Africa. They were ambushed and targeted.

Dozens others were detained and brutally treated, many have disappeared.

The PEC would like to ask the High Commissioner whether those responsible for the killing of the 5 journalists would be in the future brought to justice as well as those who have intimidated and tortured journalists.

The second point regards existing international law provisions and the question is: are they sufficient to protect journalists in military conflicts or is there an urgent need to look into this global matter by discussing and introducing new guidelines to protect journalists in military conflicts and situations of civil unrest?

The ongoing conflicts such as the Libyan one show without any doubt that media work is challenged by unprecedented dangers and new situations that make it impossible for journalists to register as witnesses gross human rights violations for a simple reason is that their basic right which is the right to life is being violated.

I thank you Mr. President".

***08.06.2011. PEC AWARD 2011. The PEC award 2011 honors leading media and civil society who played a pivotal role in the success of the ongoing Arab Spring // Le Prix PEC 2011 récompense des militants et organisations ayant joué un rôle-clef dans le succès du "printemps arabe" (go to our special page PEC AWARD) 

***06.06.2011. Oral statement of the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) at the UN Human Rights Council, delivered by PEC representative Gianfranco Fattorini

General Assembly
Human Rights Council
17th session

Item 3:    Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

Gianfranco Fattorini, Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) representative at the United Nations (photo): 

"Mr. President,

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses its great appreciation to Mr. Frank La Rue for highlighting in his report the importance of opening the internet to all humanity without restrictions except in criminal cases.

However, considering the developments undergoing in the Arab region, the PEC would have liked Mr. La Rue to highlight the damage caused to journalists in conflict zones in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria. The PEC belives that those issues are of paramount importance to the future of freedom of opinion and expression.

In this regard, the PEC would like to draw the attention of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Mr. Frank La Rue, that his report did not include any information about the ordeal of foreign and national journalists covering the Arab uprising nor the tragedy of those who were killed in some cases directly ambushed by the forces of the regime in power.

According to the PEC figures, 43 journalists were killed since the beginning of 2011, at least 9 during the current Arab uprising and dozens have disappeared or are detained.

Now it has become a concrete issue that no member state of the Council nor the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression can ignore.

The PEC considers that the time has come to start deliberations in a Working Group on guidelines for the protection of journalists in conflict zones and during civil unrest. The PEC invites the Council’s members to consider the adoption of a resolution establishing this Working Group.

I thank you Mr. President".

***20.05.2011. LIBYA. PEC horrified by the death of South African journalist Anton Hammerl in Libya (read also on page PRESS)

Geneva, May 20 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is horrified by the death of South African journalist Anton Hammerl (photo), who was brutally killed by Libyan forces in Brega.
Freelance photographer Anton Lazarus Hammerl, a South African who also held Austrian citizenship, was killed in Libya on April 5, his family has just learned. Hammerl was traveling with three other journalists outside
of Brega when the group was attacked by government troops, who shot and killed him. Until this evening, when Hammerl's family announced his death in a post to the Facebook group "Free photographer Anton Hammerl," he was believed to be alive and detained by the Libyan government.
His colleagues recently released by Libyan forces said that when they arrived to Brega two armored Libyan military trucks carrying 10 pro-Gaddafi troops were all firing AK-47s over their heads.
All four journalists immediately dropped to the ground, diving to the side of the road. But the Libyan soldiers, who were coming over the hill, continued to fire, Foley said. Hammerl, who was closest to the fighting,
cried out for help. Foley called out, "Are you OK?"
"No," was Hammerl's only reply. After the third barrage of fire, Hammerl's cries ended.
American journalists James Foley and Clare Gillis and a Spanish photographer Manu Brabo were with Anton Hammerl.
They were abducted by Libyan forces since 5 April and were releases Thursday.
According to the accounts of the accompanying journalists Libyan forces were directly targeting journalists.
The PEC committee expresses its grief at this tragic loss of life in cold blood.
The Geneva based NGO calls upon the Human Rights Council in its June session and during the discussion of the report of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression to devote part of the discussion to
the protection needs of journalists in conflict zones and zones of civil unrest.

Message of the family on Facebook:

News on Anton Hammerl - Free photographer Anton Hammerl
At 10pm BST (11pm SA time) this evening we received devastating news
regarding Anton Hammerl.
On 5 April 2011 Anton was shot by Gaddafi’s forces in an extremely remote
location in the Libyan desert. According to eyewitnesses, his injuries
were such that he could not have survived without medical attention.
Words are simply not enough to describe the unbelievable trauma the
Hammerl family is going through.
From the moment Anton disappeared in Libya we have lived in hope as the
Libyan officials assured us that they had Anton.
It is intolerably cruel that Gaddafi loyalists have known Anton’s fate all
along and chose to cover it up.
Thank you so much for your love and support.
The Hammerl family

***19.05.2011. LIBYA. THE PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) WELCOMES THE RELEASE OF FOUR JOURNALISTS - ANTON HAMMERL STILL MISSING

American journalists James Foley, rear, and Clare Gillis, right, and British reporter Nigel Chandler, left, and Spanish photographer Manu Brabo, center, arrive at the Rixos hotel in Tripoli, Libya, after they
were released by the Libyan government on May 18, 2011. (Reuters)

(PEC/Global Post) Libyan authorities released on Wednesday four foreign journalists who had been held for more than six weeks to a hotel in Tripoli. Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi first captured GlobalPost correspondent James Foley, Clare Morgana Gillis, who has written for The Atlantic and USA Today, and Manuel Varela, a Spanish photographer who works under the name Manu Brabo, on April 5.
The fourth reporter appears to be Nigel Chandler, a British freelance journalist. It is unclear when, and under what circumstances, authorities first detained him.
Speaking to GlobalPost by phone from the Rixos Hotel, Foley said he was relieved and grateful for all the help that had been given to him and the other journalists during their more than six weeks of detention.
"I am overwhelmed to hear about all the support," he said. In a phone call to his mother in New Hampshire, Foley said that he was glad to be finally out and "just wanted to get home."
“We were overjoyed to get a telephone call from Jim shortly after his release today in Tripoli. He told me he was well and looking forward to coming home,” said his mother, Diane Foley. “We are extraordinarily
grateful to the many people who have worked on his release and we hope to have him home as soon as possible.”
Foley, Gillis and Brabo have languished in a series of detention centers in Tripoli for more than six weeks, during which time the Libyan government allowed them little to no communication with the outside. News that their release was imminent first came after a foreign diplomat, one of the few still left in Tripoli, was allowed to visit the jailed journalists about two weeks ago.
Mousa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the Libyan government, told the Associated Press earlier this week that the four journalists were detained because they had entered the country illegally, presumably for not having valid
visas. Their final court appearance, he said, took place on Tuesday.
Ibrahim also told the Associated Press on Monday that their release had been delayed because a NATO air strike had damaged buildings belonging to the Justice Ministry in the capital. All four journalists have been escorted to the Tunisian border on Thursday.
Foley, Gillis and Brabo were all captured together on April 5 while they were reporting on the outskirts of Brega, the eastern oil town that has seen some of the worst fighting since the conflict began. Foley had been
reporting on the Libyan rebel army for GlobalPost since mid-March.
A fourth journalist, South African Anton Hammerl, is still missing. Hammerl was originally thought to have been captured alongside Foley, Gillis and Brabo. But Libyan authorities have denied that they are holding
him and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Their situation was complicated when the Turkish government, which had been one of the only channels of communication with the Libyans, closed its embassy in Tripoli earlier this month and called for Gaddafi to step
down. It was Turkish diplomats in Tripoli who managed to secure the release of four New York Times journalists detained in March.
As their detention dragged on, a movement calling for their release, led by friends and family, grew in numbers. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition appealing to the Libyan authorities to release them.
Supporters have also been holding regular vigils and rallies to draw attention to their detention, most recently one in New York City on Sunday that was attended by both David Rhode, a New York Times journalist who was
held captive by the Taliban in 2009 for seven months, and Tyler Hicks, who was one of the New York Times journalists captured by Gaddafi forces in March.
Officials at the United Nations added their voices to the cause as well, as did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who last month urged the Libyan government to release all of the detained journalists. International organizations, including Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and others also campaigned for their release. 
Covering the Libyan conflict has proved dangerous for journalists. A number of Libyan journalists are missing and several foreign journalists remain in custody. Several journalists have also been killed while covering the fighting, including British photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington and American photographer Chris Hondros. The two were killed in April during clashes between rebels and government
forces in the Libyan city of Misurata.

***16.05.2011. LIBYA. URGENT APPEAL FOR INFORMATION ON PHOTOJOURNALIST ANTON HAMMERL. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and  83 people signed the letter, representing the media, freedom of expression and human rights communities around South Africa and abroad.

Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane
Minister of International Relations and Co-operation
Government of South Africa

By Fax: 00 27 12 351 0091 / 329 1000
By Email: minister@dirco.gov.za / malokae@dirco.gov.za

URGENT APPEAL FOR INFORMATION ON THE WELLBEING OF PHOTOJOURNALIST
ANTON HAMMERL

Dear Minister, We, the undersigned, respectfully appeal to the governments of South Africa, Austria
and Hungary to do everything within your power to ensure that freelance photojournalist Anton Hammerl is brought safely out of Libya. It has now been 42 days since Hammerl, a photojournalist with joint South African and Austrian citizenship, was reported missing in Libya. The Libyan government has assured Hammerl’s family and consular authorities of both countries that they have him in their custody but they have yet to produce evidence that he is alive and well.

The safety and wellbeing of journalists working in situations of armed conflict is protected under international human rights and humanitarian law. Notably, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) carries a specific obligation to protect individuals from arbitrary arrest or detention under Article 9, while Articles 6 and 7 stipulate that every human being has the right to life and to be protected from torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Article 19 of the ICCPR also provides crucial protection for journalists by means of the right to freedom of expression.

In addition, Article 79 of Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Convention specifically protects journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict, while UN Security Council Resolution 1738 of 23 December 2006 states that journalists and media workers should be “considered as civilians… and protected as such” during situations of armed conflict.

Further, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations provides for the interests and protection of country nationals within a foreign land. As a citizen of South Africa, Anton Hammerl is entitled to the consular services of the South African embassy in Tripoli. As a citizen of Austria, and therefore the European Union, Anton Hammerl is also entitled to support from Austrian consular services, through any functioning European diplomatic missions operating in Libya.

In a statement released by Hammerl’s family on Thursday 12 May, his wife Penny Sukhraj appealed to the South African government: the other journalists captured with Anton have been allowed to call their loved ones and receive visitors. We haven’t heard from him, and nobody has had access to him. We
absolutely need to know that Anton is well and that he will come home.”“Anxiety is escalating in the light of reports that Anton Hammerl is a seasoned photojournalist who was merely doing his job, covering the civil
conflict in Libya and attempting to bring images of this unfolding story into the wider world.

The family is desperate for news, having only received third-hand assurances that Hammerl is in custody. Sukhraj continued: “The only proof that Anton is well to date is that of the word of his captors. The Libyan authorities have made good on promises to those working to secure the release of the American and Spanish journalists but have yet to do so in the case of Anton. Why is Anton being treated differently to the other three?

“We are in regular contact with the Austrian and South African governments but they are yet to establish Anton’s whereabouts or safety. We need proof that Anton is well – and not just the word of the people holding him captive, but concrete proof in the form of a phone call or consular access. Where is the proof?”

We, the undersigned, are aware of the difficulties faced by diplomats during situations of
conflict. However, we respectfully urge you to: Co-operate fully among yourselves and with the Hammerl family, and to work in partnership in the best interests of Anton Hammerl’s safety.• Encourage the Libyan authorities to allow Hammerl to contact his family and be visited by consular officials, as a sign of good faith. We further urge President Jacob Zuma of South Africa to use his personal connection to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his role as a member of the African Union’s high-level panel on Libya to negotiate for Anton Hammerl’s immediate release. Ensure that Anton Hammerl, along with the other three foreign journalists he was reportedly captured with, is freed and allowed to return home as soon as safely possible.

Yours faithfully

ON BEHALF OF THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE PHOTOJOURNALIST ANTON HAMMERL COPIED TO:

1. Office of the President of South Africa: President Jacob Zuma
2. Foreign Minister of Austria: Dr Michael Spindelegger
3. Foreign Minister of Hungary (EU Presidency): Mr János Martonyi
4. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression: Mr Frank LaRue
5. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, African Commission on Human and
People’s Rights: Ms Pansy Faith Tlakula
6. Representative on Freedom of the Media, Organisation for Security and Co-operation
in Europe: Ms Dunja Mijatovic

NOTES To reach Penny Sukhraj, please call +44 7758 318 815 or emailpenny.sukhraj@gmail.com.

Anton Hammerl travelled into Libya via Egypt in order to cover the unfolding civil conflict there. He last spoke to his wife Penny Sukhraj on 4 April, saying he was heading for a rural location some distance from Benghazi, along with a group of fellow journalists and photographers. He has not been heard from since. On 7 April, another photographer called Sukhraj to report that this group had been captured by troops loyal to the Gaddafi regime.
Human Rights Watch in Geneva later confirmed this information. The Libyan government also confirmed that it had four international journalists in their custody and it was presumed that this included Anton Hammerl.
Subsequently, it has emerged that three foreign journalists – United States citizens James Foley and Clare Gillis, and Spanish citizen Manu Brabo – are being held in Tripoli by the3Libyan regime. These three journalists have been in contact with their families and have been allowed consular access. However, although they have confirmed that Hammerl was captured with them, he has inexplicably been separated from the group and has had no further contact with them, or with the outside world.

Anton Hammerl is an experienced photojournalist who cut his teeth covering political and social events during the critical transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa in the early and mid-1990s. He has been senior photographer at the Sunday Independent, the Star and Saturday Star, and was also picture editor of the Saturday Star. As a freelance photojournalist, he has worked on assignment for Associated Press and several other local and international agencies.

Hammerl has also won a number of prestigious awards for his work, including the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass (1997), the Abdul Shariff Humanitarian Photographer of the Year (1997, 1999), Mondi Shanduka Photographer of the Year (2005), and the Fuji Africa News Image of the Year (2006).
Hammerl is the father of a daughter and two sons. He lives with his wife and family in London, where he continues to work as a freelance photojournalist. END

***13.05.2011. AFGHANISTAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joins others to mark the 500 days that french reporters Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier have been held hostage in Afghanistan and renews its call for an immediate release // La PEC se joint aux autres organisations pour marquer les 500 jours de détention des journalistes français Hervé Ghesquière et Stéphane Taponier en Afghanistan et renouvelle son appel à leur libération immédiate

EVENTS are being held around France to mark the 500 days that reporters Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier have been held hostage in Afghanistan.

The two journalists, who were filming a Pièces à Conviction segment for France 3 were kidnapped on December 29, 2009 at Kapisa, 60km from Kabul, along with three Afghan colleagues.

"It's the longest kidnapping of journalists since Lebanon in the 1980s," said the spokesman for the hostages' support group, Richard Coffin.

Several claims have been made by the French government that negotiations were on the brink of securing the release of the hostages.

The latest came from Defence Minister Alain Juppé who announced on May 4 that the pair were nearly freed at the beginning of year but the deal collapsed.
The faces of two French journalists taken hostage 500 days ago in Afghanistan occupied the front pages of several French dailies on Friday, amid hopes that the death of Osama bin Laden could lead to their release.

Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier, journalists with France 3 public television, were abducted on December 29, 2009, about 60 kilometres north-east of Kabul, along with three Afghan assistants.

The French government, which has been trying to negotiate their release, says it is certain they are still alive and being held by the Taliban, but has given few other details.

The last video recording of the two dates to December 20.

Their captivity is the longest by a member of the media in years.

Jean-Louis Normandin, a journalist who was held captive in Lebanon for two years in the 1980s, said Friday 500 days was an important symbol and called for people nationwide to 'shout their despair.'

The Taliban in January accused the pair of spying, allegations rejected by France as 'absurd.'

On May 2, Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said the killing by US commandos of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden could impact 'positively' on the fate of the two journalists.

In January bin Laden, in an audio message, had linked the fate of French hostages to the presence of French troops in Afghanistan.

France has around 4,000 troops serving under the NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan.

***12.05.2011. LIBYA: PEC denounces attempts of using journalists as human shields by Gadhafi

LINK TO THE VIDEO: Gadhafi holds meeting under journalists' noses at Tripoli hotel. #libya
Gadhafi appears on TV as rebels make gains - storyful

Geneva, 12 May (PEC) – Footage released by Sky News from a video shot by its reporter Mark Stone gives details of a room in Rixos Hotel where Gaddafi had apparently held a meeting Wednesday.

The Libyan regime by holding this  meeting in the hotel which hosts all the international media has turned its abuse of journalists to a new level using their presence as human shields for the protection of Gadhafi, said today the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC). 

According to the PEC, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi used the hotel for security reasons to deny rumors that he was killed during a coalition bombardment over Tripoli. Libyan public TV aired footage of this meeting.  

The journalists in Tripoli have no freedom of movement and are used by the regime for its propaganda, adds the PEC.

The PEC denounces this abuse of journalists which now has turned into a long chain from detention, to torture as well as of killing international journalists including Libyan and Arab journalists working for world outlets.

So far from the beginning of the Libyan conflict four journalists were killed from Qatar, Libya, the USA and the UK.  

In previous conflicts like that in Iraq in 2003 heavy bombardment of Baghdad by US forces led to the catastrophic tragedy of targeting the Palestine hotel that hosted international journalists.

The PEC calls for the immediate release of all journalists detained in Libya, among them for more than a month: James Foley (GlobalPost), Clare Morgana Gillis (USA Today, The Atlantic), Manuel Varela (or Manu Brabo), a spanish photographer, South Africain photographer Anton Hammerl, american freelancer Matthew VanDyke, british journalist Kamel al-Tallou (Al Jazeera), and others.

The journalists detained are used as a diplomatic bargaining tool by Muammar Gadhafi. Uncommunicado detention is unlawful, denounces the PEC.

***02.05.2011. WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2011 – PEC statement (en français et espagnol après l’anglais)

The PEC denounces the repression of media during the evolving Arab Spring

GENEVA, (PEC) 2 May 2011- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) deplores in the strongest possible manner and condemns the killing of journalists during the current Arab revolt known as the Arab Spring. Four of the 9 journalists during the Arab Spring were killed  in Libya alone by an authoritarian regime. So as the other five targeted by ruling dictators in the region.

Since the beginning of the year 31 journalists were killed in work related activities. Four journalists were killed in Libya, two in Bahrain, one in Yemen, one in Egypt and one in Tunisia.

The casualty rate during the Arab Spring has made Middle East and North Africa the most dangerous working zone for journalists since January with another 5 journalists killed in Iraq, followed by four in Pakistan and one in Gaza: 19 media employees killed since January. Latin America is the second most dangerous region with 7 journalists killed in 4 months.

During the Egyptian revolution that led to the end of the Mubarak regime more than 150 aggressions were recorded against foreign and Egyptian journalists. At least 32 journalists were detained in an arbitrary manner in Libya by the Gaddafi forces, often mistreated, and the fate of another dozen is still unknown. In Bahrain, Syria and Yemen journalists whether local or foreign were intimidated, mistreated, and imprisoned.

In Afghanistan 2 French journalists are still detained as hostages by the Taliban since January 2010 some 16 months ago.

PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen saluted the fallen journalists on World Press Freedom Day by declaring that they have sacrificed their lives to inform international public opinion while taking great risks.

“They have fought for freedom, for justice and against violence. They were witnesses of horrors of war. We pay tribute to their courage and their work,” stressed Lempen.

He added that journalists were targeted by fear that their coverage would have a domino effect in other countries ruled by authoritarian regimes, however the restrictions imposed on media coverage did not hinder the flow of information through other channels. Dictators could not stop modern technology and social media who played a key factor to spread  information.

PEC President Hedayat Abdelnabi said that the Arab Spring has led to a new and constructive cooperation between bloggers and among bloggers across borders, a phenomenon that has become that of the "revolutions of bloggers without borders".

She added that the constructive cooperation between fellow bloggers from Tunisia, Sweden the US and other countries to reinforce the bloggers in Egypt and provide them with gateways to overcome the suspension of the Internet has opened new avenues for a new group of media across the globe, a new media to defend freedom of opinion and expression, with unhindered access that has put dictators in a state of paralysis.

The bloggers of Egypt, who led the revolution, said Abdelnabi, returned the favor and are now lending their arm to support other Arab bloggers in their efforts to move out the dictators.

Appalled by the heavy load for media, the PEC hopes nevertheless that a new era has opened the door to freedom of expression in the Arab countries and calls upon all regimes in the region to put an end to this wave of repression which was clearly condemned by the international community.

The Geneva based NGO, PEC, renews its call to all UN member states to adopt a new convention for the protection of journalists in conflict zones and in zones of internal unrest, the current events have proven to be a necessary and vital instrument.

Journée de la liberté de la presse 2011
La PEC dénonce la répression envers les medias lors du printemps arabe

Genève (PEC), 2 mai 2011 - 31 journalistes ont été tués en exerçant leur métier depuis le début de l'année, dont au moins 9 lors des troubles qui ont accompagné le printemps arabe, a déploré lundi la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC), en dénonçant la poursuite de la répression exercée par des régimes autoritaires à bout de souffle.

4 journalistes ont été tués en Libye, deux au Bahreïn, un au Yémen, un en Egypte, un en Tunisie. Le Moyen-orient et l’Afrique du Nord est la région la plus dangereuse depuis janvier, si l'on y ajoute cinq journalistes tués en Irak, quatre au Pakistan et un à Gaza, soit 19 au total. L’Amérique latine suite avec 7 journalistes tués en quatre mois.

Le renversement d'Hosni Moubarak en Egypte a donné lieu à plus de 150 agressions diverses visant des journalistes égyptiens et étrangers. Au moins 32 journalistes ont été détenus de manière arbitraire en Libye par les forces de Mouammar Kadhafi, certains parfois maltraités, et le sort d'une dizaine d'entre eux n'est pas clarifié à ce jour. Au Bahreïn, en Syrie et au Yémen, des journalistes locaux et étrangers ont été harcelés, maltraités, emprisonnés. En Afghanistan, deux journalistes français sont détenus en otages par les talibans depuis janvier 2010, soit depuis 16 mois.

"Ils ont sacrifié leur vie par passion pour leur métier en prenant de grands risques pour informer l'opinion mondiale. Ils ont lutté pour la liberté, pour la justice, contre la violence. Ils ont voulu témoigner des horreurs de la guerre. Nous rendons hommage au courage de nos confrères", a déclaré le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale pour la liberté de la presse.

"Les journalistes ont été ciblés par des régimes autoritaires soucieux de manipuler les faits et d'éviter l'effet domino. Pourtant, les restrictions dont ont été victimes les medias n'ont pas empêché l'information de circuler par de multiples canaux", a constaté Blaise Lempen. "Les dictatures ne peuvent rien contre les nouvelles technologies de l'information, contre la multiplication des medias, contre les nombreux militants qui informent sur
les réseaux sociaux", a-t-il ajouté.

La présidente de la PEC Hedayat Abdelnabi a souligné que le printemps arabe a été le témoin d’une nouvelle coopération entre blogeurs à l’intérieur des pays et à travers les frontières, un phénomène devenue « la révolution des blogeurs sans frontières ».

La coopération entre blogeurs de plusieurs pays, comme l’Egypte, la Suède et les Etats-Unis, a ainsi permis aux blogeurs en Egypte de contourner les obstacles mis par le pouvoir à l’utilisation d’internet et a ouvert de nouvelles voies pour la défense de la liberté d’expression avec un accès sans entraves qui a paralysé l’action des dictateurs. A leur tour, les blogeurs en Egypte ont soutenu les autres militants arabes dans leurs efforts pour neutraliser les dictatures.
 
Affligée par ce très lourd bilan pour les medias, la PEC a néanmoins l'espoir que la liberté de la presse sorte renforcée de ces événements dans l'ensemble des pays arabes. Elle exhorte tous les régimes autoritaires à cesser de réprimer ceux qui ont pour seul objectif d'informer, des abus fermement condamnés par la communauté internationale. L'ONG basée à Genève renouvelle son appel à tous les gouvernements pour l'adoption d'une convention internationale renforçant la protection des journalistes dans les zones de conflit et de violences internes, dont la nécessité a été fortement ressentie une fois de plus au cours de ces derniers mois.  

Dia de la libertad de prensa 2011
Denuncia la PEC represión contra los medios durante la “primavera árabe”

Ginebra, 2 mayo 2011.- En el día de la libertad de prensa, la Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC)*denuncia enérgicamente la represión ejercida por los regímenes autoritarios contra los medios informativos, en particular la violencia contra los periodistas durante los sucesos en curso en países árabes, donde al menos nueve periodistas fueron asesinados en la denominada “primavera árabe”.

31 periodistas han sido asesinados en pleno ejercicio de su oficio desde que se inició el año, denuncia la PEC. Cuatro periodistas fueron asesinados en Libia, dos en Bahrein, uno en Yemen, uno en Egipto, uno en Túnez, asegura la ONG basada en Ginebra.

El Medio Oriente y el Norte de África –señala un comunicado de la PEC – dado a conocer hoy han devenido las regiones de mayor peligrosidad para los medios desde enero, si se tiene en cuenta que cinco periodistas fueron muertos en Iraq, cuatro en Pakistán y uno en Gaza, o sea 19 en total. A estas regiones les sigue América Latina, donde siete periodistas hallaron la muerte en cuatro meses en pleno ejercicio de su profesión.

El derrocamiento de Hosni Mubarak en Egipto dio lugar a más de 150 variadas agresiones cuyos objetivos eran
los periodistas egipcios y extranjeros. Al menos 32 periodistas fueron detenidos arbitrariamente en Libia por las
fuerzas de Muammar Gadafi, algunos en ocasiones maltratados, y la suerte de una decena de ellos no ha sido aún esclarecida.

En Bahrein, en Siria y en Yemen, periodistas locales y extranjeros han sido acosados, maltratados, encarcelados. En Afganistán, dos periodistas franceses son mantenidos como rehenes por los talibanes desde enero del 2010, es decir, desde hace 16 meses.

“Han sacrificado sus vidas por la pasión de su oficio, tomando grandes riesgos para informar a la opinión pública mundial. Han luchado por la libertad, por la justicia, contra la violencia, ellos han querido testimoniar los horrores de la guerra. Nosotros, rendimos homenaje al coraje de nuestros colegas”, ha dicho el Secretario General de la PEC, Blaise Lempen, en ocasión del Día mundial de la libertad de la prensa.

“Los periodistas - afirma Lempen- han sido un objetivo para los regímenes autoritarios empeñados en manipular los hechos y evitar el efecto dominó. No obstante, las restricciones de las cuales han sido víctimas los medios no han impedido que las informaciones circulen por múltiples canales”. “Las dictaduras no pueden nada contra las nuevas tecnologías de la información, contra la multiplicación de los medios, contra los numerosos militantes que informan a través de las redes sociales”, ha puntualizado Lempen.

La Presidenta de la PEC, Hedayat Abdelnabi, por su parte, ha subrayado que “la primavera árabe ha sido testigo de una nueva cooperación entre los blogueros en el interior de los países y a través de sus fronteras, un fenómeno convertido en “la revolución de los blogueros sin fronteras”.

Asimismo, ha puesto énfasis en que la cooperación entre blogueros de numerosos países, como Egipto, Suecia y Estados Unidos, ha permitido a los blogueros en Egipto sortear los obstáculos puestos por el poder al uso de la Internet y ha abierto nuevas vías para la defensa de la libertad de expresión con un acceso sin trabas que ha paralizado la acción de los dictadores.

Aunque afligida por tan pesado balance para los medios, la PEC mantiene la esperanza de que la libertad
de prensa salga reforzada de los acontecimientos en los países árabes. La ONG –que goza de estatuto consultivo en el ECOSOC- ha exhortado a todos los regímenes totalitarios a cesar la represión contra quienes sólo tienen por objetivo informar de los abusos firmemente condenados por la comunidad internacional..

La PEC reitera su llamamiento a todos los gobiernos con vistas a la adopción de una convención internacional que refuerce la protección de los periodistas en las zonas de conflicto, o de violencias internas, una necesidad que se ha hecho más evidente en los últimos meses.
* Siglas en inglés.

***20.04.2011. LIBYA. THE PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) SHOCKED AND OUTRAGED: two photoreporters Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros killed in Misrata, two other journalists wounded. 

Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Tim Hetherington was killed Wednesday in a mortar attack in Misrata, Libya, according to multiple news organizations. At least three other journalists were wounded in the same attack.

"Tim died about two hours ago," Peter N. Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch and a friend of Hetherington's told Vanity Fair. "Three other journalist[s] were also hit [in an] R.P.G. attack, one being Getty photographer Chris Hondros; photographer Guy Martin, of the Panos Agency, who is in very serious condition; and a freelancer, Michael Brown, who is slightly wounded." Chris Hondros also died.

Last year, Hetherington and journalist Sebastian Junger made the Afghanistan War documentary "Restrepo," which won won the Grand Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Hetherington also made a book of photographs titled "Infidel," which captured soldiers in northeastern Afghanistan in 2007-2008 serving battle, relaxing and sleeping in the Korengal Valley.

Tim and Chris are the third and fourth journalists killed in Libya since March (see details on PRESS)

On Wednesday, just before these dramatic events, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed serious concern about the treatment of journalists by the Libyan authorities

“The unhindered presence of international observers, including media, would help calm the situation and curb excesses,” Pillay said on Wednesday. She expressed serious concern about the treatment of journalists by the Libyan authorities. At least two journalists have been killed, and some 16 others are missing, including ten international journalists and six Libyans. Dozens of others have been detained, assaulted, physically abused --
possibly to the point of torture -- or expelled.

"Journalists have been suffering a terrible toll in terms of assaults, arbitrary detentions and expulsions in all the crises taking place in the Middle East and North Africa, including most recently in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen," Pillay said. "But they have been hardest hit in Libya. I am extremely concerned about all those journalists known to be in detention in Libya, or whose whereabouts are unknown, and call on the Libyan government to release them immediately."

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday condemned the reported repeated use of cluster munitions and heavy weaponry by Libyan government forces in their attempt to regain control of the besieged city of Misrata, and said that such attacks on densely populated urban areas, resulting in substantial civilian casualties, could amount to international crimes.

"Since the city is largely cut off, it is not known precisely how many civilians have died or been injured during two months of fighting there, but it is clear that the numbers are now substantial, and that the dead include women and children” Pillay said.

"I urge the Libyan authorities to face the reality that they are digging themselves and the Libyan population deeper and deeper into the quagmire. They must halt the siege of Misrata and allow aid and medical care to reach the victims of the conflict," Pillay said.

***17.04.2011. GAZA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns strongly the killing of Vittorio Arrigoni

Vittorio Arrigoni (photo ap, August 29, 2008) - The body of 36-year-old Arrigoni, active in the International Solidarity Movement with the Palestinians (ISM), was found hanging last week in an abandoned house in Gaza.
The kidnapping was made public on Thursday night, when the group uploaded a video to You Tube. The video showed Arrigoni after he had been beaten, with music and the words to an Islamic prayer playing in the background.
After a symbolic Gaza funeral on Monday, Arrigoni's body will be transferred to neighboring Egypt and then to Italy.
 

Geneva, 17 April, 2011 - (PEC) -- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns strongly the killing of Italian journalist and human rights activist Vittorio Arrigoni.

Vittorio Arrigoni. was known to be a stronger supporter of the Palestinian people, he went out with Palestinian fishermen to protect them against Israeli attacks, noting that his presence as a European with the flotilla of fishing boats will protect the Palestinian fishermen.

Hamas awarded Vittorio Arrigoni the Palestinian passport. The journalist wrote for the italian newspaper "Il Manifesto".

Acts like those that ended the life of Vittorio Arrigoni are nothing bit outright terrrorism acts that are heinous and despicable.

The kidnapped Italian journalist's body was found in Gaza after he was killed by a radical Islamist group, a Hamas security official said Friday.

The Salafist extremists, inspired by terror group al Qaeda, had posted a video of what they claimed was an Italian reporter on YouTube, tied up and blindfolded. They had threatened to kill him within 30 hours if Hamas did not release a number of Palestinian prisoners.

The PEC calls upon Hamas to bring the perpetrators of this crime that is outrageous to justice.

This killing brings to 27 the number of journalists killed since January in 13 countries. 

***11.04.2011. PEC condemns targeted killings of journalists recently in Iraq and Libya, 23 killed since January in 12 countries, calls for a special session of the HRC (French and Spanish below - DETAILS BELOW ON JOURNALISTS DETAINED AND FREED) (see also on page PRESS)

Geneva, April 11 (PEC) -- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns in the strongest possible manner targeting journalists in zones of conflict the latest Taha Hameed, Director of the Iraqi satellite news channel al-Massar TV. Hameed was traveling in Baghdad with human rights activist Abed Farhan Thiyab, when unknown gunmen shot them dead in their car on 9 April.

Recent killings of journalists in zones of military conflict include Jamal al-Sharabi, photojournalist, Al-Masdar, Sanaa, Yemen, March 18 and Mohammed al-Nabbous, Libya Al-Hurra (Free Libya), Benghazi, Libya, March 19. In addition the PEC condemns strongly the ambushing of Director of  photography at Al Jazeera Ali Hassan Al-Jaber near Benghazi, Libya, March 12.

The PEC is worried by the detention of some 30 journalists by Libyan authorities during the course of  the conflict and pronounces its strong denunciation  of their inhuman treatment by the authorities.

The PEC calls upon Libyan authorities to release all journalists detained and to put an end to its campaign of intimidation of media personnel. The Geneva based NGO calls upon the Libyan authorities to release without delay information on the missing journalists.

The Geneva based NGO joins all like minded defenders of human rights and NGOs who are calling for a special session of the Human Rights Council to discuss gross human rights violations by the current regimes in Bahreïn, Yemen and Syria and to include in that session a special section on the victimization of media.

In addition the PEC calls upon the Bahraini, Syrian and Yemeni governments to allow free access and coverage of the civil unrest underway, and to put an end to the crackdown on the local media.

According to the PEC monitoring of media casualties 23 journalists were killed from the beginning of this year among them 5 in Iraq. 

La PEC condamne les assassinats de journalistes en Irak et en Libye – 23 journalistes tués depuis le début de l’année dans 12 pays. L’ONG demande une session spéciale du Conseil de l’ONU sur le Bahreïn, la Syrie et le Yémen

Genève, 11 avril (PEC) – La Presse Emblème campagne (PEC) condamne de la manière la plus ferme l’assassinat de journalistes dans les zones de conflit dont le dernier en date, celui du directeur de la chaîne de TV irakienne Taha Hameed samedi 9 avril à Bagdad. Hameed se déplaçait avec le militant des droits de l’homme Abed Farhan Thiyab quand ils ont été tués dans leur voiture par des inconnus.
 
D’autres journalistes ont été tués récemment, Mohammed al-Nabbous, de Free Libya, à Benghazi le 19 mars et Jamal al-Sharabi d’Al-Masdar le 18 mars à Sanaa au Yémen.

La PEC condamne aussi l’embuscade dont a été victime Ali Hassan Al-Jaber d’Al-Jazeera près de Benghazi le 12 mars.
 
La PEC s’alarme aussi de la détention de plus de 30 journalistes de toutes nationalités par les autorités libyennes depuis le début du conflit et condamne les mauvais traitements subis par certains lors de leur détention.
 
L’ONG basée à Genève demande aux autorités de Libye de libérer tous les journalistes encore détenus et de mettre un terme à leur campagne d’intimidation du personnel des medias. Elle demande aux autorités de Tripoli de donner sans délai des informations sur les journalistes disparus.
 
La PEC se joint aux autres ONG qui demandent aux membres du Conseil des droits de l’homme de se réunir d’urgence en session spéciale pour débattre des graves violations commises ces derniers jours à Bahreïn, en Syrie et au Yémen en incluant les menaces dont sont victimes les médias.
 
Elle demande aux autorités du Bahreïn, de Syrie et du Yémen d’autoriser l’accès en toute sécurité des médias aux zones de troubles et de mettre un terme à la répression visant les médias locaux.
 
Selon le décompte de la PEC, depuis le 1er janvier, 23 journalistes ont été tués dans 12 pays dans le monde, dont cinq en Irak. 

La PEC condena el asesinato de periodistas en Iraq y en Libia- 23 periodistas asesinados desde el inicio del año en 12 países. La ONG pide una sesión especial del Consejo de la ONU sobre Bahrein, Siria y Yemen.

Ginebra, 11 de abril (PEC) La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC) condena enérgicamente el asesinato de periodistas en las zonas en conflicto; el último, el del director de la cadena de TV iraquí, Taha Hameed, el sábado 9 de abril en Bagdad. Hameed iba acompañado del militante de derechos humanos Abed Farhan Thiyab, cuando fueron asesinados en su coche por desconocidos.

Otros periodistas han sido también asesinados recientemente, entre ellos Mohammed al-Nabbous, de Libia Libre (Free Lybia), en Benghazi, el 19 de marzo, y Jamal al-Sharabi, de Al-Masdar, el 18 de marzo, en Sanáa, Yemen.
La PEC condena asimismo la emboscada de la cual fue víctima el pasado 12 de marzo Ali Hassan Al-Jaber, de Al-Jazeera, cerca de Benghazi.

La PEC está alarmada por la detención de más de 30 periodistas de todas las nacionalidades por las autoridades libias desde el inicio del conflicto y condena los malos tratos a que han sido sometidos durante su detención.

La ONG basada en Ginebra pide a las autoridades de Libia que liberen a todos los periodistas que todavía mantienen detenidos y que pongan fin a su campaña de intimidación del personal de los medios de comunicación. Asimismo solicita a las autoridades de Trípoli que suministren sin demora las informaciones correspondientes a los periodistas desaparecidos.

La PEC se suma a las otras ONG que demandan a los miembros del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU de reunirse con urgencia en sesión especial para debatir sobre las graves violaciones cometidas estos últimos días en Bahrein, Siria y Yemen, incluyendo las amenazadas de que son víctimas los medios.

Se solicita también a las autoridades de Bahrein, de Siria y de Yemen, que autoricen el acceso seguro a los medios en las zonas de disturbios y poner fin a la represión de los medios de comunicación locales.

De acuerdo con el recuento de la PEC, desde el 1ero de enero, 23 periodistas han sido asesinados en 12 países en todo el mundo, de los cuales, cinco en Iraq.

***07-14.04.2011. LIBYA. Journalists detained,  others missing (news updated in chronological order) (see also PRESS)

Al Jazeera calls for release of journalists in Libya - Qatar-based satellite channel Al Jazeera called on Wednesday 13 Aprisl for the release of two journalists still in detention in western Libya. The reporting team of two correspondents and two cameramen was arrested near Zintan last month.

Ahmed Vall Ould-Eddin was released to the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, following the freeing of Lotfi al-Massoudi last week. But Ammar al-Hamadan from Norway, and Kamel al-Tallou from Britain remain in detention, Al Jazeera said in a statement. "We're extremely grateful for the support we've been receiving from around the world. This was vital in getting Lotfi and Ahmed out, and is still needed to secure the release of Ammar and Kamel," an Al Jazeera spokesman said.

Protests and vigils were held in support of the detained journalists, including in Jakarta, Cairo, Baghdad, Istanbul, Geneva, Khartoum, Nouakchott, Oslo and Doha, the channel said.

The Komsomolskaya Pravda journalists seized in Libya are free, a source at the newspaper told Itar-Tass April 11. “Alexander Kots called the newspaper office at about 9:30 p.m. Moscow time and said that they had just been freed. The contact was broken after that,” the source said.  “We are glad that everything is all right. The guys want to stay in Libya, although the newspaper administration is considering the expediency of their further work in that region. We want to thank everyone who has helped free our journalists,” he said.
Komsomolskaya Pravda journalists Alexander Kots and Dmitry Steshin and an NTV filming crew were seized between Ajdabiya and Benghazi at about 1:00 p.m. Moscow time on Friday. There is no information about the NTV filming crew so far.

There was no confirmation on Friday 8 April that more than 20 foreign journalists have been expelled by the Libyan government on the grounds that their visas had expired. The media outlets include Britain's Channel 4, CNN, Fox News, The Independent, Italian TV, ITV, Le Figaro, Los Angeles Times, The Times of London, NBC News, The New York Times, RAI, RTL, and The Sunday Times of London. Late Wednesday, Libyan officials in Tripoli posted a list of 26 foreign journalists whom they said were slated for departure on Thursday because their visas had expired. However, on Thursday, Libyan officials said that may have been an administrative error and no one on the list was expelled. It is not clear whether Libya intends to expel any of the journalists at a later date.

However it follows a series of individual arrests and deportations in recent weeks. The most recent was that of Daily Telegraph correspondent, Damien McElroy, on 3 April, preceded by Michael Georgy, an American journalist working for Reuters, on 30 March. Four journalists – a South Africa, two Americans and a Spaniard – have been missing in the east of the country since 4 April. Lofti Ghars, a journalist with Canadian and Tunisian dual citizenship who works for Al-Alam TV was arrested by pro-Gaddafi forces on 16 March as he arrived in Libya from Tunisia. Three Al-Jazeera journalists who were arrested in early March – Mauritian reporter Ahmed Vall Ould el-Dine, Norwegian photographer Ammar Al-Hamdane and British photographer Kamel Ataloua – are still being held by pro-Gaddafi forces in the west of the country. A fourth Al-Jazeera journalist who was arrested at the same time, Tunisian Lotfi Messaoudi, was released on 31 March. Rana Akbani, a woman reporter of Syrian nationality, has been missing in eastern Libya since 28 March.

On Thursday, pro-Qaddafi forces detained photographers Manuel Varela, Anton Hammerl, James Foley, and reporter Clare Morgana Gillis on the outskirts of the city of Brega. The Global Post, for which Foley was reporting,  confirmed that all four journalists were in government custody. Witnesses said the four journalists came under fire while traveling in a van near the north-central city, forcing them to stop, the Global Post said, citing information from Human Rights Watch. Pro-Qaddafi forces detained the four journalists while releasing their driver, the Global Post and others said. According to CPJ research Hammerl, who is South African, works for The Christian Science Monitor; Varela, who is Spanish, is a freelance photographer on contract with the European Pressphoto Agency; Foley, who is American, works for the Global Post; and Morgana Gillis, an American, is a freelancer for The Christian Science Monitor, The Atlantic, and USA Today. The PEC is also concerned about the fate of American freelance journalist Matthew VanDyke, who has been missing in Libya since mid-March, according to his family and news reports.

***03.04.2011. LIBYA. PEC joins call for release of Al Jazeera journalists held in Libya for three weeks.

Al Jazeera demands the immediate release of two correspondents and two cameramen detained again by Gaddafi's forces. On March 31, Libyan authorities re-arrested four Al Jazeera journalists just hours after they were released.

They had been detained earlier by Libyan authorities near Zintan, in the northwest of the country, and then imprisoned in Tripoli for three weeks.

Their latest incarceration came after one of the journalists, Lotfi Al Masoudi, told Tunisian radio station Jawhara FM in a telephone interview that they had been released and that they had been treated well in detention.

Al Masoudi, a Tunisian national, was re-taken on Thursday along with Ahmad val ould Eddin, a Mauritanian national, Ammar Al-Hamdan, a Norwegian national of Palestinian descent, and Kamel Al Tallou, a Libyan citizen.

During their brief freedom, the three non-Libyan nationals met with their respective ambassadors in Tripoli to discuss their situation and their planned departure for Tunisia the following day.

Libyan authorities have not provided any information about why or where the journalists are being held.

"We call on Libyan authorities to release the Al Jazeera journalists and all other journalists that they or their forces are holding," Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said. 
 
Ahmad val ould Eddin first joined Al Jazeera in 2008. He worked as a correspondent in South Africa for a couple of years before he returned to the newsroom in Doha. He reported on Africa, which led him to cover Libya during the recent uprising. A Mauritanian, he has two daughters, Layla and Lubna. He writes a blog called "Kounach", in which he collects articles he published in several newspapers. He is a passionate reader of Arabic poetry, especially by Al-Mutanabbi.

Lotfi Al Masoudi joined Al Jazeera from CNBC Dubai in March 2007 and started off as a presenter for Al Jazeera Sport. He is a native of Kairouan, Tunisia, and his main professional goal has been to make sure that Al Jazeera stays at the forefront of the news industry. This devotion took him to Libya to cover the conflict there as a correspondent. Lotfi is 34, married, and has a 2-year-old son named Mohamad Khalil. Lotfi and his wife Amira hope to have a family reunion soon. 
 
Kamel Al-Tallou joined Al Jazeera as a cameraman recently, driven by his passion for journalism despite his medical education and background as a doctor. Al-Tallou studied medicine in Tripoli before working as a doctor in England until 2009. Kamel, 43, is married with three sons and one daughter. 

Ammar Al-Hamdan is a Norwegian cameramen with a multicultural background. He is of Palestinian origin, born in Baghdad in 1977 and brought up in Oslo, where he married a Norwegian journalist. Ammar has worked in Al Jazeera's Oslo bureau since last year.

Since Libya's revolt began in February, CPJ has documented more than 60 attacks on the press, including two fatalities, more than 33 detentions, two attacks on news facilities, numerous instances of equipment confiscation, three cases of obstruction, the jamming of satellite news transmissions, and the interruption of internet service.

On March 12, Ali Hassan Al Jaber, an Al Jazeera cameraman, was killed in an ambush while returning to Benghazi after filing a report from an opposition protest.

During the crackdown, Libyan authorities have targeted four  and a Guardian.

And at least seven local journalists who spoke critically of government policies remain missing amid wide speculation that they are being held by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's embattled leader.
(Source: Al Jazeera)

***24.03.2011. LIBYA. The safety situation for journalists remains fluid and precarious as fierce fighting continues in parts of Libya (INSI Safety advisory FYI)

During a fifth consecutive night of air strikes by international forces, a number of loud explosions were heard in Tripoli, with at least one reported at the military base in the Tajura region east of the capital. Airstrikes are expected to continue in the capital and journalists should restrict their movements as much as possible.

Journalists in Tripoli are expressing frustration at the lack of freedom and the fact they are constantly followed by government minders and cannot work freely. News crews should be aware that the repercussions of trying
to work without minders could be severe and journalists are advised not to do this.

Benghazi is currently quiet, although a resurgence in celebratory gunfire is posing a safety concern with bullets falling back to the ground and raising the risk of accidental death and injury in and around the city.

Many journalists are flooding in to Libya's second city at the moment, and they should be aware that, although it is not currently the site of heavy fighting, the front line could change rapidly. There are contradictory reports about how local people in Benghazi are reacting to the influx of foreign journalists and news teams should be
aware that attitudes may also shift rapidly.

In addition, there have been some logistical issues reported. With communication networks still down, many teams are having to rely on satellite phones. As a result of this, there has been some problem finding
good and reliable drivers and news crews who felt comfortable travelling by night just last week are no longer doing so.

Meanwhile, two AFP journalists and a Getty photographer have been released after being detained. The three were released after being arrested in Ajdabiya. Their release comes after that of four New York Times
journalists earlier this week, who were subjected to what they called “days of brutality” in an article written for their newspaper (INSI) (see below)

***23.03.2011. LIBYA. Deeply shocked, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns bad treatments of journalists detained -Freed New York Times journalists held by Libyan government recall nightmarish ordeal

Four New York Times journalists who had been held for nearly a week by the Libyan government were released Monday to Turkish diplomats. Their release was negotiated with the help of Turkish authorities.
The four are Times' Beirut bureau chief Anthony Shadid, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner; photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, and reporter-videographer Stephen Farrell.
During their nightmarish ordeal, the journalists were forced to run for their lives under gunfire, threatened with execution and kept in a filthy jail cell with some water to drink and a bottle to urinate in.
When they were first captured, they thought death was imminent. "I heard in Arabic, 'Shoot them,' " Shadid told The Times. "And we all thought it was over."
But then another soldier said, "'No, they're American. We can't shoot them,'" Hicks said.
Addario suffered the worst treatment. One of her captors removed her shoes, pulled out the laces and used them to bind her ankles. Another punched her in the face and laughed. A third grabbed her breasts.
"There was a lot of groping," she said. "Every man who came in contact with us basically felt every inch of my body short of what was under my clothes."
A soldier threatened to decapitate Hicks, and another told Addario repeatedly that she was going to die.
The four were reporting from the rebel-controlled eastern region when Khadafy's forces detained them.
Editors lost touch with the journalists last Tuesday as forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy overran the city of Ajdabiya.

Read the full report on: www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/world/africa/22times.html

***23.03.2011. LIBYA. AFP journalists freed

The French News Agency, AFP, says Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces have freed two of its journalists and a photographer accompanying them. AFP said reporter Dave Clark, photographer Roberto Schmidt and Getty Images photographer Joe Raedle were released in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, early Wednesday.

The three journalists had gone missing after sending an email late Friday saying they were heading to an area 35 kilometers outside the eastern city of Tobruk to report on the fighting between pro-Gadhafi forces and rebels. The French News Agency quoted the journalists' driver as saying they were seized by soldiers loyal to Mr. Gadhafi.

AFP reported that a Gadhafi spokesman said the Libyan leader ordered the release of the journalists after receiving an appeal from AFP chairman Emmanuel Hoog. The agency quotes Hoog as thanking the Libyan government for its “promptness” in freeing the journalists.

***22.03.2011. LIBYA. Western journalists arrested by forces loyal to Kadhafi

Three western journalists who went missing in eastern Libya last week, including two from Agence France-Presse, were arrested by forces loyal to leader Moamer Kadhafi, their driver said. AFP reporter Dave Clark and photographer Roberto Schmidt, and Getty photographer Joe Raedle, had not been heard from since Friday evening.
Driver Mohammed Hamed told AFP that on Saturday morning he took the three journalists from Tobruk on the road to Ajdabiya, where Kadhafi loyalists have been fighting eastern rebels. A few dozen kilometres from Ajdabiya, they encountered a convoy of military jeeps and transport vehicles. They turned around, but were
intercepted by the soldiers who caught up with them and forcibly arrested them, the driver said.
Four soldiers ordered the journalists out of their vehicle at gunpoint. Clark, an experienced foreign correspondent, identified themselves in Arabic as journalists, the driver said. They were then ordered to kneel on the side of the road with their hands on their heads.
Other civilians and ambulances arrived on the scene and were controlled by soldiers who arrived in large number, Hamed said. The soldiers then set fire to several vehicles, including that used by the journalists, who were put into a military vehicle and driven away. The interpreter who accompanied them, Sudki Abdulkarim Jibril, told the rebel Radio Tobruk that their vehicle had been pursued for some 50 kilometres before the soldiers brought it to a halt by shooting out the tyres.
"We don't know where they were taken," he said. "They were allowed to keep their telephones but not their cameras."
Clark, 38, and Schmidt, 45, had informed AFP editors in an email on Friday of their plans to head 35 kilometres (22 miles) out of Tobruk. They planned on meeting opponents of the regime of Libyan leader Moamer
Kadhafi and speaking with refugees fleeing the battles between rebels and the loyalists. Clark and Schmidt were accompanied by Raedle, 45, a photographer from the Getty Images agency. The journalists had not been heard of since sending the email Friday night.
Paris-based Clark has been in Libya since March 8 while Schmidt, who normally works out of the Nairobi bureau, arrived in Libya on February 28. Since the February 15 start of the insurrection against Kadhafi's regime,
a number of foreign journalists have been arrested in Libya.
Four New York Times reporters, who were detained last week during the fighting between government and rebel forces, left the country safely on Monday after Turkey helped secure their release, the newspaper said.
On Saturday the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television said that four of its journalists, including a Norwegian and a Briton, are being held in Tripoli after being arrested in Libya's west.

***21.03.2011. Libya Releases 4 New York Times Journalists

The Libyan government released four New York Times journalists on Monday, six days after they were captured while covering the conflict between government and rebel forces in the eastern city of Ajdabiya. They were
released into the custody of Turkish diplomats.
Like many Western journalists, the four who have extensive experience in war zones had entered the rebel-controlled eastern region of Libya over the Egyptian border without visas to cover the insurrection. They were
detained by forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi in Ajdabiya.
The journalists are Anthony Shadid, The Times’s Beirut bureau chief, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for international reporting; two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, who have extensive experience in war zones; and a reporter and videographer, Stephen Farrell, who in 2009 was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan and was rescued by British commandos.
After The New York Times reported having lost contact with the journalists last Tuesday, officials with the Qaddafi government pledged that if they had been detained by the government’s military forces, they would be
located and released unharmed.
A spokesman for the Turkish embassy in Washington, Rauf Denktas, says the journalists were handed over to the Turkish ambassador in Tripoli and were expected to cross the border to Tunisia Monday.
In a statement Monday, the newspaper said: "We are grateful that our journalists have been released, and we are working to reunite them with their families. We have been told they are in good health and are in the
process of confirming that. We thank the Turkish, British, and U.S. governments for their assistance in the release. We also appreciate the efforts of those in the Libyan government who helped secure the release
this morning."

***21.03.2011. PEC statement - The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) warmly welcomes the new Secretary-General of the IFJ amidst growing dangers for journalists

Geneva, 21 March (PEC) -- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) warmly welcomes the appointment of Brazilian journalist and union activist Elizabeth Costa as the new Secretary-General of the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ).

The PEC board expresses its hope that a new and constructive chapter of cooperation will start with Elizabeth Costa, at this crucial and turning point in the work of journalists when the phenomenon of detention have
turned into a phenomenon of abduction by the Libyan regime.

As Costa assumes the reigns of the IFJ it was reported Sunday evening that two journalists of the French News Agency (AFP) and a photographer from the Getty agency were reported missing Saturday. The PEC calls for their immediate release.

PEC President Hedayat Abd El Nabi and PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen both express hope to hold a meeting as soon as possible with Costa to embark together on a solid cooperation that will improve the
protection of journalists in war zones and civil unrest.

Both PEC officials noted that the appointment of Costa comes at a crucial moment in the life of journalists when their profession is at risk in places like Libya, Yemen and others in the Middle East.

Since the beginning of the Spring revolution in North Africa, Lempen said, 5 journalists have been killed: 2 in Libya, one in Yemen, one in Egypt and one in Tunisia.

Lempen added that at least 5 Arab and foreign media crews in Libya have been held by the Libyan
authorities (BBC, New York Times, the Guardian, Al-Jazeera, AFP), many Libyan journalists have
disappeared.

As we enter the crucial phase of operation Odyssey Dawn the work of journalists will become more
complicated in Libya.

The PEC warned that journalists could become targets of the reckless indiscriminate military machinery of the Libyan leader.

***21.03.2011. LIBYA. AFP Journalists missing in Libya 

Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists Dave Clark and Roberto Schmidt have been missing since Friday in Libya while working in the eastern Tobruk region.

Reporter Clark, 38, and photographer Schmidt, 45, had informed the agency in an email on Friday (local time) of their plans to head 35 kilometres out of Tobruk.

They planned on meeting opponents of the regime of Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi and speaking
with refugees fleeing the battles between rebels and the loyalists.

Clark and Schmidt were accompanied by a photographer from the Getty Images agency, Joe Raedle.
The three journalists have not been heard of since sending the email on Friday night.

Paris-based Clark has been in Libya since March 8, while Schmidt, who normally works out of the Nairobi bureau, arrived in Libya on February 28.

Since the February 15 start of the insurrection against Gaddafi's regime, a number of foreign journalists have been arrested in Libya. Authorities in Tripoli said they were holding four New York Times journalists after they went missing in the east of the country last Tuesday.

The paper said they were to be freed on Friday, but there has been no confirmation that they were indeed released.

On Saturday, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television said that four of its journalists, including a Norwegian and a Briton, were being held in Tripoli after being arrested in Libya's west.

***20.03.2011. LIBYA . Four Al Jazeera reporters held in Tripoli

Four journalists working for Al Jazeera, including a Norwegian and a Briton, are being held in Tripoli after being arrested in Libya's west, the Qatar-based satellite channel said.

Al Jazeera said Lotfi al-Messaoudi, a Tunisian, Ahmed Vall Ould Addin, a Mauritanian, Ammar al-Hamdan, a Norwegian cameraman, and British national Kamel Atalua were arrested while "carrying out their duties" in western Libya.

A statement on the channel's website said that the Libyan authorities "will be held accountable for the safety, security and well-being of the team".

It added that "regional parties" were combining their efforts in a bid to secure the journalists' release, but did not elaborate.

In Oslo, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, Frode Andersen, said it had been informed by Al Jazeera that a journalist with Norwegian nationality had been arrested by forces loyal to Libyan strongman Moamar Gaddafi.

"We urge that he and his colleagues be immediately released and hold the Libyan authorities entirely responsible for their safety," he said.

Since the February 15 start of the insurrection against Mr Gaddafi's hardline regime, a number of foreign journalists have been arrested in Libya.

***19.03.2011. YEMEN. Yemen expels two Al-Jazeera journalists - one photoreporter shot dead

Yemen has ordered two Al-Jazeera television correspondents to leave the country, saying they were working illegally and had acted unprofessionally, Saba state news agency said Saturday.

An information ministry official was quoted as saying Ahmed Zidan and Abdulhaq Saddah had "provoked the people of Yemen" with their news coverage.

The report did not say exactly what it was the two men had done to merit their expulsion.

The news comes a day after snipers killed 52 anti-regime protesters in Sanaa in the latest wave of protests that has killed at least 70 people since they erupted in January.

In the Friday violence, Yemeni photojournalist Jamal al-Sharaabi, who worked for the independent weekly Al-Masdar, was shot dead by Yemeni security forces, media rights groups reported.

Saba reported on Wednesday that Yemen has expelled four foreign journalists whom it accused of violating its residency laws.

Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has identified them as two Britons -- Oliver Holmes and Portia Walker -- and two Americans -- Haley Sweetland Edwards and Joshua Maricich. RSF has also said that another US journalist, Patrick Symmes, and his Italian photographer, Marco Di Lauro, were deported last week.

***18.03.2011. LIBYA. Qaddafi Son Says Libya Will Release 4 New York Times Journalists

TRIPOLI, Libya — Four New York Times journalists missing in Libya since Tuesday were captured by forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and will be released, the Libyan leader’s son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi told Christiane Amanpour in an ABC News interview early Friday.

Like many other Western journalists, the four had entered the rebel-controlled eastern region of Libya over the Egyptian border, without visas, to cover the insurrection against Colonel Qaddafi.

“They entered the country illegally and when the army, when they liberated the city of Ajdabiya from the terrorists and they found her, they arrest her because you know, foreigners in this place,” Mr. Qaddafi said, according to the transcript of the interview, which took place shortly after the United Nations Security Council approved military action against Libyan government forces. “But then they were happy because they found out she is American, not European. And thanks to that, she will be free tomorrow.”

Mr. Qaddafi was apparently referring to Lynsey Addario, a photographer, but Libyan government officials told the State Department on Thursday evening that all four would be released.

The Libyan government allowed the journalists to call their families on Thursday evening.

The journalists are Anthony Shadid, The Times’s Beirut bureau chief and a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent; two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Ms. Addario, who have extensive experience in war zones; and a reporter and videographer, Stephen Farrell, who in 2009 was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan and rescued by British commandos.

“We’re all, families and friends, overjoyed to know they are safe,” said Bill Keller, the executive editor of The Times. “We are eager to have them free and back home.”

After The Times reported having lost contact with the journalists on Tuesday, officials with the Qaddafi government pledged that if they had been detained by the government’s military forces they would be located and released unharmed.

====================================================================

18.03.2011. The PEC mourns board member Victor Kocher (Neue Zürcher Zeitung correspondent). 

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) mourns deeply member of the PEC board Victor Kocher (photo), a Swiss journalist with Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), who was extremely dedicated to the issue of the protection of journalsits.  Kocher (58), a friend to all members of the PEC board, was an Arabist who knew well the Arab region, spoke Arabic and knew the difficult working conditions of his colleagues the journalists in the Arab region.  He survived all the wars in the Middle East that he covered and was killed on holidays. During his short term as PEC board member he was very constructive in dialoguing with Swiss institutions to back the PEC cause for the protection of journalists in conflict zones and civil unrest.  PEC President Hedayat Abd El Nabi, in mourning deeply Victor, said that Victor is not only a loss for the Swiss community of journalists but also for the PEC and for the UN community of journalists in Geneva.  Abd El Nabi added that his absence will be felt strongly, he will be missed dearly. Victor, she said, met his fate just days after finishing his book, he will not be there to launch it, but in the UN in Geneva all his colleagues will honor him and launch it jointly on his behalf. The PEC presents its most sincere condolences to his family and those who are close to him, and to the PEC board.  Victor died in an accident in the Swiss Alps.

Un journaliste de 59 ans se tue à St-Luc (VS)

St-Luc VS (ATS) Un journaliste alémanique de 59 ans a perdu la vie alors qu'il se promenait avec son épouse sur un chemin forestier non loin de St-Luc (VS) jeudi en milieu d'après-midi. Il s'agit de Victor Kocher, correspondant de la "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" au Palais des Nations à Genève.

L'homme est tombé sur une plaque de glace et a glissé le long d'un couloir sur une centaine de mètres. Il est décédé sur les lieux de l'accident, précise la police cantonale dans un communiqué vendredi. Ce journaliste d'expérience passait ses vacances dans le Val d'Anniviers, a précisé sa rédaction.

Domicilié dans le canton de Vaud, Victor Kocher rendait compte de la Genève internationale pour le compte de la "NZZ" depuis deux ans. Il avait auparavant été correspondant au Proche-Orient durant de nombreuses années, relève la "NZZ".  

 ===================================================================

***17.03.2011. LIBYA. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, the Guardian correspondent detained by the Libyan authorities a fortnight ago, has been released. Four journalists of the New York Times missing in Libya

Abdul-Ahad and Andrei Netto, a correspondent for the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S Paulo, were picked up in the coastal town of Sabratha on 2 March, then moved to a prison on the outskirts of the capital, Tripoli.
Netto was freed a week ago but Libyan officials continued to hold the Guardian reporter despite protests from the newspaper. The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, said: "We are delighted that
Ghaith has been released and is safely out of Libya. We are grateful to all those who worked behind the scenes to help free him after his ordeal."
Abdul-Ahad entered Libya from Tunisia and was last in touch with the paper on the day of his capture. The journalist, an Iraqi national, is a highly respected staff correspondent who has written for the Guardian since 2004. He has reported from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan, telling the stories of ordinary people in times of conflict. He has won many of the most prestigious awards available to foreign correspondents, including foreign reporter of the year at the British
Press Awards, the James Cameron award and the Martha Gellhorn prize.
Netto has said he believed his own release was made possible by the actions of the Brazilian embassy in Tripoli and by the good relationship that existed between Brazil and Libya.
News of Abdul-Ahad's release came as the New York Times said four of its journalists were missing in Libya. They are: Anthony Shadid, the paper's Beirut bureau chief; two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, who have worked extensively in the Middle East and Africa; and Stephen Farrell, a reporter and videographer who was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2009 and rescued by British commandos.
The NYT said it had last been in contact with the four journalists on Tuesday morning, New York time. The paper said it had received reports they may have been detained by government forces in the eastern town of Ajdabiya.
The paper's executive editor, Bill Keller, said: "We have talked with officials of the Libyan government in Tripoli, and they tell us they are attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of our journalists. "We are grateful to the Libyan government for their assurance that if our
journalists were captured they would be released promptly and unharmed." He said their families and colleagues were anxiously seeking information about their situation.
The White House on Wednesday urged the Libyan government to refrain from harassing or using violence against journalists. President Obama's spokesman Jay Carney said the US was firm in its belief that journalists should be protected and allowed to do their work.

***15.03.2011. LIBYA. PEC condemns the killing of Aljazeera cameraman near Benghazi

Human Rights Council HRC/11/35 - MORNING 15 March 2011
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONCLUDES GENERAL DEBATE ON SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE
THE COUNCIL’S ATTENTION

Speech delivered by the UN PEC Representative Dario Cervantes:

"The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns in the strongest possible manner the ambush prepared for Aljazeera crew near Benghazi that left its cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber dead. 

This was no accident but targeted killing by the pro-Qaddafi forces. The ICRC in a statement issued last week called upon all parties to apply strictly the set rules of International Humanitarian Law, that would include no targeted killings of journalists. 

In addition to the killing of  Aljazzera cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber, Libya has witnessed since the beginning of the armed conflict attacks on three BBC journalists and the disappearance of a number of Libyan and foreign journalists and the injury of a French journalist covering the unfolding events. 

The PEC has called upon OHCHCR and the Human Rights Council to start an independent inquiry into the attacks which are witnessed in the field against journalists, these are not second source stories but are live events. 
 
The Geneva based NGO with UN consultative status urge the two bodies to move asap to a new stage to convene a meeting to discuss guidelines in war zones and  civil unrest that would protect journalists". (END) 

More 13.03.2011 (CNN):  An Al-Jazeera cameraman was killed in an apparent ambush near Benghazi, Libya, becoming the first journalist killed in the country since the start of the civil war, the network reported Saturday.

Ali Hassan al Jaber was returning to Benghazi, an opposition stronghold in the east, from a nearby town where he had reported on an opposition protest when "unknown fighters opened fire on a car he and his colleagues were traveling in," Al-Jazeera reported on its English-language website.

The cameraman and another person were wounded. Al Jaber was rushed to a hospital, but did not survive, the network said.

"Al-Jazeera condemns the cowardly crime, which comes as part of the Libyan regime's malicious campaign targeting Al-Jazeera and its staff," the network reported. RELATED TOPICS Libya Al Jazeera

Since the start of the revolt last month, the government has kept a close eye on journalists. Reporters in Tripoli have been given minders and, in some cases, prevented from covering protests.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday it has documented more than 40 attacks on the media in Libya since February. They include 25 detentions, four assaults, two attacks on news facilities, the jamming of transmissions, and the interruption of internet service, the New York-based advocacy group said.

Several journalists have also reported the confiscation of their equipment, it added.

Friday, CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson and his crew were detained in Tajura, Libya, east of Tripoli, by forces loyal to Gadhafi. They were released, though their cabdriver was not.

"We are free to go anywhere, any time, talk to who we want, when we want. That's what Moammar Gadhafi's son told me, that's what Libya told the U.N. We already knew it was all lies -- look at any number of our colleagues arrested, detained, in some cases, beaten -- but today it came home to us personally," Robertson wrote.

Wadah Khanfar, director-general of Al-Jazeera, said the network "will not remain silent" and vowed to hold those responsible for al Jaber's death to account, Al-Jazeera reported.

Al Jaber, a Qatari national, was born in 1955 and studied cinematography in Cairo, the network said. More info below

***11.03.2011. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls the United Nations to take concrete steps to protect journalists and access to information in North Africa and the Middle East

PEC oral statement during the general debate item 3 - on the occasion of the 16th session of the Human Rights Council, 11 march 2011,  delivered by PEC United Nations Representative in Geneva Dario Cervantes (photo pec) at the Palais des Nations, room XX  

 PEC statement at the Human Rights Council: "The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has repeatedly called upon the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake an international enquiry on the attacks against journalists during the Arab spring revolution, in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Bahrain and Iraq. The PEC would like this enquiry to be enlarged to cover the transitional period in countries where the revolution turned successful.

    Today the PEC extends its call to the Human Rights Council and believes that this enquiry should take place without delay. The more the judges sit back the greater the risk to hide documents about those brutal attacks against journalists.

    It is because journalists are the conscience and the eyes and ears of the world in conflict zones and regions of civil unrest that special attention must be given to their plight and to secure their work environment to be able to provide testimonies of gross human rights violations.

    The Geneva based NGO, with UN consultative status, believes that the sequence of events should be in a time frame that permits the enquiry to present its findings to a panel discussion in the Council on the issue of “journalists: the conscience of the world”.

    In addition, the PEC requests that the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights organizes a seminar to discuss guidelines to protect journalists in conflict zones and zones of civil unrest.

    In the context of the revolution of the people in North Africa, the PEC denounces in the strongest possible manner the public statements by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who spoke of TV stations covering the unrest as “these dogs”, those words were pronounced by Gaddafi on 21 February. Never again must media accept such pronouncements by officials who are in charge of a country.

    Three journalists working for the BBC were arrested and beaten lately by Libyan soldiers and police, and were subject to simulation of an execution, they stayed detained 21 hours and left Libya afterwards. 

    The PEC strongly condemns such acts against journalists and insists on their free unfettered access to all places in Libya.

    Recalling that at least 110 journalists were killed in 2010 and 13 others from the beginning of this year, attacks against journalists have remained unabated since the beginning of the Arab Spring revolution in Tunisia, Egypt Libya and others, those attacks include intimidation, injuries, violation of the right of information, confiscating media equipment, and other attacks including the physical assault against an American journalist, all these heinous acts calls upon the Human Rights Council to take concrete steps". (END)  

***11.03.2011. LIBYA. Brazilian reporter Andrei Netto of the O Estado de São Paulo newspaper has been released after being held for eight days. Netto, who is normally based in Paris, was arrested by pro-Gaddafi forces at the Tunisian-Libyan border as he was trying to resolve problems regarding the way he had entered the country. His newspaper said he was beaten and kept blindfolded during the eight days he was held in Sabratha, a town 60 km west of Tripoli.

***10.03.2011. LIBYA. JOURNALISTS TARGETED, BEATEN, DETAINED, MISSING: THE PRESS EMBLEM (PEC) VERY WORRIED.
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's security forces detained and beat up a BBC news team who were trying to reach the strife-torn western city of Zawiya.

Members of the three-man team were beaten with fists, knees and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions by Libyan troops and secret police.

The three were detained on Monday and held for 21 hours, but have now flown out of Libya.

Government forces are in a fierce fight to wrest Zawiya from rebel control. Artillery and tanks have pounded the city - which lies 50km (30 miles) from the capital Tripoli - over the past four days.

The BBC said in a statement that it strongly condemned the "abusive treatment" of its journalists.

"The safety of our staff is our primary concern especially when they are working in such difficult circumstances and it is essential that journalists working for the BBC, or any media organisation, are allowed to report on the situation in Libya without fear of attack," said the statement from Liliane Landor, languages controller of BBC Global News.

"Despite these attacks, the BBC will continue to cover the evolving story in Libya for our audiences both inside and outside the country."

'Gun against neck'

The BBC Arabic Service team showed their identification when they were detained at an army roadblock on Monday.

They had been seeking, like many journalists, to get around government restrictions by reaching besieged Zawiya.

The three of them were taken to a huge military barracks in Tripoli, where they were blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten.

One of the three, Chris Cobb-Smith, said: "We were lined up against the wall. I was the last in line - facing the wall.

"I looked and I saw a plain-clothes guy with a small sub-machine gun. He put it to everyone's neck. I saw him and he screamed at me.

"Then he walked up to me, put the gun to my neck and pulled the trigger twice. The bullets whisked past my ear. The soldiers just laughed."

A second member of the team - Feras Killani, a correspondent of Palestinian descent - appears to have been singled out for repeated beatings.

Their captors told him they did not like his reporting of the Libyan popular uprising and accused him of being a spy.

The third member of the team, cameraman Goktay Koraltan, said they were all convinced they were going to die.

During their detention, the BBC team saw evidence of torture against Libyan detainees, many of whom were from Zawiya.

Koraltan said: "I cannot describe how bad it was. Most of them [other detainees] were hooded and handcuffed really tightly, all with swollen hands and broken ribs. They were in agony. They were screaming."

Killani said: "Four of them [detainees] were in a very bad situation. There was evidence of torture on their faces and bodies. One of them said he had at least two broken ribs. I spent at least six hours helping them drink, sleep, urinate and move from one side to another."

A senior Libyan government official later apologised for the BBC team's ordeal.

Libya - Two journalists missing in Libya

Two journalists are missing in Libya. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, who works for the London-based Guardian newspaper, and Andrei Netto from Brazil’s O Estado do Sao Paolo were last heard on Sunday when they were on the outskirts of Zawiyah, which has been the scene of heavy fighting over the past few days.
The Guardian has released a statement saying “urgent efforts are under way to establish the whereabouts” of Abdul-Ahad, who has been reporting from western Libya for the past two weeks.
“The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan government officials in Tripoli and London and asked them to urgently give all assistance in the search for Abdul-Ahad and to establish if he is in the custody of the authorities”, the newspaper added.
Abdul-Ahad, who is an Iraqi national, has reported from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan, since he joined the Guardian in 2004.
He is believed to have been travelling with Andrei Netto, currently the Paris correspondent for O Estado do Sao Paolo. The Brazilian newspaper said it had been receiving “indirect information” until Sunday that indicated Netto was then in the area of Zawiyah, some 30 miles from Tripoli and alright.

Pillay condemns Libyan security forces violence against journalists

GENEVA – The UN High Commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay on Thursday condemned the detention and possible torture of an international news team as they sought to cover the situation in the western Libyan city of Zawiya.

“Journalists take great risks to ensure that an accurate picture of what is happening in conflict zones emerges,” Pillay said. "They play an extremely important role in bringing human rights violations to light. In this case, the crew’s own experience provides a graphic example of the types of violations that are being committed in Libya."

The BBC news team of three was reportedly beaten and subjected to mock executions by members of the Libyan army and secret police.

“For them to be targeted, detained and treated with such cruelty, which could amount to torture, is completely unacceptable and in serious violation of international law,” she added. "If an international television crew can be subjected to this type of treatment, it makes me extremely concerned about the treatment that is most likely being meted out to Libyan opponents of the regime who have fallen into the hands of the security services. The media must be allowed access to report what is happening in Libya, without facing either restrictions, intimidation or violence."

The High Commissioner noted that the journalists had reportedly observed terrible conditions in the detention centre where they were held, "including clear signs that other detainees had been subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment."

She said reports of the continued aerial bombardment of civilians and the use of military grade weapons and tanks on city streets were outrageous and would be investigated as possible crimes against humanity. Pillay also expressed her utmost concern over accounts she has received of summary executions, rapes and disappearances in the country.

Citing the ongoing formation of an independent international Commission of Inquiry into events in Libya, and the Security Council’s referral of the case to the International Criminal Court, Pillay said the members of security forces should not believe they can commit such acts with impunity.

“Be warned: whether you are ordering torture or carrying out the orders, you will be held personally criminally responsible,” she said.

***28.02.2011. LIBYA. PEC statement (FRENCH and SPANISH texts after ENGLISH)
PEC calls upon Human Rights Council for an independent inquiry on attacks on media in Arab countries facing unrest

(See also OTHER NEWS for Iraq, Yemen)

GENEVA, February 28 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) continues ringing the bells of alarm concerning the coverage of media during the current unrest
in the Arab region.

- The Geneva based NGO with UN consultative status calls upon the Human Rights Council opening its session today to carry a separate investigation on numerous attacks targeting media in all the Arab countries undergoing the current unrest and calls for bringing the perpetrators of attacks against journalists to trial.

- The PEC calls upon the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to organize a meeting, following the panel discussion of 4 June 2010, on the protection of journalists in conflict zones; to study ways and means of improving better access for journalists to obtain neutral information in conflict zones and how to reinforce the work of journalists and their protection in situations of internal unrest.

- The PEC welcomes the resolution adopted  by the Human Rights Council on 25 February to establish an international commission of inquiry and to dispatch it as soon as possible to Libya. 
 
- The PEC denounces in the strongest possible manner the public statements by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on TV stations covering the unrest as “these dogs”, those words were pronounced by Gaddafi on 21 February. Leaders of countries must not speak of any media like this.
 
- Foreign journalists have entered Libya in the regions of unrest which are now under the control of the opposition. The PEC salutes the courage of those attempts to break the wall of silence on unfolding events of gross human rights violations by the regime in place and warns of substantial risks taken by journalists. 

- The Qatari based Aljazeera has accused the Libyan intelligence services of jamming its signal in Libya since 20 February. Its website is also inaccessible throughout the country. The Lebanese TV stations National Broadcasting Network (LBC), Al-Jadeed and Al-Manar have also said they are being jammed by Libyan authorities.

- Atef El-Atrash, a journalist with the Libyan newspaper Quryna, has been missing since 18 February, a day after he spoke on Aljazeera about the demonstrations in Benghazi. Two other Libyan journalists are reported missing.

- According to network security companies Arbor Networks and Renesys, the Internet has been cut several times since 18 February. Traffic has been partially restored but continues to experience a great deal of disruption. PEC also deplores that mobile communications with Benghazi and other cities were almost impossible as the East of Libya fell to the liberators. 


La PEC demande au Conseil des droits de l’homme une enquête indépendante sur les attaques commises à l’encontre des media dans les pays arabes

Genève, 28 février (PEC) La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) continue à être très inquiète de la situation difficile dans laquelle se trouvent les medias pour couvrir les violences en cours dans le monde arabe.

- L’ONG basée à Genève avec statut consultatif auprès de l’ONU demande au Conseil des droits de l’homme dont la session s’est ouverte le 28 février de lancer une enquête séparée sur les nombreux incidents visant les medias qui ont marqué les récents événements dans plusieurs pays arabes afin d’identifier et de poursuivre les responsables des attaques contre les journalistes.
 
- La PEC demande à la Haut Commissaire de l’ONU aux droits de l’homme Navi Pillay d’organiser une réunion sur la protection des journalistes dans les zones de conflit afin de poursuivre la discussion entamée lors du panel organisé le 4 juin 2010 au Conseil ; d’étudier les moyens de faciliter l’accès des journalistes aux zones troublées afin de leur permettre de fournir une information objective et de renforcer la protection des journalistes dans des contextes de violences internes.

- La PEC salue l’adoption par le Conseil des droits de l’homme le 25 février d’une résolution décidant l’envoi en Libye le plus rapidement possible d’une commission d’enquête internationale.
 
- La PEC dénonce de la manière la plus ferme les propos tenus le 20 février par le colonel Kadhafi insultant publiquement les stations de télévision. Ce sont des termes que des dirigeants politiques ne devraient jamais employer à l’encontre de médias.
 
- Des journalistes étrangers ont pu entrer en Libye dans les régions sous contrôle de l’opposition. La PEC salue leur courage et leurs efforts de rompre le silence sur des graves violations des droits humains commises par le régime en place et avertit des risques importants pris par les journalistes.
 
- La télévision basée à Qatar Al-Jazeera a accusé les services de sécurité libyens de brouiller ses émissions depuis le 20 février. Son site internet est aussi inaccessible dans tout le pays. Les stations libanaises LBC, Al-Jadeed et Al-Manar ont aussi affirmé être brouillées par les autorités de Tripoli. 
 
- Atef El-Atrash, un journaliste du journal libyen Quryna, est porté manquant depuis le 18 février, un jour après qu’il ait parlé sur Al-Jazeera des manifestations à Benghazi. Deux autres journalistes libyens sont portés disparus.
 
- Selon les entreprises Arbor Networks et Renesys, l’Internet a été interrompu plusieurs fois depuis le 18 février en Libye. Le trafic a repris partiellement mais son fonctionnement continue à être très irrégulier. La PEC déplore aussi que les communications mobiles avec Benghazi et d’autres villes aient été presque impossibles au moment où l’est de la Libye s’est soulevé contre Kadhafi.  

PEC pide al Consejo de Derechos Humanos una investigación independiente sobre los ataques a los medios de comunicación durante los disturbios en curso en los países árabes 

Ginebra, 28 feb.  (PEC) – La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC) sigue dando el grito de alarma en relación con la cobertura mediática durante los disturbios en curso en la región árabe.
 
- La organización no gubernamental con sede en Ginebra y con estatuto consultivo de las Naciones Unidas pide al Consejo de Derechos Humanos, que abre hoy sus sesiones, la apertura de  una investigación independiente sobre la cobertura mediática en todos los países árabes sometidos a la actual ola de disturbios y pide que se lleve a juicio a los autores de ataques contra periodistas.
 
- La PEC pide a la Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos, Navi Pillay, el organizar una reunión, tras la mesa redonda del 4 de junio de 2010, sobre la protección de los periodistas en zonas de conflicto, para estudiar las vías y mecanismos para mejorar el  acceso de  los periodistas a la obtención de información neutral en zonas de conflicto, así como la forma de reforzar el trabajo de los periodistas y su protección en situaciones de disturbios internos.
 
- La PEC acoge con satisfacción la resolución adoptada por el Consejo de Derechos Humanos el 25 de febrero para establecer una comisión internacional de investigación y su envío a Libia  lo antes posible.
 
- La PEC denuncia con la mayor severidad posible las declaraciones públicas del líder libio, Muammar Gadafi y su hijo Seif al-Islam-, quien se refirió a las estaciones de televisión que cubren los disturbios como "estos perros". Esta expresión fue empleada por Gadafi el 21 de febrero.
 
- Periodistas extranjeros han entrado en Libia en las regiones escenario de los disturbios y que están ahora bajo el control de la oposición. La PEC saluda la valentía de estos intentos de romper el muro de silencio sobre el desarrollo de los acontecimientos de graves violaciones delosderechoshumanos por parte del régimen.
 
- La cadena qatarí Aljazeera ha acusado a los servicios de inteligencia de Libia de interferir  su señal en ese país desde el 20 de febrero. Su sitio web también está inaccesible en todo el país.
Los canales libaneses de televisión Red Nacional de Radiodifusión (LBC), Al-Jadeed y Al Manar, también han dicho que sus señales están siendo interferidas por las autoridades libias. 
 
- Atef El-Atrash, un periodista del diario Quryna, está desaparecido desde el 18 de febrero, un díadespuésque habló en Aljazeera sobre las manifestaciones de Benghazi. Otros dos periodistas libios fueron reportados como desaparecidos a partir del sábado 26 de febrero de 2010.
 
- De acuerdo con las empresas de seguridad de la red Arbor Networks y Renesys, el servicio de Internet ha sido cortado varias veces desde el 18 de febrero. El tráfico ha sido parcialmente restaurado, pero sigue teniendo una gran cantidad de interrupciones. La comunicación móvil con las ciudades de Benghazi y otras era casi imposible desde que el este de Libia pasó a manos de los libertadores.   

***21.02.2011. LIBYA. THE PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) CONDEMNS RESTRICTIONS ON MEDIA COVERAGE, INTERNET ACCES, CENSORSHIP ON ALL MEDIA, ATROCITIES. A blanket ban on foreign journalists entering Libya has meant that facts are hard to verify. Libyan journalists who were arrested are missing

Read updates on PRESS

IFEX members have long been documenting the complete absence of independent media and privately owned TV or radio stations in Libya. Libyans who are critical of Qaddafi's regime are routinely disappeared or detained. Foreign journalists work under tight restrictions, and much of the information coming from Libya is impossible to verify. The crisis only serves to underline the severity of Libya's restricted media environment.

For example, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that Atef al-Atrash, a critical Libyan journalist who contributed to news websites Libya-Watanona and Libya al-Mustakbal, disappeared after reporting live on Al Jazeera from demonstrations in Benghazi on 17 February. He had reported that "several journalists" had been detained. He said on air there was "a clear attempt being made to isolate him."

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the daily "Libya Al-Youm" reported that internal security forces briefly arrested Taqi al-Din al-Chalawi and Abdel Fattah Bourwaq, the director and editor of the local news website Irasa on 16 February. The blogger Mohammed al-Ashim Masmari was arrested the same day after giving interviews about the protests to several satellite TV stations, including Al Jazeera and the BBC's Arabic service.

Human Rights Watch said security forces arrested a Benghazi journalist, Hind El Houny, on 17 February, bringing the total number of activists, dissidents, lawyers and former political prisoners arrested since the beginning of demonstrations to at least 17.

According to RSF, the Arab news website Shaffaf reported that in an attempt to stop the protests, "the official media have orchestrated a campaign against those who are trading on the blood of the martyrs." The authorities are also preventing journalists from moving about freely within the country and have denied entry to foreign journalists, says RSF. Local cable TV operators are forbidden to broadcast Al Jazeera but it is available by satellite, although its signal has been intermittently jammed. On 21 February, Al Jazeera reported that landlines and mobile phones have been cut off.

RSF says anti-government protesters responded by ransacking the premises of the Al-Jamahiriya 2 state TV station and Al-Shababia public radio station on 20 February. According to news reports, demonstrators took over a public radio station in Benghazi and appealed on the air to international media to cover the repression being orchestrated by "the criminal Gaddafi".

Meanwhile, the government has shut down all Internet communications in Libya, and arrested Libyans who have given phone interviews to the media, "making it extremely difficult to obtain information on developments there," said Human Rights Watch.

According to CPJ, Libya's Internet crackdown hasn't shown the same consistency as Egypt's six-day long blackout - connectivity has been intermittent - and it is difficult to tell if the shutdowns are deliberate. But CPJ can confirm that where Internet is available, Twitter, Facebook and Al Jazeera's websites have been added to Libya's normal political Internet filters.

"A potential human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Libya as protesters brave live gunfire and death," said Human Rights Watch. "Libya is trying to impose an information blackout, but it can't hide a massacre."

Updates on the situation of media in the Libyan crisis on PRESS 

***17.02.2011. Bahrain - as unrest spreads across the Middle East and North Africa, attacks on journalists are continuing in the region 

Sky News' Alex Crawford says the government is detaining journalists at Bahrain airport and their equipment is being seized. An ABC reporter covering the unrest in Bahrain was beaten. Miguel Marquez was reporting from Pearl Square in central Manama when he was attacked
mid-broadcast by security forces during their crackdown on protesters. He
was not badly injured.

News organisations report that all crews, even local media, are having their reporting gear impounded. Reports surface that it is becoming increasingly difficult to move around Manama, with very few taxis on the streets of the capital. 

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joigned the International News Safety Institute (INSI) to advise all journalists covering civil disturbances to take appropriate precautions. The following information may help (INSI civil disturbance checklist):
 
• Plan in advance • Establish pre-arranged contact points with the rest of your team (photographer, camera operator, producer, etc.) if you are separating • Always carry press identification but conceal it if it attracts unwarranted attention • Bring a cellular phone with emergency numbers pre-set for speed dialling • Position yourself upwind if there is a possibility that tear gas will be used • Bring eye protection such as swimming goggles or industrial eye protection • Carry first aid kits and know how to use them • Wear loose natural fabric clothing as this will not burn as readily as synthetic ones; remember there is always the possibility of gasoline bombs being exploded • Carry a small backpack with enough food and water to last for a day in case you are unable to get out of the area • If you are a reporter you don’t have to be in the crowd as long as you can see what’s happening • If you are a photographer or camera operator, try to shoot from a higher vantage point. The use of flats and buildings to report is common-place, but ensure exit is possible and does not become obstructed • Work with the team and keep a mental map of your escape route if things turn bad • Have an immediate newsroom debriefing after the coverage to extract lessons from the coverage

***16.02.2011. EGYPT. PEC condemns the attack against CBS journalist Lara Logan, Calls for an immediate and full investigation, and bringing the criminals to court 

CBS said in a statement: "Lara Logan (photo) was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a '60 Minutes' story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration."It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy. In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew."She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers." "She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering." Logan, who has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, previously worked for GMTV in Britain before joining CBS News in 2002.

(See PRESS for stories in French, Spanish)

GENEVA, 16 February (PEC) The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns in the strongest possible manner the assault on CBS journalist Lara Logan who was attacked beaten and harrassed sexually in Tahrir Square on Friday 11 February, the day former President Mubarak stepped down.
This is the first time that a foreign correspondent has suffered total violation of all human rights including her safety as a woman and the PEC believes it is tantamount to murder. 

The PEC find in this horrific incident another justification to start forthwith an immediate and full investigation in all attacks targeting journalists. 
CBS announced in a statement that Lara was flown to the United States where she is hospitalized. According to CBS Lara was preparing a story for 60 minutes when she and her crew were surrounded by some 200 people out of control. 
 
Lara, 39, originally a national from South Africa, was separated from her crew and was beaten and according to CBS was a victim of a prolonged sexual attack, several women and members of the Egyptian army saved her. 
 
The PEC, in a record number, has issued 5 statements on mistreatment of the media during the 18 day Egyptian revolution, this is the 6th in a row which shows the gravity of the situation of media coverage in Egypt and other countries during the situation of civil unrest.  
 
The Geneva based NGO calls upon the Egyptian authorities as we approach the Friday of celebrations where millions will be gathering in Tahrir square to make a serious effort to protect foreign and Egyptian journalists. 

***14.02.2011. PEC expresses hope that Egypt’s transition period will bring about a genuine and free press  to the Arab region  

GENEVA, Monday 14 February (PEC) – A new dawn has started in Egypt last Friday 11 February promising a better future for the 80 million Egyptians.  

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), in rejoicing for the Egyptian people, expressed hope that the post transitional period will bring to the people of Egypt a real and genuine free press and a true democratic process.

The PEC expresses hope that political change- post transition period -will be conducted by valid election ballots and boxes and the introduction of  e-vote.

The Geneva based NGO, with special UN consultative status, pays tribute to the Egyptian journalists who struggled for three decades to put in place a free and independent press and a free media.

This struggle, coupled with modern technologies of communication, played a crucial role in bringing the change that ended 3 decades of one man rule, one party rule.

The PEC salutes the young bloggers of Egypt led by Wael Ghonim who were instrumental in keeping the young people connected through the 18-day revolution. 

Pioneer journalists such as Ibrahim Eissa ran 24 over 24 site with the developments of the revolution, it was interrupted shortly for hours when the Internet was shut down, however facing all odds it continued to function thus becoming a major source of information for the world.

The PEC salutes the Egyptian journalists, members of the Syndicate who announced their outright rejection of the current President of the Syndicate a symbol of the old regime.

The Geneva based NGO expresses its appreciation for the role played by the foreign media and their resilience to continue covering against all security odds and attacks as well as destruction of media equipment, many were also detained.

The Egyptian people’s revolution of millions of people as US President Barak Obama has stated Friday night that Egypt has changed as well as the world.

The revolution of the Egyptian people including that of the media in Egypt presents historical lessons for the Arab region.

The first is that repression of freedom of opinion and expression will not function especially during the 21st Century where the communications revolution is at the forefront of keeping people connected.

Crushing media freedom complicates matters and worsens the situation in a country, both Tunisia and Egypt are examples, Egypt enjoyed cosmetic media freedom, but the two revolutions took place one after the other, in what was described by the Swiss Federal President Micheline Calmy-Rey as an explosive cocktail, when people revolt and go to the streets.

It is important for Egypt, Tunisia and other countries of the region to embark on serious reforms that would replace dictatorships and bring into the scene respect for political and civil rights including democratic practices and freedom of opinion and expression as well as press freedom.

The absence of change by the ballot leads to the absence of admission of serious problems facing the people.

Voting by a genuine ballot is part and parcel of the democratic process that cannot be separated from freedom of opinion and expression both are interrelated and one influences the other.

The guarantor of unveiling those problems is a genuine move to a free press and a just society, but the press in the new Egypt must be effective and not addressing the deaf.

The independent Egyptian media unveiled many ills in the country including corruption, embezzlement and favoritism and thus played a role to show the world what was going on in Egypt, but the former regime had deaf ears.   

In both Tunisia and Egypt the perpetrators of attacks against journalists are known, and therefore there is no excuse for the current leadership of both countries not to bring the perpetrators to trail or to delay such a trial.  

The transition period in Egypt must benefit from the calls to create an environment of transparency and one of the first acts is to bring the perpetrators to trail in a move that will show the world that Egypt is on the right track.

The PEC expresses hope that the new regime in Egypt will dissociate itself from the propaganda machinery of the former regime and put an end to inaccurate reporting thus respecting the right of the Egyptian people to factual information.

The two revolutions, in Tunisia and Egypt, reconfirm the crucial role of the media as witnesses of gross violations of human rights, which are due to the state of the art technologies have become documents that cannot be erased.

The PEC believes that the International Community responded positively to defend the media in both countries, and call upon Egypt, Tunisia and the world to move a bold step forward and put in place guidelines to protect the media in such violent upheavals.  

***07.02.2011. Egypt: the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) denounces at least 150 incidents targeting the media and useless tactics of the Mubarak supporters -- it asks the United Nations to investigate

(see also PRESS, OTHER NEWS) (FRENCH and SPANISH texts below) (letter to the UN High Commissionner below)

Geneva, 7 February 2011 (PEC)  At least 150 incidents involving the media, reported by several sources, have been recorded by the PEC over the past ten days in Egypt. These attempts to muzzle the press have totally failed, the NGO has affirmed. 

The PEC requests that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights open an independent and full inquiry on such attacks. It calls upon all governments to learn a lesson from these wide-scale attacks on freedom of the press by reinforcing the possibilities of seeking legal redress on the international level, including punishment of the perpetrators, in order to fight against unacceptable impunity.

Drawing on several sources (media, news agencies, Twitter, NGOs) in the course of the last ten days of troubles in Cairo, the PEC has recorded at least 150 incidents involving media, both Egyptian and foreign of all nationalities.
 
The reported incidents have caused one death among the journalists, an Egyptian employee of Al-Tawoun targeted by a sniper, while he was taking photos. The incidents include:
 
-- physical assaults and threats by demonstrators, using metal bars, knives, thrown stones, and death threats to journalists;

-- injuries more or less serious, sometimes following firing of real bullets;

-- dozens of media employees being taken in for questioning by the military and security forces;

-- humiliating questioning during more or less long and unjustified periods of detention;

-- confiscation of identification;

-- confiscation and destruction of communication material;

-- destruction and pillaging of media offices;
 
-- impeding journalists' freedom of movement;
 
-- a hostile campaign in the Egyptian public media inciting to hatred against foreign journalists;
 
-- pressure from the authorities on Internet servers and satellite networks to interrupt communication.
 
These serious incidents have primarily been the acts of pro-Mubarak demonstrators and elements faithful to President Mubarak, in accordance with a campaign orchestrated to try to prevent coverage of the demonstrations, the PEC has affirmed.
 
"But these shameful rear-guard tactics have failed. Information has gone out in spite of the shutting down of the Internet and the mobile telephone networks, the interruption of satellite services and the direct attacks on journalists. Other channels, including social networks such as Twitter, through which hundreds of messages have made possible minute-by-minute coverage of the troubles, have allowed the information to circulate," declared Blaise Lempen, the general secretary of the PEC.
 
"It is a lesson for all dictators. With the technologies of the twenty-first century, it has become impossible to stop the information flow", he added.
 
The Mubarak regime has seriously harmed the world's image of Egypt as a tolerant and open society. The PEC calls upon the authorities in Cairo to come to reason and turn this dark page of their history by re-establishing press freedom and the public's right to information and by respecting journalists' exercise of their profession.

Egypte: la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) dénonce au moins 150 incidents visant les medias et une tactique inutile des pro-Moubarak – elle demande à l’ONU d’enquêter

Genève 7 février 2011 (PEC)  Au moins 150 incidents impliquant des medias ont été recensés par la PEC à partir de plusieurs sources ces 10 derniers jours en Egypte. Ces tentatives de museler la presse ont totalement échoué, a affirmé l'ONG.

La PEC demande l'ouverture d'une enquête indépendante sur de telles attaques par le Haut Commissariat de l'ONU aux droits de l'homme. Elle appelle tous les gouvernements à tirer les leçons de ces atteintes massives à la liberté de la presse en renforçant les possibilités juridiques d'en poursuivre et punir les responsables sur le plan international afin de lutter contre une impunité inacceptable.

La PEC a recensé à partir de diverses sources (media, agences de presse, Twitter, ONG) au moins 150 incidents impliquant des medias égyptiens et étrangers de toutes nationalités au cours des dix derniers jours de troubles au Caire.

Les incidents rapportés ont fait un mort parmi les journalistes, un employé égyptien d'Al-Tawoun visé par un sniper alors qu'il prenait des photos. Ils incluent:

- des coups et menaces de la part des manifestants, avec barres de fer, couteaux, jets de pierre, y compris des menaces de mort à l’encontre des journalistes,
- des blessures plus ou moins graves, parfois à la suite de tirs à balles réelles,
- des dizaines d'interpellations d’employés des medias par les forces de sécurité et militaires,
- des interrogatoires humiliants au cours de périodes plus ou moins longues et injustifiées de détention,
- la confiscation des documents d'identité,
- la destruction du matériel de communication et sa confiscation,
- la destruction et le pillage de bureaux des medias,
- des entraves à la liberté de déplacement des journalistes
- une campagne hostile aux journalistes étrangers et incitant à la haine dans les medias publics égyptiens
- des pressions des autorités sur les opérateurs internet et réseaux satellite pour interrompre la diffusion.

Ces incidents graves ont été en majorité le fait des manifestants pro-Moubarak et des éléments fidèles au président Moubarak, selon une campagne orchestrée pour tenter d'empêcher la couverture des manifestations, a affirmé la PEC.

"Mais cette tactique honteuse d'arrière-garde a échoué. L'information a passé malgré la coupure d'internet, des réseaux de téléphone mobile, l'interruption de services satellitaires et les attaques directes contre les journalistes. D'autres canaux, dont les réseaux sociaux, comme Twitter, sur lesquels des centaines de messages ont permis une couverture minute par minute des troubles, ont permis de faire circuler l'information", a déclaré le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen.

"C'est une leçon pour tous les dictateurs. Avec les technologies du XXIe siècle, il est devenu impossible de stopper le flux de l'information", a-t-il ajouté.

Le régime de Moubarak a nui de manière grave ces derniers jours à l'image tolérante et ouverte de l'Egypte dans l'opinion mondiale. La PEC appelle les autorités du Caire à revenir à la raison et à tourner cette page sombre de leur histoire en rétablissant les libertés de presse et le droit à l'information du public et en respectant l'exercice de leur profession par les journalistes. 

Open letter to the UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay - Lettre ouverte à la Haut Commissaire de l'ONU Navi Pillay:

Genève, le 7 février 2011

"Madame la Haut Commissaire aux droits de l'homme Navi Pillay,

Les violentes attaques dont de nombreux medias locaux et étrangers ont été les victimes pendant les troubles au Caire du 28 janvier au 6 février suscitent la plus vive inquiétude des organisations de défense de la liberté de la presse.

Il est crucial que la communauté internationale réagisse à ces attaques, non seulement les condamne de manière ferme, mais en poursuive et punisse les auteurs pour qu'elles ne fassent pas tâche d'huile dans d'autres pays.

La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC), ONG basée à Genève avec statut consultatif auprès de l'ONU, a recensé à partir de diverses sources (media, témoignages directs, agences de presse, Twitter, autres ONG) au moins 150 incidents impliquant des medias égyptiens et étrangers de toutes nationalités au cours des dix derniers jours de troubles au Caire.

Les incidents rapportés ont fait un mort parmi les journalistes, un employé égyptien d'Al-Tawoun visé par un franc-tireur alors qu'il prenait des photos. Ces attaques incluent:

- des coups et menaces de la part des manifestants, avec barres de fer, couteaux, jets de pierre, y compris des menaces de mort à l'encontre des journalistes,

- des blessures plus ou moins graves, parfois à la suite de tirs à balles réelles,

- des dizaines d'interpellations d'employés des medias par les forces de sécurité et militaires,

- des interrogatoires humiliants au cours de périodes plus ou moins longues et injustifiées de détention,

- la confiscation des documents d'identité,

- la destruction du matériel de communication et sa confiscation,

- la destruction et le pillage de bureaux des medias,

- des entraves à la liberté de déplacement des journalistes

- une campagne hostile aux journalistes étrangers et incitant à la haine dans les medias publics égyptiens

- des pressions des autorités sur les opérateurs internet et réseaux satellite pour interrompre la diffusion.

La PEC demande que le Haut Commissariat ouvre une enquête indépendante et complète sur de telles attaques dans le but d'en identifier les responsables, de les poursuivre et de les punir conformément au droit international pertinent en la matière.

La PEC souhaiterait aussi que le Haut Commissariat lance une étude sur les moyens de renforcer la protection des journalistes dans de telles circonstances de troubles internes.

Dans l'attente de vos nouvelles, nous vous prions de croire, Madame la Haut Commissaire, à l'assurance de toute notre considération", le comité de la PEC.

Declaración de la PEC - Egipto: La PEC denuncia al menos 150 incidentes contra los medios de comunicación y las tácticas inútiles de los partidarios de Mubarak. La ONG pide a las
Naciones Unidas que investigue.

Ginebra, feb 7, 2011 (PEC) Al menos 150 incidentes relacionados con los medios de
comunicación e informados por varias fuentes en los últimos 10 días han sido registrados por la PEC. Estos intentos de amordazar a la prensa han fracasado totalmente, ha afirmado la ONG.

La PEC ha pedido a la Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos que abra una investigación independiente y completa sobre este tipo de ataques, a fin de determinar las responsabilidades y perseguir y castigar a los culpables.

Asimismo ha hecho un llamamiento a todos los gobiernos a aprender la lección de estos ataques
a gran escala a la libertad de prensa, mediante el fortalecimiento de las posibilidades de obtener reparación legal a nivel internacional, incluido el castigo de los autores, con el fin de luchar contra la inaceptable impunidad.

La PEC – que reagrupa a numerosas organizaciones de periodistas- ha censado a partir de diversas fuentes (medios de comunicación, agencias de noticias, Twitter, ONG) al menos 150 incidentes contra medios de comunicación egipcios y extranjeros de todas las nacionalidades en el transcurso de los disturbios en El Cairo. La PEC ha denunciado “una campaña orquestada por elementos cercanos al presidente Mubarak”.

Estos incidentes han causado un muerto entre los periodistas, un empleado egipcio de Al-Tawoun,
blanco de un francotirador, mientras estaba tomando fotos.
Los incidentes incluyen:
- agresiones físicas y amenazas por parte de los manifestantes, con barras de metal, cuchillos, el
lanzamiento de piedras, y amenazas de muerte a los periodistas; - lesiones más o menos graves, tras disparos de balas de verdad; - decenas de empleados de los medios han sido detenidos e interrogados por militares y fuerzas de seguridad; - humillantes interrogatorios durante períodos más o menos largo e injustificado de la detención; - confiscación de identificación; - confiscación y destrucción de material de comunicación; - destrucción y saqueo de las oficinas de los
medios de comunicación; - limitación de la libertad de circulación a los periodistas; - campaña hostil en los medios de comunicación pública egipcia incitando al odio contra los periodistas extranjeros; - presión por parte de las autoridades y la interrupción de los servicios de
Internet y las redes de satélite para el ceses de sus servicios.

Estos graves incidentes han sido principalmente promovidos por manifestantes pro-Mubarak y elementos fieles al presidente Mubarak, de acuerdo con una campaña orquestada para tratar de impedir la cobertura de las manifestaciones, según ha afirmado la PEC.

"Pero estas tácticas vergonzosas han fracasado. La información ha salido a pesar del cierre de
la Internet y de las redes de telefonía móvil, la interrupción de los servicios por satélite y los ataques directos a periodistas. Otros canales, incluidas las redes sociales como Twitter, a través del cual cientos de mensajes han hecho posible la cobertura minuto a minuto de los problemas, han permitido que la información circule ", declaró Blaise Lempen, el secretario general de la PEC.

"Es una lección para todos los dictadores”, ha dicho Lempen. “Con las tecnologías del siglo XXI se ha hecho imposible detener el flujo de información", añadió.

El régimen de Mubarak ha perjudicado gravemente la imagen de Egipto en el mundo, en tanto que sociedad tolerante y abierta. La PEC pide a las autoridades de El Cairo que entren en razón y den
la vuelta a esta página oscura de su historia con el restablecimiento de la libertad de prensa y el derecho del público a la información y también respetando el derecho de los periodistas a
ejercer su profesión. (fin)

***05.02.2011. EGYPT - The PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) MOURNS THE FIRST REPORTED JOURNALIST KILLED IN CAIRO

State-run newspaper Al-Ahram says an Egyptian reporter shot during clashes earlier this week has died of his wounds, the first reported journalist death in 11 days of turmoil surrounding Egypt's wave of anti-government protests. Al-Ahram says Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud, 36, was taking pictures of clashes on the streets from the balcony of his home, not far from central Tahrir Square when he was "shot by a sniper" four days ago. It says that he died on Friday in the hospital.

The paper says Mahmoud worked as a reporter for Al-Taawun, one of a number of newspapers put out by the Al-Ahram publishing house.

Tens of thousands of protesters have been massing in Tahrir Square since January 25 demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

***04.02.2011. EGYPT. PEC calls upon Egyptian authorities to release all detained journalists and to ensure the security of all foreign and Egyptian journalists during demonstrations

GENEVA, 4 February (PEC) – As the demonstrations in Egypt enter today a crucial stage the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls upon Egyptian authorities to ensure the security of all journalists foreign and Egyptian during today’s coverage of the unfolding events.

Never before has such repressive measures been taken against foreign journalists as well as local journalists worldwide.

The PEC calls upon the Egyptian military to protect journalists from thugs circulating Tahrir square and attacking hotels around the square in an attempt to hunt down foreign journalists.

In addition the PEC calls upon the Egyptian authorities to release without delay all detained journalists.

The Geneva based NGO, with UN consultative status, calls upon the Prime Minister of Egypt, Ahmad Shafik, to reinstate the transmission of Aljazeera’s live coverage from Egypt and to re-
instate the press cards of all its correspondents and ensure their safety away from attempts by thugs to attack them.

The PEC calls upon the Prime Minister to put an end to the measures that curb the freedom of coverage from Egypt which is a blatant violation of a free press and freedom of opinion and expression, a tenant that Egypt has adhered to in its signature of International Conventions.

The Geneva based NGO calls upon the Prime Minister to implement those calls forthwith as an expression of Egypt’s respect for its international obligations.

For a detailed info on the attacks on journalists please go to:
http://abcworldnews.tumblr.com/post/3089328425/weve-compiled-a-list-of-all-the-journalist-who

For following PEC updates on the situation of journalists in Egypt please go to its site on
FACEBOOK (address on page CONTACT)

See also PRESS, OTHER NEWS

PEC hace un llamamiento a las autoridades egipcias para que liberen a todos los periodistas detenidos y garantice la seguridad de todos los periodistas extranjeros y egipcios durante las manifestaciones en curso.

Ginebra, feb 4 (PEC) Teniendo en cuenta que las manifestaciones en Egipto entran hoy en una etapa crucial, la Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC) ha hecho un llamamiento a las autoridades egipcias para que garantice la seguridad de todos los periodistas, extranjeros y egipcios, durante la cobertura de los acontecimientos en curso.

La PEC ha pedido a las autoridades militares egipcias que protejan a los periodistas de los matones que circulan la plaza Tahrir y que están atacando hoteles en los alrededores de la plaza con el objetivo de dar caza a los periodistas extranjeros.

Asimismo, la PEC solicita a las autoridades egipcias la liberación inmediata de todos los periodistas detenidos.

La ONG ginebrina, con estatus consultivo en Naciones Unidas, ha pedido al Primer ministro de Egipto, Ahmad Shafik, que restablezca las tramisiones  en vivo de la cadena Al Jazira desde Egipto y que restablezca las acreditaciones de prensa a todos los corresponsales, así como que garantice la seguridad  de los mismos frente a los intentos de agresión de parte de matones.

La PEC ha pedido al Primer ministro que ponga fin a las medidas que limitan la libertad de cobertura informative de la situación desde Egipto,  lo que constituye una violación flagrante de la libertad de prensa, de opinión y de expresión a las cuales Egipto se ha comprometido con su firma de los Convenios Internacionales correspondientes.

La ONG basada en Ginebra solicita al Primer Ministro, conocido por la prensa en Ginebra como un hombre de visión, la aplicación inmediata de estos llamamientos como una expresión del respeto de Egipto de sus obligaciones internacionales.

Para una información detallada de los ataques a periodistas, consultar http://abcworldnews.tumblr.com/post/3089328425/weve-compiled-a-list-of-all-the-journalist-who

Para seguir la actualización de las informaciones de la PEC sobre la situación de los periodistas en Egipto en FACEBOOK.

***02.02.2011. EGYPT - Publishing houses and journalists under attack, the PEC condemns strongly those heinous attacks, PEC calls for urgent investigation

(Read the INSI Safety Advisory on OTHER NEWS, more info on PRESS) 

GENEVA, 2 February (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemned in the strongest possible manner the heinous attacks against Egyptian publishers of independent newspapers and foreign journalists.

Those attacks, says the PEC, must be investigated at the Human Rights Council during its session that starts 28 February as a clear attack on freedom of opinion and expression and a breach of article 19 of the Universal Declaration Human Rights.

PEC Secretary-General expressed the view that obstruction of Internet services, mobile phones and all kinds of modern communication is a breach of the right of the people of Egypt and the world to follow the tragic unfolding events.

He added that such measures risks bringing a nation of a great civilization back to the dark ages.

PEC Secretary-General stressed that the authorities must and should carry a quick investigation in those heinous attacks and that the Geneva based organization holds those officials in charge of securing the country responsible for those attacks that must be stopped immediately.

The Geneva based NGO with UN consultative status strongly objects and denounces the closure of the Aljazeera office in Egypt and disconnecting services to the Doha based station on Nile Sat.

In the new information age Aljazeera plays an important role in informing the world public, this is vital to uphold the right of the people of the world to know.

During the outrageous civil unrest in Egypt today Dar El Shorouk publishing house was attacked in Cairo around 2 p.m. CET by thugs close to the regime. Knives were brandished, stones were thrown. Fortunately people on the street have gathered before the publishing house
building to defend and protect it.

Demonstration of 50 to 100 government sympathizers brandishing knives and similar weapons
showed up before the main office building of Dar el Shorouk and tried to enter. They were pushed back by security guards, journalists and neighbors rushing to defend the publishing house.

Speaking on his mobile phone during the attack, International Publishing Association's (IPA) Vice President Publisher Ibrahim El Moallem said: “The government is using thugs to push back on the concessions made yesterday, and to restore order under the old rule. This is an attack on the human rights of the Egyptian citizens”.

Jens Bammel, IPA’s Secretary General said that this attack on the publishing house of IPA’s Vice President is unacceptable.

“The battle for change in Egypt has not yet been won. The world’s publisher’s stand in solidarity with the Egyptian publishers, writers, and journalists in their quest for freedom of expression and freedom to publish”.

Anderson Cooper and his crew of CNN were attacked by supporters of Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Wednesday. CNN's Steve Brusk tweeted that Cooper was punched in the head ten
times.

The incident came as pro-Mubarak supporters attacked protesters calling for the Egyptian president to step down.

Speaking on "American Morning" after the attack, Cooper said that he and his crew had been trying to go to a neutral zone between the two groups.

"We never got that far," he said. "We were set upon by pro-Mubarak supporters punching us in
the head." Cooper said that he and the crew tried to escape, but that the crowd only grew: "the crowd kept growing, kept throwing punches, kicks...suddenly a young man would look at you and punch you in the face."

Belgium journalist Serge Dumont of Le Soir was molested and pushed away by unidentified men in civil outfit. Dumont described the attack as violent and rough till he was handed to the military.

Al Masry Al-Youm newspaper, an independent voice in the country, evacuated its headquarters after attacks.

Today’s unfolding events are steps in the wrong direction and a setback for Egypt who has been building for years a positive environment for nurturing free press and freedom of expression.

Egypt and the United States drafted in 2009 a resolution in favor of Freedom of Opinion
and Expression, and Egypt crafted upon the request of the PEC a successful panel discussion on the Protection of Journalists in Conflict Zones at the Human Rights Council.

This is a moment of great danger confronting the people of Egypt, and the PEC stands
sympathetically with their sufferance as well as courage, however the authorities must respect their international obligations.

***28.01.2011. EGYPT. PEC deplores interruption of Internet and mobile services in Egypt, and arrests and attacks against journalists

(for other reactions go to OTHER NEWS, PRESS - voir aussi sous PRESS, OTHER NEWS)

Geneva, January 28 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) deplores in the strongest possible
manner the interruption of Internet and mobile services in Egypt which are vital not only for journalists but also for civilians who need urgent assistance.

The PEC denounces attacks and arrests of foreign journalists and Egyptian journalists. BBC cameraman and several others were attacked and injured. Aljazeera’s prominent anchorman Ahmad Mansour was attacked today by men in civilian outfit. Four French journalists were arrested.

In addition the PEC condemns in the strongest possible manner the attacks with tear gas on the building of the Egyptian Syndicate of Journalists Thursday and arrests of several journalists among them well known opposition journalist Mohammed Abdel kodous.

Prominent editor-in-chief of AL Osboo Mostafa Bakry who was denied a parliamentary seat during the last fraud elections was assaulted on the doorsteps of the syndicate Thursday.

The PEC stressed that curbing freedom of opinion and expression and a free press and censoring the Internet and mobile services is a breach of the basic human rights and professional rights of journalists.

Internet and mobile services were interrupted from mid-night Thursday expected to continue through Friday.

The PEC expresses that the change whatever course it takes will put an end to such practices
that hinder all sound democratic practices.

La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC) deplora la interrupción del Internet y de los servicios móviles en Egipto, así como el arresto y los ataques perpetrados contra periodistas.

Ginebra, 28 ene (PEC) – La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC) deplora enérgicamente la interrupción del Internet y de los servicios de telefonía móvil en Egipto,  cuyo uso es vital no sólo para los periodistas sino también para los civiles que requieren de asistencia urgente.

La PEC denuncia los ataques y arrestos contra periodistas extranjeros y egipcios. Un camarógrafo de la BBC y varios otros han sido atacados y heridos.

El prominente presentador de Aljazeera, Ahmad Mansour, fue agredido hoy por un hombre vestido de civil, mientras cuatro periodistas franceses fueron detenidos.

Asimismo, la PEC condena  en los términos más severos los ataques con gases lacrimógenos contra el edificio del Sindicato Egipcio de Periodistas.
 
Durante la ola de arrestos del jueves, fue detenido el conocido periodista opositor Mohammed Abdel Kodous. Ese mismo día, el prominente editor en jefe de Al Osboo, Mostafa Bakry, a quien se le negó un escaño parlamentario durante las últimas y fraudulentas elecciones, fue asaltado a las puertas del sindicato.

La PEC subraya que la limitación de la libertad de opinión y de expresión, así como la del libre ejercicio de la prensa y la censura al Internet y los servicios de telefonía móvil constituye una violación de los derechos humanos básicos y de los derechos profesionales de los periodistas.

La PEC recalca que tanto el Internet como los servicios móviles fueron interrumpidos desde la media noche del jueves y se espera que esa medida continúe durante el viernes.

La PEC expresa que cualquier curso que tome el cambio pondrá fin a tales prácticas, que entorpecen  todas las expresiones de democracia.

***19.01.2011. TUNISIE. La PEC salue le retour de la liberté de la presse dans un pays arabe // TUNISIA. PEC rejoices the end of censorship in Tunisia // TUNEZ. La PEC saluda el regreso de la libertad de prensa en un país árabe.

Photographe expérimenté pour l'Agence européenne de photographie de presse (EPA), Lucas Mebrouk Dolega (photo) est mort lundi 17 janvier à l'âge de 32 ans, alors qu'il couvrait les émeutes anti-gouvernementales en Tunisie. «Il est décédé dans l'exercice de sa passion et de son métier, des suites d'une blessure infligée vendredi par un tir de grenade lacrymogène en pleine tempe», a précisé la famille du photographe dans un communiqué. La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) rend hommage à son courage qui lui a coûté la vie lors du soulèvement populaire contre Ben Ali.

(Voir aussi sous PRESS - see also PRESS)

Genève, 19 janvier (PEC) La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) se réjouit que les journalistes en Tunisie aient retrouvé le chemin de la liberté et aient créé des comités de rédaction pour gérer leurs organes sans interférence du gouvernement.

Pour la première fois depuis plus de deux décennies, les journalistes tunisiens peuvent travailler dans un climat de réelle indépendance sans interférence des services de sécurité et du ministère de l'information aboli par le gouvernement intérimaire à la suite du départ de l'ex-président Ben Ali.

C'est un moment de jubilation pour eux de tavailler pour la première fois en l'absence de censure. La PEC espère que ce développement positif va se consolider au cours des prochains mois avec de nouvelles institutions démocratiques dans le pays.

La PEC déplore en même temps le décès d'un confrère, dimanche, à la suite des violences à Tunis, le photographe franco-allemand de 32 ans de l'agence EPA Lucas Mebrouk Dolega, blessé vendredi mortellement par des tirs de gaz lacrymogène dans une manifestation. La PEC espère que la liberté chèrement acquise par les journalistes tunisiens servira d'exemple dans tout le monde arabe.

PEC rejoices the end of censorship in Tunisia

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) rejoices that journalists in Tunisia have regained their freedom and have established journalists' committees to run their institutions with no government interference.  

Tunisian journalists for the first time in more than two decades can breath and work in an atmosphere of true journalism with no interference from the security apparatus or the ministry of information which has been abolished in the interim government following the fall of the Ben Ali regime.   

It is a moment of jubilation for them to work for the first time free of censorship. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) hopes that this positive development will be reinforced with new democratic institutions in the country.

The PEC mourns the death of the French-German journalist Lucas Mebrouk Dolega who died on Sunday. Lucas was 32 years old and worked for the European pressphoto agency EPA and it is reported that he was covering the anti-government demonstration in Tunisia on Friday and was injured by tear gas grenade.

The PEC expresses deep hope that freedom of the press that has become the trophy of the Tunisian journalists will spread genuinely to all the Arab region.  

TUNEZ. La PEC saluda el regreso de la libertad de prensa en un país árabe.

La PEC se regocija el fin de la censura en Túnez.

Ginebra, ene 19 (PEC) La Campaña Emblema de Prensa se regocija de que los periodistas en Túnez hayan recuperado el camino de la libertad y hayan creado comités de redacción para dirigir sus órganos sin la interferencia del Gobierno.

Por primera vez desde hace más de dos decenios, los periodistas tunecinos pueden trabajar en un ambiente realmente independiente, sin la intervención de los servicios de seguridad y del ministerio de la información, ambos abolidos por el gobierno interino tras la salida del ex-presidente Ben Ali.

Es un momento de júbilo para quienes trabajan por primera vez sin censuras. La PEC espera que este hecho positivo se consolide en los próximos meses con el establecimiento de nuevas instituciones democráticas al país.

Al mismo tiempo, la PEC lamenta la muerte el domingo, de un colega, a causa de la violencia en Túnez. Se trata del fotógrafo franco-alemán Lucas Mebrouk Dolega, de 32 años, que trabajaba para la agencia EPA, y quien fuera herido mortalmente el viernes por gases lacrimógenos durante una manifestación.

La PEC espera que la libertad de prensa duramente ganada por los periodistas tunecinos sirva de ejemplo para todo el mundo árabe. (fin)

***13.01.2011. THE PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN (PEC) CALLS ON TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT TO LIFT CENSORSHIP AND ALLOWS A FREE PRESS (Voir aussi article sous PRESS)

GENEVA, January 13 (PEC) - The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls upon the Tunisian government to lift censorship and allows press freedoms including safe access by foreign correspondents.

During the latest deadly riots the new media overwhelmed traditional local media. And while opposition parties have been dithering over the way to deal with the unprecedented large-scale
riots, Internet users have given free rein to their views. In response to what it deems as subversive, the government has censored dozens of pages on social networks, stolen passwords and arrested bloggers.

The government for more than two decades has systematically controlled Tunisia's media and silenced his opposition.

The social riots in Sidi Bouzid and elsewhere have confirmed that domestic censorship is more than a political constant. It is a reason of being for a government that has never been familiar with press freedom.

The PEC believes that if the Tunisian government is really intent to calm down the social unrest and free the detained then such a path must include reforms along the lines of ensuring press freedom, access to the country from the outside by foreign correspondents and putting an end to
censorship.

Among the main components of democracy is freedom of opinion and expression, if this is not available in a society then democracy suffers from one of the main elements that ensures also due process and transparency.

The PEC, a Geneva based NGO with UN consultative status, expresses its firm support for the Tunisian journalists who work in very difficult conditions and calls upon the authorities not to obstruct their work of enquiry which is necessary during times of internal turbulences.

Media censorship, says the PEC, only allows spreading of rumors and inaccurate reporting of facts.

***06.01.2011. PEC REPORT UPDATE: the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) registered five more journalists killed during the last week of 2010 (1 in Honduras, 1 in India, 1 in Nigeria, 1 in Indonesia and 1 in China): PEC final figures are 110 journalists killed for 2010 and 534 killed in 5 years (2006-2010): see TICKING CLOCK.

***27.12.2010. PEC report 2010: 105 journalists killed during the year, 529 in five years (French and Spanish texts below)

(For details on casualties, go to TICKING CLOCK, for some press reports on the PEC report see PRESS)

Geneva (PEC) 27 December 2010 – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) denounces the death of 105 journalists in 33 countries during 2010. According to the PEC report issued Monday some 529 journalists were killed over a period of 5 years, on average 2 every week.
2010 was a better year in comparison to 2009 which witnessed the killing of 122 journalists and this high tally resulted from the unprecedented massacre of journalists in the Philippines. However the 2010 figure of 105 journalists killed is higher than that of 2008 which stood at 91.
PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen noted that the killing of journalists has become an epidemic with no cure. “The International Community has not found solutions to it, or put in place effective mechanisms for bringing the perpetrators of those crimes against journalists to trial,” said Lempen.

Mexico and Pakistan: two most dangerous countries

According to the PEC report the two most dangerous countries for media work are Mexico and Pakistan. In Mexico 14 journalists were killed in the drug war, another 14 journalists were killed in Pakistan the majority of  which in border areas with Afghanistan.
9 journalists were killed in Honduras which place the country as third in the ranking of the most dangerous for journalists, 8 journalists were killed in Iraq since the beginning of the year.
6 media workers were killed in the Philippines, 5 in Russia, 4 in Columbia, this ranking number 7, followed by Brazil and Nigeria with 4 journalists killed in each country.
In Somalia, Indonesia and Nepal three journalists were killed in each of those countries.
2 journalists were killed in Afghanistan, where 2 French TV journalists were taken hostage since almost one year by a Taliban group. It is one of the worst episodes in media hostage taking.
In Angola, Thailand, India, Venezuela and Uganda two journalists were killed in each country, 15 other journalists were killed in the following 15 countries: Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cameroun, Cyprus, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Turkey, Ukraine and Yemen. One Turkish journalist was killed in international waters when the Israeli forces attacked the peace flotilla.
According to the PEC Latin America is the most dangerous place for journalists with a tally of 35 journalists killed during the year, Asia comes second with 33, Africa in third place with 14 killed and 11 in the Middle East. Europe accounts for 12 journalists killed in 2010.

The tally of five years

In five years, since the beginning of 2006, according to the PEC Ticking Clock flagged on its website, 529 journalists were killed: 105 in 2010, 122 in 2009, 91 in 2008, 115 in 2007, and 96 in 2006.
According to the PEC during this period 2006-2010 Iraq topped the world as the most dangerous country with 127 journalists killed. 59 were killed in the Philippines, 47 in Mexico, 38 in Pakistan, making those 4 countries the burial place of more than half of the journalists killed worldwide.
23 were killed in Somalia, 21 in Russia, 19 in Columbia, 15 in Sri Lanka, 14 in Afghanistan, 14 in India, and 14 in Honduras. Nepal stands in the ranking as 12th with 9 journalists killed, and 7 were killed in each of the following countries: the DRC, Venezuela, and Nigeria.
Those 15 countries represent the burial place of four fifths of the journalists killed since 2006.
PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi says that the figures speak for themselves and it is time to put the act together of all concerned parties to inaugurate 2011 with a courageous step from member states and media organizations to start the deliberations on a legal instrument to protect journalists.
“Lets move together in 2011 to achieve a well deserved bold step for journalists, 2011 could be the target date, then or never,” says Abdel Nabi. 

Rapport de la PEC: 105 journalistes tués en 2010 - 529 en cinq ans 

 Genève (PEC), 27 décembre 2010. La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) dénonce la mort de 105 journalistes au cours de l'année 2010 dans 33 pays. Dans son rapport annuel, publié lundi, l'ONG basée à Genève, constate également que 529 journalistes ont été tués en cinq ans, soit en moyenne deux par semaine.

L'année 2010 a été légèrement moins sombre que 2009, au cours de laquelle 122 journalistes avaient trouvé la mort, en raison d'un massacre sans précédent aux Philippines. Le chiffre de 2010 est par contre en hausse par rapport aux 91 journalistes tués en 2008.

"Cette épidémie ne marque malheureusement aucun répit. La communauté internationale n'a pas encore trouvé les moyens d'y mettre fin. Des mécanismes efficaces pour enquêter rapidement et poursuivre les auteurs de ces délits continuent de faire défaut", a déclaré le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen.

Mexique et Pakistan pays les plus dangereux

Les deux pays les plus dangereux pour les medias cette année ont été le Mexique, avec 14 journalistes tués dans la guerre entre les autorités et les cartels de la drogue, ainsi que le Pakistan, avec 14 journalistes tués, en majorité dans les zones frontalières de l'Afghanistan.

Neuf journalistes ont succombé aux attaques contre la presse au Honduras, au 3e rang, et huit journalistes ont perdu la vie en Irak depuis janvier.

Six employés des medias ont été tués aux Philippines, cinq en Russie. La Colombie est au 7e rang avec quatre tués, avec le Brésil (4) et le Nigéria (4 également). En Somalie, en Indonésie et au Népal, trois journalistes ont été tués dans chacun de ces pays.

Deux journalistes ont succombé en Afghanistan, où deux reporters de la télévision française sont détenus en otages par un groupe taliban depuis près d'un an dans l'une des plus longues prises d'otages d'employés des médias de l'histoire du journalisme.

En Angola, en Thaïlande, en Inde, au Venezuela et en Ouganda, deux journalistes ont été tués. Quinze autres journalistes ont perdu la vie dans 15 autres pays: Argentine, Bangladesh, Bélarus, Bulgarie, Cameroun, Chypre, Equateur, Grèce, Guatemala, Liban, République démocratique du Congo, Rwanda, Turquie, Ukraine, Yemen. Enfin, un journaliste turc a été tué par les forces d'Israël dans les eaux internationales en route vers Gaza.

Par région, l'Amérique latine vient en tête, avec 35 tués en 12 mois. L'Asie suit avec 33 tués. L'Afrique recense 14 tués et le Moyen-Orient 11. L'Europe a compté 12 morts depuis le début de 2010.

Bilan sur cinq ans

En cinq ans, depuis le début de 2006 et de la statistique de la PEC, un total de 529 journalistes ont payé de leur vie leur profession: 105 en 2010, 122 en 2009, 91 en 2008, 115 en 2007, 96 en 2006. Soit une moyenne de deux journalistes tués par semaine, a constaté la PEC.

En cinq ans, l'Irak a été de pays le plus dangereux, avec un total de 127 tués. Suivent les Philippines avec 59 tués, devant le Mexique où l'on a recensé 47 tués. Le Pakistan vient en quatrième position avec 38 victimes. Ces quatre pays ont concentré en cinq ans plus de la moitié des journalistes tués dans le monde.

Suit au 5e rang la Somalie avec 23 tués, devant la Russie (21) et la  Colombie (19). Le Sri Lanka se classe au 8e rang avec 15 tués, devant l'Afghanistan (14), l'Inde (14) et le Honduras (14). Avec neuf tués, le Népal arrive au 12e rang. Suivent avec 7 tués chacun la République démocratique du Congo, le Venezuela et le Nigéria. Ces 15 pays cumulent les 4/5e des victimes depuis janvier 2006.

La présidente de la PEC Hedayat Abdel Nabi a affirmé que ces chiffres parlent d'eux-mêmes: "Le moment est venu de réunir les forces de toutes les parties concernées pour inaugurer 2011 par un pas en avant courageux des Etats membres de l'ONU et des organisations des medias afin d'entamer les délibérations sur un instrument juridique international renforçant la
protection des journalistes", a déclaré la présidente de la PEC. "Accomplissons ensemble cette étape en 2011. En 2011, maintenant ou jamais", a-t-elle ajouté. 

PEC- INFORME 2010: 105 periodistas asesinados durante el año.
529 en cinco años

Ginebra, 27 diciembre (PEC).- La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC*) denuncia la muerte de 105 periodistas en 33 países en el transcurso del año 2010. En su informe anual, publicado este lunes, la ONG basada en Ginebra, constata igualmente que 529 periodistas han sido asesinados en los últimos cinco años, lo que significa un promedio de dos por semana.

En comparación con el año anterior, 2010 ha sido ligeramente menos sombrío que en 2009, un año que fue testigo del asesinato de 122 periodistas durante una masacre sin precedentes en las Filipinas. La cifra de 2010, sin embargo, es superior en relación con el año 2008, en el cual murieron 91 periodistas.

“Esta epidemia no parece tener cura. La comunidad internacional no ha encontrado aún los medios de poner fin a este mal, ni de poner en marcha mecanismos efectivos para enjuiciar rápidamente a los responsables de estos crímenes”,  ha dicho el Secretario General de la PEC, Blaise Lempen.

México y Pakistán: los dos países de mayor peligro

De acuerdo con el informe de la PEC, los dos países más peligrosos para los medios de comunicación son México, donde 14 periodistas perdieron la vida en la guerra entre las autoridades y los carteles de la droga, así como el Pakistán, también con 14 periodistas muertos, en su mayoría en las zonas fronterizas con Afganistán.

En Honduras, nueve periodistas sucumbieron como consecuencia de ataques perpetrados contra la prensa. En tercera posición de nivel de peligrosidad se encuentra Iraq, donde nueve periodistas perdieron la vida desde el mes de enero.

Seis empleados de medios de comunicación fueron asesinados en Filipinas, cinco en Rusia y cuatro en Colombia, lo que sitúa a este país en el séptimo lugar, junto a Brasil (4), y Nigeria (4 igualmente) según el informe anual de  la PEC. En Somalia, Indonesia y Nepal han sido asesinados tres periodistas en cada uno de estos países.

La ONG reporta que dos periodistas sucumbieron en Afganistán, país en el cual un grupo de talibanes mantiene desde hace un año como rehenes a dos reporteros de la TV francesa, en lo que ha devenido uno de los secuestros de más larga duración en la historia del periodismo.

En Angola, en Tailandia, en la India, en Venezuela y en Uganda, dos periodistas han sido asesinados en cada uno de estos países. Otros 15 periodistas perdieron la vida en los siguientes países: Argentina, Bangladesh, Bielorrusia, Bulgaria, Camerún, Chipre, Ecuador, Grecia, Guatemala, El Líbano, República Democrática del Congo, Ruanda, Turquía, Ucrania, Yemen. En su informe anual, la PEC también reporta el asesinato de un periodista turco por fuerzas israelíes durante el ataque en aguas internacionales a una flotilla humanitaria que se dirigía hacia Gaza.
 
Por regiones, América Latina encabeza la lista de países de alta peligrosidad para los medios. En esta región 35 periodistas fueron asesinados durante los 12 meses de este año. En orden de peligrosidad, le siguen Asia –con 33 asesinados-. En África se censaron 14 muertos y 11 en el Medio Oriente. El continente europeo se han reportado 12 muertos desde el inicio de 2010.
 
Balance de cinco años
 
En el último lustro, desde que  en 2006 la Campaña Emblema de Prensa diese inicio a su monitoreo de los asesinatos a periodistas – el Ticking Clock de la PEC- (disponible en su sitio de Internet),  las estadísticas de la establecen que un total de 529 periodistas han pagado con sus vidas el ejercicio de su profesión: 105 en 2010, 122 en 2009, 91 en 2008, 115 en 2007 y 96 en 2006.

De acuerdo con la PEC, durante el período de 2006-2010, el Iraq ha sido el país de mayor peligrosidad para los medios, con un total de 127 periodistas asesinados. Le siguen, Filipinas, con 59 por delante de México donde se han reportado 47 asesinados, y Pakistán con 38 víctimas mortales. Estos cuatro países han concentrado en cinco años más de la mitad de los periodistas asesinados en el mundo.

En la quinta posición la PEC ubica a Somalia, donde 23 muertos, delante de Rusia (21) y de Colombia (19). En orden decreciente siguen Sri Lanka (15), Afganistán, la India y Honduras con 14 en cada uno. Con nueve periodistas asesinados, el Nepal ocupa el escalafón 12. En la  clasificación hecha por la PEC, le siguen la República Democrática del Congo, Venezuela y Nigeria, con siete periodistas asesinados en cada uno de ellos.

Estos 15 países han acumulado las cuatro quintas partes de las víctimas mortales desde enero de 2006.

La Presidenta de la PEC, Hedayat Abdel Nabi, ha afirmado que estas cifras hablan por sí mismas. “Ha llegado el momento de reunir las fuerzas de todas las partes concernidas para inaugurar el año 2011 con un paso audaz de los Estados miembros de la ONU y de las organizaciones de los medios a fin de comenzar las deliberaciones sobre un instrumento jurídico internacional que refuerce la protección de los periodistas”, ha dicho Abdel Nabi.

“Cumplamos juntos esta etapa en 2011. El año 2001 podría ser la fecha límite, ahora o nunca”, ha recalcado la Presidenta de la PEC.
 

***DEC 2010. NOUVEAU (ONLY IN FRENCH): les éditions GEORG et Blaise LEMPEN annoncent la parution en librairie du livre "GENEVE LABORATOIRE DU XXIe SIECLE" (Genève 2010, 350 pages)
"Menaces sur l'économie, le climat, la santé, les droits de l'homme, le désarmement: les crises se sont multipliées ces trois dernières années. Blaise Lempen raconte comment les principaux acteurs du système international ont tenté de répondre à ces défis globaux.
Genève est le deuxième centre mondial de la diplomatie après New York. Quelque 40'000 personnes y travaillent dans le secteur international. Les résultats sont-ils à la hauteur de la concentration des talents, des grandes déclarations, des multiples réunions, des conciliabules sans fin?
Journaliste accrédité à l'ONU depuis 16 ans, l'auteur décrit les lieux, les hommes et les idées de ce laboratoire du XXIe siècle qu'est devenu Genève au fil des années. Il fait parler les acteurs, nous révèle le fonctionnement des institutions dans la pratique quotidienne.
Son récit vivant et sans complaisance contient de nombreux témoignages des grandes figures de la Genève internationale. Il nous emmène derrière les portes closes où se joue l'avenir de la planète et nous fait pénétrer dans les coulisses de la négociation.
Un témoignage de première main qui dénonce les marchandages des uns et des autres, les tentatives de court-circuiter et d'affaiblir les Nations Unies, l'incapacité à adapter les institutions à des enjeux planétaires."
LIEN pour commander le livre www.medhyg.ch - voir aussi: www.tdg.ch/geneve/actu-geneve/geneve-laboratoire-xxie-siecle-2010-12-13

***20.11.2010. PHILIPPINES. GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION: NEVER AGAIN.  The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joins a global day of action to mark the Ampatuan massacre, one year after. On November 23, 2009, 32 journalists and media workers were brutally murdered in a massacre of at least 57 people in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao in the southern Philippines. The PEC marking this date is sending a letter to the new President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino calling upon the President to take serious steps to ensure that justice is delivered to the families of the killed journalists. (Read the letter and below the statement of CMFR)

President Benigno S. Aquino III
Malacañang Palace
1610 J.P Laurel St.
San Miguel
Manila, Philippines
Email: opsnews2004@gmail.com 
 
RE: Maguindanao Massacre – One Year On

Dear President Aquino,

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) alerts you to the deep concerns felt around the world about the continuing culture of impunity in the Philippines, particularly in regard to the massacre of at least 58 people in Maguindanao province, Mindanao, on November 23, 2009. 

Included in this gruesome toll were 32 of our media colleagues, whose murders mark the worst mass killing of journalists and media workers ever recorded.

We respectfully note that your election as President in 2010 presented an opportunity for the Philippines to turn a new page and to end to the impunity that has plagued your country for decades. We join our colleagues in the Philippines in hoping for change. However, we also share their concerns about ensuring that the perpetrators of the Maguindanao atrocity and other murders of media personnel are brought to justice. 

Since the massacre, four more media workers have been killed in the Philippines, bringing to 140 the total number of media deaths since 1986. Regrettably, threats and attacks on journalists remain commonplace across the Philippines, notably in Mindanao. 
 
During the eight-year tenure of your predecessor, at least 75 journalists were murdered, but just four convictions were secured. We respectfully call on you to ensure the Maguindanao massacre trials will defy this appalling record, and for your Government to actively uphold a commitment to justice and a truly free press.
 
We are informed that the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), submitted to your office an Action Plan to end impunity (see: www.asiapacific.ifj.org). We draw your attention to the first point of action, which requests:
 
Immediate prosecution of all perpetrators of the Ampatuan Town Massacre in Maguindanao on 23 November 2009. The trial or trials must be fully open and transparent so that the public may observe the proceedings without hindrance. There is to be no political interference in any aspect of the conduct of the cases.
 
However, we understand the trials have been slow to progress, and that many of the suspects remain at large. 
 
Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 (2006), which requires governments to actively protect journalists and media workers in areas of conflict within national borders, your government is obliged to ensure the safety of media personnel as civilians.
 
With this in mind, we call on you to ensure your Government and police and security forces act on their responsibilities to bring the perpetrators and instigators of the November 23 atrocity to account, without further delay, and to act now to end the culture of impunity that has plagued the Philippines for so long.
 
We sympathise deeply with the families of the victims and our colleagues from the Philippines journalism community, and trust you will do all in your power to assist them to see justice is achieved. The PEC gave in June its 2010 Prize to the families of the Ampatuan massacre.

Respectfully Yours,

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC)
Geneva, Nov 20, 2010 

Statement of our partner in the Philippines the CMFR:

Statement of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility in commemoration of the  first anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre

THE 2009 Ampatuan Massacre of 58 men and women including 32 journalists was a reminder and a warning to both the Philippine press and the entire country.

The Philippines is officially a democracy, but the pockets of warlord power that have been allowed to flourish in at least a hundred localities mock that claim. In places like Maguindanao, private armies decide elections and also wield the power of life or death over the men and women under warlord rule.

In those places, the Massacre also demonstrated, the power of the written and spoken word that many assume protect journalists and media workers is already meaningless. The 32 journalists and media workers killed who had accompanied the wife and kin of the then candidate for
Maguindanao governor in filing his certificate of candidacy were supposed to protect the group, despite the fact that before the massacre,  81 journalists had been killed in the line of duty since
1986.

Although the worst incident of violence against journalists, the Ampatuan Massacre occurred in the context of the culture of impunity that has persisted in the Philippines. That culture has allowed and encouraged not only the killing of journalists, but also of political activists, judges, lawyers, human rights workers and other citizens. While officially at peace, the killing of journalists and media workers, and of over a thousand others killed extrajudicially, has also made
many localities virtual war zones.

The new Aquino administration has the opportunity—by increasing the budget for witness protection, improving police efficiency, and enhancing the prosecutorial capacity of the Department of Justice, among others—to help end impunity.

The state failure to address the killing of journalists, and state involvement in extra judicial killings (EJKs), have made the culture of impunity the biggest threat to free expression and democracy in the Philippines.  The dismantling of that culture, CMFR has pointed out many times, is predicated on punishing the killers and masterminds in the killings, whether that of journalists or of political activists.

The sheer number of journalists killed in the Ampatuan Massacre, and the perils of warlord rule it demonstrated, have made the apprehension, trial and punishment of the killers and masterminds especially crucial. If its perpetrators are not punished, not only will it prove once more that warlord rule cannot be uprooted; it will also be the strongest signal yet that anyone may kill journalists and activists with impunity.

And yet the progress of the trial of those accused of planning and carrying out the Ampatuan Massacre has been agonizingly slow, once more demonstrating that the complexities of the legal system meant to protect the innocent have been effectively functioning in behalf of murderers
and other criminals.  Many of the  rules governing court proceedings, it has also been pointed out, were put in place 50 years ago and need to be amended, or thrown out all together.  Under existing conditions, the trial of the accused could take a decade or more.

These conditions impose on the press the responsibility of keeping the Massacre and the trial of those accused of it in the public mind. But both the media and the citizenry must also seek and support amendments to the rules of court proposed by progressive lawyers so as
to accelerate the judicial processes for the sake of that goal, so elusive in this country, of justice.

***08.11.2010. RUSSIA. A TURNING POINT ? MOSCOW JOURNALIST ATTACKERS WILL BE PUNISHED, SAID PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV - PEC STATEMENT

(read other reactions on our pages OTHER NEWS and PRESS)

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes today statements of the russian president promising that the attackers of Russian journalist Oleg Kashin will be found and punished.
The journalist from Kommersant daily was severely beaten by unidentified assailants near his house in Moscow early on Saturday. He suffered severe head and leg injuries and is currently in an induced coma. Reports also say his fingers were broken and possibly cut off.

"Whoever was involved in this crime will be punished, regardless of his position or social status, regardless of his other merits, if he has any," Medvedev said at a meeting with journalists from the Russian paper Rossiskaya Gazeta.

"The crime rate in our country is still too high...there are forces who believe that they can silence anybody by such methods, whether it is journalists or politicians," Medvedev said.

The motives for the attack are currently unclear, although Kommersant's editor Mikhail Mikhailin said it was probably be linked to the journalist's recent investigations into extremist youth groups.

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the brutal attack on the Russian journalist. Regrettably, this is not an isolated incident. Many more journalists have been targeted in Russia.
The killing of Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 remains unsolved and suggests a lack of political will to respond to violence against reporters. Is the statement of president Medvedev a turning point ? Or only a sign of a power struggle between Russia's political titans ahead of 2012 presidential elections ?

See the video of the attack: a graphic CCTV video of the attack has become one of the most widely visited sites on Russia's still unfettered Internet.

***05.11.2010. PEC statement. UPR review of the United States at the UN Human Rights Council. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls for the protection of the WikiLeaks investigative journalism

In Geneva for the UPR review of the United States, Julian Assange said the U.S. hadn't opened any probes into the alleged incidents detailed in secret documents published by WikiLeaks since the group began putting them online in July. "It is time the United States opened up instead of covering up," he told reporters near the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva, where on Friday the U.S. face its first comprehensive human rights review by the global body. WikiLeaks has come under increasing pressure since July, when it first published 77,000 secret U.S. documents on the war in Afghanistan. Assange said his group now devotes 70 percent of its resources to defending itself from attacks against its collaborators and its financial infrastructure, which he said were "mostly by the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence." "We have never faced such difficulties as an organization as in the past three months," he said, flanked by two bodyguards. Assange said future leaks would cover other countries, such as Russia and Lebanon, as well as the United States.  (PEC)

PEC statement

GENEVA, 5 November (PEC) -- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls upon all concerned to support the courageous efforts of investigative reporting as reflected by the WikiLeaks documents on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The PEC believes that there is a serious question that must be resolved from this saga which is drawing clear lines between courageous investigative reporting and espionage and not to mix them. Attacking first class investigative journalism under the pretext of allegations of espionage must not be allowed.

The Geneva based NGO, with UN consultative status, hopes that during the review of the United States’ record of human rights in the UN Human Rights Council today calls will be made for upholding of US heritage of freedom of opinion and expression.

The PEC reflecting on the declarations made by Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, in a press conference in Geneva Thursday, expressed hope that the US mid-term elections will not result in moves to develop legislation of espionage that would be directed against Assange and his team.

The Geneva based NGO believes that such a development would be a serious setback for freedom of opinion and expression enshrined in the American tradition and a beacon of its constitution and democracy.

WikiLeaks undertakes a necessary task for the better functioning of democracy. Exerting all kinds of pressure on WikiLeaks including financial, physical threats or legal pursuit is totally unacceptable.

The PEC calls upon the US government to respect the right of the public to information. It is of paramount importance to inform the public about the actions of the American army in Iraq or Afghanistan since access to both countries have become extremely limited to media because of security reasons. Information on military conflicts must be diversified; it cannot rely on one official propaganda machine, it must rely on different sources. 

***29.09.2010. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) Media Casualties Report:   
90 journalists killed in 9 months a horrifying and worrying increase // Augmentation alarmante du nombre de journalistes tués : 90 journalistes tués en 9 mois // Alarmante aumento del número de periodistas asesinados : 90 en nueve meses (French and Spanish after English)

GENEVA, 29 September 2010 (PEC) – Horrified by the growing number of journalists killed since the beginning of this year adding up to 90 journalists in 33 countries, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) sends an urgent call to all concerned parties stating the facts that despite efforts to downsize the number of victims among journalists, this year’s tally shows an worrying increase of 25 percent over the number killed last year during the same reporting period (72 journalists). 

During the past 3 months 31 journalists were killed. 
PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen notes with assertion that this is a failure, there is no progress, and the situation instead is deteriorating. 

Lempen called upon the media associations worldwide to become more active and that governments act in firmness to prevent crimes against journalists and fight against impunity. 

He stressed that it is becoming essential to launch the process concerning an international convention to protect journalists to strengthen existing laws.  
 
According to the PEC Mexico remains the most dangerous country where 13 journalists were killed in the ongoing battles between the army and the drug cartels in 9 months; it is followed by Honduras where 9 journalists lost their lives, then Pakistan where another 9 journalists were killed. 
 
number of journalists were targeted and executed in the border region between Pakistan and  Afghanistan which makes it one of the most dangerous regions for media work. 
 
5 journalists were killed in Iraq since January , a marked deterioration after a period of calm, 5 workers in the Russian media were killed in the North Caucuses region as a result of settling accounts, another 5 in the Philippines. 
 
Half of the journalists killed this year were killed in those six countries.  

Another 3 journalists were killed in the following 5 countries: Somalia, Indonesia, Nepal, Nigeria and Colombia. 

n Afghanistan two journalists were killed and two reporters from a French TV station are  in captivity for the past 9 months. 

Journalists were killed in the following countries: Angola, Thailand, India, Venezuela, and recently Uganda.  

ne journalist was killed in the following 15 countries: Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroun, Cyprus, Greece, Ecuador, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Turkey, Ukraine, and Yemen. A Turkish journalist was killed when Israeli forces attacked the Turkish flotilla en route to the Gaza strip.
 
Lempen says the motives of the crimes against journalists in those countries vary.   

Regionally, Latin America is the venue for the highest casualties among journalists because of the killing of 30 journalists in 9 months. 
 
Asia, comes second, because of the killing of 27 journalists in 9 months mostly in Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia and Nepal. 
 
Africa witnesses a marked deterioration with 13 journalists killed, mostly  in Somalia, Nigeria, Angola and Uganda. 

8 journalists were killed in the Middle East with a marked increase in Iraq. 

Europe has witnessed worrying isolated cases of targeting journalists in seven countries leading to the death of 12 journalists this year. 

Lempen stressed that existing mechanisms for bringing the perpetrators of those crimes to trial has so far failed. 
 
PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi notes with satisfaction that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its report to the Human Rights Council’s 15th session (A/HRC/15/54),  has highlighted the importance of the protection of journalists referring to the panel discussion on 4 June 2010 on the Protection of Journalists in Armed Conflict. 
 
Hence, Abdel Nabi noted that the horrifying figures as well as the escalating nature of killings require an added attention from the international community to the global problem of the protection of journalists. 
 
Hence, the PEC calls upon the Human Rights Council to seize this matter urgently and to find room to have a follow-up to the 4th June panel before the end of this year.   


Augmentation alarmante du nombre de journalistes tués : 90 journalistes tués en 9 mois 
 
Genève (PEC), 29 septembre 2010. La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) est consternée par le grand nombre de journalistes tués au cours des neuf premiers mois de l’année. Au moins 90 journalistes ont été tués dans 33 pays depuis janvier, contre 72 pour la même période de l’an dernier, soit une hausse de 25%. La PEC lance un appel urgent à toutes les parties concernées.
 
Au cours des trois derniers mois, 31 journalistes ont été tués.
 
« C’est un échec. Nous ne progressons pas. Au lieu de s’améliorer, la situation se détériore »,a constaté le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen. « Les associations de journalistes doivent être beaucoup plus actives, les gouvernements beaucoup plus fermes dans la prévention et la répression de ces délits. Le lancement de travaux pour élaborer une Convention sur la protection des journalistes est nécessaire pour renforcer l’application du droit existant », a-t-il ajouté.
 
Le pays le plus dangereux est le Mexique, avec 13 journalistes tués depuis le début de l’année dans la guerre entre l’armée et les cartels de la drogue. Suivent le Honduras avec neuf journalistes tués et le Pakistan avec neuf tués également. Plusieurs journalistes ont été ciblés et exécutés au Pakistan dans les zones frontalières de l’Afghanistan, ce qui en fait l’une des régions les plus dangereuses pour la presse.
 
Cinq journalistes ont été assassinés en Irak, une nouvelle dégradation inquiétante alors que la situation s’était calmée. Cinq employés des medias sont morts en Russie dans la région du Nord-Caucase victimes de règlements de comptes. Cinq ont encore été victimes de tueurs aux Philippines. Ces six pays concentrent la moitié des journalistes tués jusqu’ici dans le monde cette année. 
 
Trois journalistes ont été tués dans cinq autres pays : en Somalie, en Indonésie, fait nouveau, au Népal, au Nigéria et en Colombie. 
 
Deux journalistes ont succombé en Afghanistan, où deux reporters de la télévision française sont détenus en otages depuis près de neuf mois désormais. En Angola, en Thaïlande, en Inde, au Venezuela et récemment en Ouganda, deux journalistes ont également été tués.
 
Quinze journalistes sont morts dans 15 autres pays : Argentine, Bangladesh, Bélarus, Brésil, Bulgarie, Cameroun, Chypre, Equateur, Grèce, Liban, République démocratique du Congo, Rwanda, Turquie, Ukraine (disparu), Yemen. En outre, un journaliste turc a été tué par les forces d’Israël dans les eaux internationales en route vers Gaza. Les mobiles à l’origine de ces crimes sont très divers. 
 
Par région, l’Amérique latine vient en tête, surtout à cause du Mexique et du Honduras, avec 30 tués en neuf mois. L’Asie suit, surtout à cause du Pakistan et des Philippines, mais aussi l’Indonésie et le Népal, avec 27 tués.
 
L’Afrique subit une nette détérioration avec, outre la Somalie, des victimes récentes au Nigéria, en Angola et en Ouganda, avec un total de 13 tués. Le Moyen-Orient a enregistré 8 tués en neuf mois (surtout Irak). 
 
L’Europe est marquée par des cas isolés d’assassinats ciblés très inquiétants dans sept pays, avec un total de 12 morts depuis le début de l’année.
 
Des mécanismes efficaces permettant d’enquêter rapidement et de poursuivre les auteurs de ces délits continuent de faire cruellement défaut.
 
La présidente de la PEC Hedayat Abdel Nabi a noté avec satisfaction que le Haut Commissariat de l’ONU pour les droits de l’homme dans son rapport à la 15e session (A/HRC/15/54) a souligné l’importance de la protection des journalistes dans le cadre du suivi du débat organisé le 4 juin dernier.
 
Abdel Nabi a déclaré que l’escalade dans les assassinats de journalistes requiert une attention accrue de la communauté internationale à ce problème de protection des employés des medias dans des zones dangereuses.
 
La PEC demande au Conseil des droits de l’homme de se saisir d’urgence de la question et de donner un suivi au débat du 4 juin avant la fin de l’année.
 
 
Alarmante aumento del número de periodistas asesinados : 90 en nueve meses

Ginebra, 29 sep (PEC) La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC) está horrorizada por el gran número de periodistas asesinados en el transcurso de los nueve primeros meses del año. Al menos 90 periodisas han sido asesinados en 33 países desde enero, contra 72 en el mismo período del último año, lo que significa un alza del 25%. La PEC hace un llamado urgente a todas las partes concernidas.
 
Durante los últimos tres meses, 31 periodistas fueron asesinados
 
« Es un fracaso. No progresamos. En lugar de mejorarse, la situación se deteriora », ha constatado  el Secretario general de la PEC, Blaise Lempen. « Las asociaciones de periodistas deben estar mucho más activas, los gobiernos mucho más firmes en la prevención y en la represión de estos delitos. El lanzamiento de los trabajos para elaborar una Convención sobre la protección de los periodistas es necesario para reforzar la aplicación del derecho existente », ha agregado Lempen.
 
El país de mayor peligrosidad es México, donde 13 periodistas han sido asesinados desde el inicio del año en la guerra entre el ejército y los cartles de la droga. Le siguen Honduras, con nueve periodistas asesinados y Pakistán igualmente con nueve. Numerosos periodistas han sido atacados y ejecutados en Pakistán en las zonas fronterizas con Afganistán, lo que la convierte en una de las regiones de mayor peligrosidad para la prensa.
 
Cinco periodistas fueron asesinados en Iraq, en lo que resulta una nueva e inquietante degradación después que la situación se había calmado. Cinco empleados de los medios de comunicación han muerto en Rusia en la región del Cáucaso-Norte, víctimas de ajustes de cuentas. Cinco han sido víctimas de asesinos en Filipinas. Estos seis países concentran la mitad de los periodistas asesinados en el mundo durante lo que va de año. 
 
Otros tres periodistas han sido asesinados en los siguientes cinco países: Somalia, en Indonesia, hecho nuevo, en Népal, en Nigeria y en Colombia.
 
Dos periodistas sucumbieron en Afganistán, donde dos reporteros de la televisión francesa se encuentran en cuativerio desde hace ya unos nueve meses. En Angola, en Tailandia, en la India, en Venezuela y más recientemente en Uganda, dos periodistas han sido igualmente asesinados en cada uno de estos países.
 
Quince periodistas han muerto en 15 diferentes países : Argentina, Bangladesh, Bielurrusia, Brasil, Bulgaria, Cameún, Chipre, Ecuador, Grecia, El Líbano, República Democrática del Congo, Ruanda, Turquía, Ucrania (desaparecido), Yemen. Además, un periodista turco ha sido matado por las fuerzas de Israel en las aguas internacionales en ruta hacia Gaza. El origen de estos crímenes tiene diversas motivaciones.
 
Por región, América Latina, como consecuencia del caso de México y de Honduras, con 30 asesinados en nueve meses, constituye la región de mayor peligrosidad para la prensa. En nivel de peligrosidad, le sigue Asia, sobre todo a causa de Pakistán y de Filipinas, pero también de Indonesia y del Népal, con 27 asesinados.
 
África presenta un marcado deterioro, ya que además de Somalia, se han reportado víctimas mortales en Nigeria, en Angola y en Uganda. En total, 13 periodistas han perdido la vida en el continente africano. El Oriente-Medio ha registrado ocho muertos en nueve meses (sobre todo en Irak).
 
Europa, por su parte, está marcada por la existencia de casos aislados y muy inquietntes de asesinados dirigidos en siete países, con un total de 12 muertos desde que comenzó el año.
 
Según Lempen, los mecanismos existentes para investigar rápidamente y llevar ante la justicia a los responsables de estos crímenes continúan siendo muy deficientes.
 
La Presidenta de la PEC, Hedayat Abdel Nabi, por su parte, ha observado con satisfacción que la Oficina del Alto Comisionado de la ONU para Derechos Humanos en su informe a la 15va reunión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (A/HRC/15/54), ha subrayado la importancia de la protección de los periodistas, al referirse al debate organizado el 4 de junio de 2010 sobre la Protección de los Periodistas en conflictos armados.
 
Más aún, Abdel Nabi ha hecho hincapié en que ante tan horrorizantes cifras y la escalada en los asesinatos a periodistas es necesaria una mayor atención por parte de la comunidad internacional al problema global de la protección a los trabajadores de los medios de comunicación.
 
Por tal motivo, la PEC hace un llamamiento al Consejo de Derechos Humanos, para que se ocupe con carácter urgente de la cuestión y decida darle seguimiento al panel efectuado el 4 de junio pasado, antes de que concluya el presente año.
 

***15.09.2010. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the report  of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on the panel discusion on the protection of journalists in armed conflict (A/HRC/15/54). Read below the full report.

Summary of the Human Rights Council panel discussion on the protection of journalists in armed conflict prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/15/54) Source: United Nations General Assembly; United Nations Human Rights Council

Date: 02 Aug 2010 Human Rights Council
Fifteenth session
Agenda items 2 and 3

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

Introduction

1. On 4 June 2010, during its fourteenth session, the Human Rights Council held a panel discussion on the protection of journalists in armed conflict, pursuant to its resolution 13/24. In the resolution, the Council further requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner (OHCHR) to liaise with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all concerned parties and stakeholders, including relevant press organizations and associations and United Nations bodies and agencies, with a view to ensuring their participation in the panel discussion.

2. The panel discussion aimed to: (a) draw the attention of the international community to the dangers faced by journalists in armed conflict; (b) take an inventory of international frameworks and agreements applicable to journalists and the media in situations of armed conflict and the status of their implementation; and (c) contribute to the development of an appropriate response by the Human Rights Council.

3. The panel discussion was chaired by Mr. Alex Van Meeuwen (Belgium), President of the Human Rights Council; moderated by Mr. Hisham Badr (Egypt), Vice-President of the Human Rights Council; and opened by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Kyung-wha Kang. The panellists were: Mr. Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Mr. Robin Geiss, legal adviser in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); Mr. Mogens Schmidt, Deputy Assistant of the Director-General for Communication and Information and Director of the Division for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Mr. Osama Saraya, Editor-in-Chief of Al Ahram newspaper; Mr. Omar Faruk Osman, President of the Federation of African Journalists, an organization affiliated with the International Federation of Journalists; and Ms. Hedayat Abdel Nabi, President of the Press Emblem Campaign.

4. Pursuant to Council resolution 13/24, the present summary has been prepared by OHCHR.

II. Statement by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights and contributions of panellists

5. The Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her opening remarks, commended the Council for placing the important issue of the protection of journalists in armed conflict high on its agenda, and underscored the vital role played by journalists amidst the so-called “fog of war” to keep the world informed about the truth and facts unfolding on the ground. However, she noted that despite unequivocal norms enshrined in international humanitarian and human rights law guaranteeing their protection, deliberate attempts to target journalists in areas of ongoing conflict continued to increase. As such attacks were committed with impunity, the Deputy High Commissioner stressed that other would-be abusers were encouraged to follow suit. Noting that the erosion in the observance of the international norms highlighted the need to take proactive measures to ensure they would be fully respected and implemented, she called for the development of a common approach to protect journalists in armed conflict not only across United Nations entities, but in the international community as a whole.

6. Mr. Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, emphasized that under international human rights law, States have a threefold obligation to respect, protect and fulfil all individuals’ right to freedom of expression, and when violations occur, to fully investigate such acts, to prosecute persons responsible, and to provide victims with effective remedy. Emphasizing that such human rights obligations continued to apply during times of armed conflict alongside international humanitarian law, the Special Rapporteur noted that they were also applicable in situations of internal disturbances and tensions where there might be use of force, but the threshold of armed conflict had not yet been crossed. In his view, the main problem with regard to continuing attacks against journalists lay not in the lack of international legal standards and norms, but in the lack of vigorous implementation of the existing rules. The Special Rapporteur expressed his concerns that the perpetrators of attacks against journalists and other media professionals had enjoyed total impunity in 94 per cent of cases recorded in 2009, while the percentage of cases in which even some partial measure of justice had been obtained was minimal. He underscored that in only 2 per cent of the cases of attacks against journalists in 2009 had the offences been tried before the competent authorities and the perpetrators and instigators prosecuted. Stressing that preventing impunity functioned as the most important deterrent against the repetition of such attacks, he stressed the necessity of exploring ways to improve compliance with existing norms, and encouraged the Council to continue its deliberation on that pressing topic in its future sessions. The Special Rapporteur also suggested that the Council undertake an in-depth study on the issue.

7. Mr. Robin Geiss of ICRC expressed concerns that experiences from recent armed conflicts showed that, in addition to being exposed to dangerous situations because of the nature of their work, media professionals were increasingly prone to becoming victims of direct attacks in violation of international humanitarian law. He further noted that intentional attacks against journalists, as civilians, constituted a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Since images and news could have a decisive impact on the outcome of armed conflicts in the information era, he emphasized that the obstruction of journalists’ tasks in times of armed conflict was alarmingly frequent, ranging from denial of access, censorship and harassment, to arbitrary detention and direct attacks against media professionals. While it might appear that international humanitarian law does not provide much protection for journalists at first sight, the panellist stressed that as civilians, journalists in fact enjoyed comprehensive protection against direct attacks, arbitrary detention, and internment during armed conflict. He also stated that the most serious deficiency was the lack of vigorous implementation of existing rules, and of systematic investigation, prosecution and sanction of violations, rather than a lack of rules. In that regard, he stressed the role that ICRC plays to protect journalists, in particular by making the rules regarding the protection of journalists and civilians in armed conflict more widely known and better respected, and asserted that improved compliance with existing rules should be the foremost objective.

8. Mr. Mogens Schmidt of UNESCO observed that the number of journalists killed when reporting from conflict and war zones had risen steadily since 2002, but also noted that there had also been a radical increase in the killing of media professionals during times of peace. He stressed that the safety of journalists was an issue that affected all, and that every aggression against a journalist was an attack on the most fundamental freedoms. According to the panellist, one of the aggravating factors that made it difficult to ensure the protection of journalists in conflict and war zones was that currently many conflicts were not only fought between States, but involved insurgents and terrorists who did not respect international humanitarian or human rights law. To enhance their protection, the panellist underscored the need for media staff to receive safety and first aid training, so that they would be prepared to confront the risks inherent in war zones, and so that they could learn how to behave appropriately in the face of danger, and how to deal with the effects of traumatic events. He also emphasized that media staff must be appropriately equipped and insured, and that a personal follow-up should be provided to them after completion of a dangerous assignment. Additionally, he stated that Governments and their military and security services could contribute to the safety of media staff by providing valuable information on the safety conditions in the field and by giving appropriate instructions to the troops on the rights of media staff.

9. Mr. Osama Saraya of Al Ahram newspaper stated that the conflict in Iraq shed the most light on the issue of the protection of journalists in areas of armed conflict, as more than 280 journalists had been killed during the conflict. He pointed out that none of the persons guilty of killing those journalists had been brought to justice. The panellist stated that journalists were the intermediary for truth, and killing a journalist expanded the scourge and further complicated the conflict itself. In addition, he drew the attention of the Council to the fact that death was not the only result of the phenomenon of attacks against journalists, as many journalists who had worked in situations of armed conflict, including his colleagues, lived with trauma and could not function in the workplace due to physical and mental scars and injuries. The panellist also underlined that many of the current conflicts were intractable with some of them lasting for decades, which often fed terrorism and terrorist groups that imposed their own laws in the conflict zones. He therefore stressed that a firm solution must be found to such conflicts, and that news agencies intending to cover a conflict situation must factor in terrorism and organized crime as well. He also emphasized that international cooperation should prioritize technical assistance to developing countries in that field, so as to enable local journalists to do their job and to enjoy the protection by the State. Finally, the panellist expressed his continuing commitment to seek new and innovative ways to ensure the protection of journalists.

10. Mr. Omar Faruk Osman of the Federation of African Journalists provided an overview of the safety and security situation of journalists in Africa, and stated that their predicament was further complicated by the fact that they had to face not only repressive Governments, but also armed gangs and militias. He also underlined that the political will to end the culture of impunity was almost nonexistent, which in turn perpetrated crimes against journalists. He further stressed that human rights could not be guaranteed in the absence of press freedom and freedom of expression, while freedom of expression could not exist when journalists were not protected and suffered death or violence for telling the truth. Emphasizing that there were already sufficient legal standards in place, the panellist stressed that neither the Federation of African Journalists nor the International Federation of Journalists supported the notion of a new international law to agree on a press emblem. He underlined that journalists had already accepted insignia which were universally known, and thus a new emblem would do little more than raise new concerns about Governmental control over the licensing of journalists. While welcoming the adoption of Security Council resolution 1738 (2006) on the protection of journalists in armed conflict, the panellist stressed that the Human Rights Council should develop a mechanism to encourage States to transpose the resolution into their national legislation.

11. Ms. Hedayat Abdel Nabi of the Press Emblem Campaign noted that the panel discussion coincided with the sixth anniversary of the creation of the Campaign, which had been established by a group of journalists in Geneva for the protection of journalists in armed conflict and dangerous situations. Stressing the difference between journalists who were present in armed conflicts by choice, and civilians who were present in such situations by accident, the panellist underscored the need to rethink, or revise, existing rules. In that regard, she referred to ideas presented by the Press Emblem Campaign in December 2007, including, inter alia, the adoption of an internationally recognized press emblem to identify journalists; the guarantee of unhindered, unfettered and uninterrupted Internet services by the authorities concerned; the establishment of mechanisms of inquiry into attacks against journalists; the establishment of “media corridors” by parties to a conflict to protect journalists and media installation; and the establishment of a compensation fund and an insurance scheme. The panellist called on the Council to develop guidelines for the protection of journalists, which would lead to a global compact, either through the creation of a working group of the Advisory Committee of the Council, or by setting up an ad hoc intergovernmental working group.

III. Summary of discussion

A. Dangers and risks faced by journalists in armed conflict

12. Several delegations expressed concern that journalists were deliberately targeted in areas of ongoing armed conflict as a result of their role in exposing human rights abuses and atrocities, corruption or unpopular opinions or situations. It was noted that such attacks constituted a violation not only of the journalists’ right to freedom of expression, but also of the public’s right to receive information or the truth, which is an essential component of any democratic society. It was further emphasized that common dangers and risks faced by journalists in armed conflict included killings, abductions, hostage-taking, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced or involuntary disappearances and acts of harassment and intimidation. One speaker also noted that, due to the work that they did, journalists were often suspected as spies during armed conflict, and either eliminated or used deliberately as “bargaining chips”.

13. In their statements, several delegations and speakers noted that such dangers and risks faced by journalists were exacerbated by the complexity of current armed conflicts, as they were no longer limited to two regular armies fighting each other, and multiple non-State actors were involved, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish civilians from non-civilians in such asymmetric conflicts. Additionally, new weapons and methods of warfare were used, and the frontline of conflicts was often ill-defined and changed frequently.

14. It was further noted by several delegations that journalists were often targeted even in situations where there was no armed conflict, for example where organized crime was prevalent. In addition, a view was also expressed that journalists must also be protected by the occupying forces in situations of occupation.

15. Many delegations also expressed concern that only rarely were attacks against journalists investigated and persons responsible brought to account, thus perpetrating an environment of impunity. In that regard, it was noted that in the past 12 years more than 1,100 journalists and media staff had been killed in the course of duty, yet almost none of those cases had been investigated or prosecuted, even in cases of targeted killings.

B. International norms and standards applicable to journalists in armed conflict and their implementation

16. Many delegations referred to the provisions in international humanitarian law which guarantee the protection of journalists either as embedded journalists or as civilians. In the case of the former, many delegations highlighted that as stipulated in article 4, section A, paragraph 4, of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Third Geneva Convention of 1949), embedded journalists or war correspondents are entitled to prisoner of war status when they fall into the power of the enemy. In the case of non-embedded journalists, it was noted that, as stipulated in article 79 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict must be considered as civilians and enjoy the corresponding guarantees and protection under international humanitarian law. Although Protocol I applies only to situations of international armed conflict, several delegations noted that the protection of journalists as civilians was considered to be a norm of customary international law, and thus it also applied to situations of non-international armed conflict.

17. While noting that journalists were protected as civilians under international humanitarian law unless and for such time as they took direct part in hostilities, several delegations stressed that performing tasks in the conduct of their profession, such as recording videos, taking photographs or recording information, did not constitute direct participation in hostilities.

18. Several delegations concurred with the panellists that an intentional attack against journalists, as civilians, constituted not only a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, but also a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
19. Many delegations also highlighted the importance of Security Council resolution 1738 (2006), in which the Security Council condemned intentional attacks against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel and called upon all parties to put an end to such practices. In addition, several delegations noted that as civilians, journalists also enjoyed protection under other Security Council resolutions on the protection of civilians during armed conflict, including resolution 1894 of 2009. However, several delegations also expressed concern that the recommendations outlined in those Security Council resolutions had yet to be fully implemented.

20. In addition to Security Council resolutions on the protection of journalists and civilians during armed conflict, some delegations also noted the relevance of the Medellín Declaration on securing the safety of journalists and combating impunity, adopted by the participants of the UNESCO conference on press freedom, safety of journalists and impunity in 2007.

21. While a view was expressed for the need to reevaluate existing norms and conventions due to the changes in the nature of modern warfare, most delegations stressed that existing protection afforded to journalists under international humanitarian law and international human rights law was sufficient, but that the instruments were not being implemented on the ground.

C. Proposals to enhance the protection of journalists in armed conflict and recommendations to the Human Rights Council

22. In order to enhance the protection of journalists in armed conflict, several delegations emphasized the importance for States to train their armed forces, security personnel and other law enforcement agencies to protect journalists, as well as to support concrete safety training of journalists in conflict areas. The need to enhance the safety and security of United Nations personnel who worked to protect journalists and other civilians in armed conflict was also raised.

23. Many delegations and speakers stressed the obligation of States and the international community to ensure that all attacks against journalists were promptly investigated, and that those found responsible were brought to justice in accordance with international fair-trial standards. The importance of establishing prevention mechanisms to support the safety of journalists and criminal justice reform to support effective investigations and prosecutions of attacks and killings against journalists was also emphasized. It was also noted that putting an end to impunity was the best way to protect journalists and media professionals.

24. Some delegations recommended that the Human Rights Council play a complementary and supportive role to the work of the Security Council and other international bodies and organizations to protect journalists in armed conflict, by focusing on human rights aspects of violence against journalists around the world, such as violations of the right to freedom of expression, arbitrary arrest and detention and reprisals against journalists. Delegations and panellists also stressed that documentation of violations, for example through the Human Rights Council, the Security Council and UNESCO, played a key role in overcoming cultures of impunity and ensuring accountability. Suggestions were also made to have a comprehensive report to document attacks on journalists worldwide, and for the United Nations Secretary-General to present a specific report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1738.

25. Some delegations also welcomed the report on the issue of protection of journalists submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and encouraged the Special Rapporteur to enhance his cooperation with human rights treaty monitoring bodies and other organizations, including regional organizations and non-governmental organizations, to promote the rights of journalists to perform their job in a safe as possible environment in areas of armed conflict.

26. Noting that the creation of robust democratic institutions and adequate judicial and administrative mechanisms enhanced the ability of States to protect and secure the rights of all individuals, including journalists, a recommendation was also made to the Human Rights Council to assist States emerging from armed conflict to rebuild their legal and institutional frameworks and to create conditions to promote and protect the right to freedom of expression.

27. Several delegations also noted the need to address the protection of journalists in all situations, not limited to armed conflict, and suggested that the Human Rights Council consider holding a further panel discussion on that topic as follow-up.

28. In his concluding remarks, the Vice-President of the Council stated that the panel was an exceptional opportunity to bring to light the perils encountered by journalists in armed conflict. He noted that the recommendations formulated through the panel should serve as guidance in devising concrete action, including an appropriate response by the Human Rights Council.

***04.08.10. PEC condemns the killing of Lebanese journalist Assaf Abu Rahhal 

GENEVA, August 4 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the killing of Lebanese journalist Assaf Abu Rahhal Tuesday.
The PEC believes that the events that led to the killing of Lebanese journalist Assaf Abu Rahhal due to clashes Tuesday between Lebanon and Israel reminds the world of the need for strengthening existing documents of international law in order to ensure further protection for journalists in conflict zones.
Abu Rahhal worked for the daily Al-Akhbar and was reporting on the clashes from the southern Lebanese town of Adayssi. Another correspondent Ali Shaib, with the Hezbollah-run Al-Manar
television, was also wounded in the fighting and underwent successful surgery.
The PEC since June 2004, a six year advocacy, has advocated for legal binding insertions in existing or new instruments that will allow a better environment to protect journalists covering
conflicts.
The Geneva based NGO with UN consultative status was a major player at the Human Rights Council’s Panel discussion on 4 June 2010 on the protection of journalists in armed conflict and called for a new global compact to move ahead with the PEC proposals.
The killing of Rahhal steps up the number of journalists killed this year in conflict situations and dangerous terrain to 71 journalists.

***26.07.10. IRAQ. PEC strongly condemns the heinous and cowardly attack against Al-Arabiya office in Baghdad

GENEVA, July 26 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns in the strongest possible manner the heinous and cowardly attack by a suicide car bomb in Baghdad on the Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya in which four employees and two members of the public were killed.

The suicide bomber blew up a vehicle at around 9.30am local time Monday in front of the station's bureau in Baghdad's city centre, leaving a massive crater.

The PEC calls upon the Iraqi government to step up their measures for the protection of media installations and personnel and believes that the authorities in place must take quick and effective steps to bring the perpetrators of this cowardly attack to justice.

Governments in place are asked to ensure the protection of journalists covering conflicts at all times.

The PEC has called during the 4th June 2010 Panel Discussion in the Human Rights Council on the Protection of Journalists for an agreement between all concerned parties to start the process to put in place legal binding guidelines for ensuring such protection.

At the Human Rights Council, the PEC stressed that it is a moment for governments and journalists to unite against terrorism as well as non-state actors when and if they target media installations.

The Arabiya attack gives more strength to the reasoning of the PEC. Yesterday’s attack was the latest in a series of attacks on Al-Arabiya.

The PEC, a Geneva based NGO with UN consultative status, has repeatedly since 4 June 2004 called for a process that can lead to legal binding principles that are implementable to improve the work of journalists in armed conflict and in dangerous situations.

***21.07.2010. PEC CONTINUES ITS FIRM DEDICATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS, HEARTENED BY ECOSOC APPROVAL // La PEC encouragée par la décision de l'ECOSOC va poursuivre ses efforts pour renforcer la protection des journalistes // PEC CONTINÚA FIRME EN SU OBJETIVO DE PROTECCIÓN A LOS PERIODISTAS, ALENTADA POR LA APROBACIÓN DEL ECOSOC - (PEC statement in English, French, Spanish, Arabic)

PEC CONTINUES ITS FIRM DEDICATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS, HEARTENED BY ECOSOC APPROVAL

GENEVA, PEC 21 July 2010 -- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), dedicating its work since June 2004 for the protection of journalists in armed conflicts and other dangerous situations, is extremely heartened at the news that the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has sealed the status of the PEC as a non-governmental organizations (NGO) with Special consultative UN status.

In a letter addressed to the PEC, it was informed by the ECOSOC NGO Branch, that the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), at its Substantive Session of July 2010, adopted the recommendation of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), to grant Special
consultative status to the “Presse Embleme Campagne”.

The Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination – NGO Branch - extended on behalf of all staff of the Non-Governmental Organizations Branch their heartfelt congratulations to the PEC.

PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi said that the ECOSOC decision will boost the commitment of the PEC and strengthen the dedication of its members, more than 50,000 journalists across the globe, to further strengthen the legal principles for the protection of journalists.

Secretary-General of the PEC Blaise Lempen said that he believes that the global problem of the protection of journalists has been enlarged by the heightened threats against journalists, so far this year 64 journalists were killed in the line of duty, an increase of 10%.

Journalists are not killed accidentally, they are killed because of their profession and because they are the eyes of the world registering gross human rights violations and watching the dangerous practice of impunity implemented with no regard to human rights of the victim or those
left behind. Abdel Nabi stressed that in many instances, therefore, journalists are targeted to kill the truth.

Among the successful efforts of the PEC in 2010 is the convening of a successful panel discussion at the Human Rights Council on the issue of the Protection of Journalists in Armed Conflict, a milestone that paves the road for all concerned parties to work collectively towards the objective of an increased need for the protection of journalists in all situations.

Today is a moment for the PEC board that provides all members with a shot in the arm to increase individually and collectively their efforts to move the campaign ahead and seal with UN member states new guidelines for the protection of journalists.

The PEC is full of hope that the campaign will succeed.

La PEC encouragée par la décision de l'ECOSOC va poursuivre ses efforts pour renforcer la protection des journalistes

Genève, 21 juillet (PEC) La Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC), ONG créée en 2004 à Genève pour défendre les journalistes dans les zones de conflit ou d'autres situations dangereuses, est très encouragée par la décision de l'ECOSOC de lui accorder le statut consultatif spécial à l'ONU.

Dans une lettre adressée à la PEC, le département des ONG à l’ONU à New York a informé la PEC que le Conseil économique et social de l’ONU (ECOSOC) dans sa session de juillet 2010 a adopté la recommandation du comité des ONG d’octroyer le statut consultatif spécial à la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC). Au nom de tous les membres du service, le département a adressé ses chaleureuses félicitations à la PEC..

La présidente de la PEC Hedayat Abdel Nabi a affirmé que la décision entérinée lundi à New York par les pays membres de l’ECOSOC va renforcer l'engagement de la PEC et de ses membres, plus de 50'000 journalistes dans le monde, afin d'améliorer concrètement la protection des journalistes sur le plan juridique.

Le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen a constaté que le problème global de la protection des employés des medias s'est aggravé en raison de nouvelles menaces. Depuis le mois de janvier, 64 journalistes sont morts en raison de leur activité professionnelle, une augmentation de plus de 10% par rapport à la même période de l'an dernier.

Ces journalistes ne sont pas morts accidentellement, mais ont été tués en raison de leur profession, parce qu'ils sont les yeux de la communauté internationale pour documenter les graves violations des droits de l'homme et dénoncer la dangereuse pratique de l'impunité sans égard pour les victimes. Dans la plupart des cas, les journalistes sont ciblés pour dissimuler la vérité, a souligné Abdel Nabi.

Parmi les succès obtenus par la PEC en 2010, l'organisation par le Conseil des droits de l'homme le 4 juin d'un débat sur la protection des journalistes avec les représentants des Etats et des ONG a été une étape vers une coopération accrue de toutes les parties dans le but de renforcer la protection des journalistes dans toutes les situations dangereuses.

Le comité de la PEC est stimulé par l'obtention du statut consultatif spécial à l'ONU qui lui permettra d'intensifer ses efforts individuels et collectifs et de développer la campagne afin d'élaborer avec les Etats membres de l'ONU de nouvelles directives. La PEC est pleinement confiante que cette campagne pour renforcer la protection des journalistes aboutira à des résultats concrets.

PEC CONTINÚA FIRME EN SU OBJETIVO DE PROTECCIÓN A LOS PERIODISTAS,
ALENTADA POR LA APROBACIÓN DEL ECOSOC

GINEBRA, 21 jul (PEC) La Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC), dedicada desde junio de 2004 a garantizar mayor protección de los periodistas en conflictos armados y otras situaciones peligrosas, está extremadamente alentada por la noticia de que el Consejo Económico y
Social (ECOSOC) ha concedido a la PEC el estatuto de organización no gubernamental (NGO) con estatuto consultativo.

El departamento de ONG en la ONU en Nueva York ha enviado una carta a la PEC, en la cual le informa que el Consejo Económico y Social de la ONU (ECOSOC), en su sesión de julio de 2010, ha adoptado la recomendación del comité de ONG de conceder el estatuto consultivo especia a la Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC).

La Oficina de Apoyo y Coordinación del Consejo – Sección de ONG – a nombre de todo el
personal de la sección de las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales ha trasmitido calurosas felicitaciones a la PEC.

La decisión del ECOSOC impulsará el compromiso de la PEC y reforzará la dedicación de sus más de 50.000 periodistas en todo el mundo, en fortalecer aún más los principios jurídicos para la
protección de los periodistas, ha afirmado la Presidenta de la PEC Hedayat Abdel Nabi.

El Secretario general de la PEC, Blaise Lempen, por su parte, considera que el problema mundial de la protección de los periodistas se ha agravado debido a las amenazas contra los periodistas;
hasta el momento 64 periodistas han sido asesinado en el ejercicio de la profesión en lo que va de año, ha afirmado Blaise Lempen.

Los periodistas no son asesinados por accidente, son asesinadas a causa de su profesión y porque son los ojos del mundo, registrando las graves violaciones de derechos humanos y observando la peligrosa práctica de la impunidad llevada a cabo sin tener en cuenta los derechos humanos de la
víctima o los que quedan atrás. Es por ello que en muchas ocasiones, los periodistas pasan a ser objetivos de quienes intentan matar la verdad.

Entre los logros obtenidos por la PEC en 2010 está la celebración de una sesión del Consejo
de Derechos Humanos sobre la Protección de los Periodistas en Conflictos Armados, un hito éxito que abre el camino a todas las partes interesadas a trabajar colectivamente hacia el objetivo de la necesidad de incrementar la protección de los periodistas en todas las situaciones

Hoy es el momento oportuno para que el comité de la PEC intensifique sus esfuerzos, tanto individual como colectivamente, para llevar adelante la campaña y sellar con los Estados
miembros de la ONU nuevas directrices para la protección de los periodistas.

La PEC está llena de esperanzas en que la campaña tenga éxito.

الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي تحصل على الوضعية الخاصة كمنظمة غير حكومية معترف بها من قبل المجلس الاقتصادي و الاجتماعي و تبدأ مرحلة جديدة من العمل من أجل الدفاع عن الصحفيين 
 
جنيف 21 يوليو 2010 – أبلغت الحملة الدولية لشارة حماية الصحفي بقرار المجلس الاقتصادي و الاجتماعي باعتمادها كمنظمة غير حكومية لها وضعية خاصة معترف بها من قبل الأمم المتحدة.

    و قد هنأ فرع المنظمات غير الحكومية بالأمم المتحدة الحملة الدولية بهذا القرار الذي يسمح للحملة من اليوم بتمثيل رسمي في كل أنشطة الأمم المتحدة.

    و قد صرحت هدايت عبد النبي، رئيسة الحملة، بأن قرار المجلس الاقتصادي و الاجتماعي سوف يزيد من فاعلية و التزام الحملة الدولية و نشاط أعضائها وهم أكثر من 50 ألف صحفي و صحفية في كافة أنحاء العالم على تدعيم و تقوية جوانب القانون الدولي و نصوصه و تطوير ما يمكن تطويره لحماية الصحفيين في مناطق النزاع المسلح و المناطق الخطرة.

    و من جانبه أعرب بليز ليمبان، سكرتير عام الحملة، عن قناعته بأن    التحديات الخاصة بالعمل الصحفي قد اتسعت بسبب تزايد مخاطره حيث أن العام الحالي شهد مقتل 64 صحيفا من بدايته حتى اليوم.

    و ذكرت حملة الشارة، في بيانها الذي رحبت فيه بقرار المجلس الاقتصادي و الاجتماعي، أن الصحفيين يقتلون بسبب مهنتهم لأنهم عيون العالم و شهوده لتسجيل أبشع انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان و قضية الافلات من العقاب التي تترك الضحية و أسرتها بغير رحمة و لا اعتبار لحقوق الإنسان.

    و أكدت رئيسة الحملة أن الصحفيين يستهدفون لقتل الحقيقة، و مشيرة إلى جهد اللجنة الذي نجح في انعقاد ندوة دولية في مجلس حقوق الإنسان حول حماية الصحفيين في مناطق النزاعات المسلحة و شارك فيها من مصر رئيس تحرير الأهرام أسامة سرايا الذي أكد على أهمية مواصلة هذا الجهد حيث أعلن أنه سيتبنى برعاية صحيفة الأهرام ندوة دولية في هذا الصدد تعقد بالقاهرة في وقت لاحق. 

    و اعتبرت رئيسة الحملة الكاتبة الصحفية المصرية هدايت عبد النبي   أن قرار المجلس الاقتصادي و الاجتماعي يحفز مجلس إدارة الحملة على المزيد من العطاء و الالتزام للعمل بلا هوادة مع الدول أعضاء الأمم المتحدة من أجل التوصل إلى صيغ قانونية لحماية الصحفيين.

    و أكدت باسم الحملة أن القرار يؤكد الأمل الواسع في نجاح حملة الشارة التي بدأت رسمياً في 4 يونيو 2004.

    لمزيد من المعلومات تصفح موقع الحملة 
    

***05.07. 2010. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) deplores and condemns the killing of 59 journalists in six months // La Presse Emblème Campagne déplore l'assassinat de 59 journalistes en six mois // DEPLORA LA PEC EL ASESINATO DE 59 PERIODISTAS EN SEIS MESES (English, French, Spanish)

The PEC deplores and condemns the killing of 59 journalists in six months

Geneva, 5 July 2010 (PEC)  – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) announced today that during the first six months of the year from January to the end of June 59 journalists were killed in 25 countries which constitute an increase of 10% in the number of killed journalists as compared to the same period in 2009.

PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen noted that journalists are extremely exposed in countries which witness internal problems.

Lempen added that governments and the international community must act in firmness to stop those killings and bring the perpetrators of those crimes to justice.

Mexico remains the most dangerous country in terms of media work with nine journalists killed, Honduras second (8 killed), followed by Pakistan (6), Nigeria (4), the Philippines (4).

Journalists killed in those five countries represent half of the killed journalists in the reporting period.

Another three were killed in Russia, 3 in Colombia, 2 in the following four countries: Iraq, Nepal, Thailand and Venezuela.

One journalist was killed in Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameron, Cyprus, Ecuador, Israel, Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC), Rwanda, Turkey, Somalia and Yemen.

Lempen added that two French journalists remain in captivity for the past six months in East Afghanistan and stressed that the PEC deplores the dangers to which journalists are subjected to because of their work which includes hostage taking.

He noted that the reasons for killing journalists vary from country to country, among those reasons is hunting journalists by organized crime groups in Mexico, conflicts between governments and the opposition in Honduras and Thailand, tribal tensions in Pakistan and Nigeria, settling
political disputes in the Philippines, the Caucus and in Nepal.

The tally by continent is highest in Latin America where in six months 24 journalists in total were killed, Asia comes in second place with 14 journalists killed, and in Africa the number tends to grow with nine killed.

During the first six months of 2009, the PEC registered the killing of 53 journalists, a higher tally than that of the same period in 2008 which stood at 45 killed.

For the year 2009 a record of 122 journalists were killed because of their profession and 91 in 2008.

La PEC déplore l'assassinat de 59 journalistes en six mois

Genève, 5 juillet 2010 (PEC) En six mois, 59 journalistes ont été tués dans 25 pays, a annoncé lundi la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC). Cela représente une augmentation de près de 10% par rapport aux 53 journalistes tués pendant la même période de 2009.

"Les journalistes sont très exposés dans plusieurs pays qui connaissent des troubles internes. Les gouvernements et la communauté internationale doivent être plus fermes pour empêcher de tels meurtres et punir leurs responsables", a affirmé le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen en présentant le rapport de la PEC pour les six premiers mois de l'année.

Les pays les plus dangereux ont été le Mexique, avec neuf employés des medias tués, devant le Honduras (8 tués), le Pakistan (6 tués), le Nigéria (4) et les Philippines (4). Ces cinq pays représentent plus de la moitié des victimes.

Trois journalistes ont été tués en Russie, trois également en Colombie, deux dans ces quatre pays: Irak, Népal, Thaïlande et Venezuela. Un journaliste a été tué dans les pays suivants: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Brésil, Bulgarie, Cameroun, Chypre, Equateur, Israël, République démocratique du Congo, Rwanda, Turquie, Somalie, Yémen.

Deux journalistes français restent détenus par ailleurs depuis plus de six mois dans l'est de l'Afghanistan, déplore la PEC. En Somalie, de nombreux journalistes ont été blessés dans les combats et l'insécurité rend l'accès à ce pays de plus en plus difficile comme en Afghanistan.

Les causes de ces décès sont diverses: les journalistes ont été notamment les victimes de la guerre avec les trafiquants de drogue au Mexique, du conflit entre le gouvernement et l'opposition au Honduras et en Thaïlande, des tensions tribales au Pakistan et au Nigéria, de règlements de compte politiques aux Philippines, dans le Caucase russe et au Népal.

Si, par continent, l'Amérique latine détient le record de journalistes tués en six mois (24 au total), l'Asie vient au second rang (14) et l'Afrique connaît une tendance à la hausse inquiétante (9), constate la PEC.

Pendant les six premiers mois de 2009, la PEC avait recensé 53 journalistes tués, un chiffre déjà plus élevé que les 45 tués de janvier à juin 2008. Sur l'ensemble de 2009, un record de 122 journalistes ont été tués, contre 91 pour 2008. 


DEPLORA LA PEC EL ASESINATO DE 59 PERIODISTAS EN SEIS MESES

Ginebra,  5  jul 2010 (PEC) En seis meses, 59 periodistas han sido asesinados en 25 países, según ha dado a conocer este lunes la Campaña Emblema de Prensa (PEC). Esta cifra representa un aumento de cerca del 10% en relación con los 53 periodistas que fueron asesinados durante el mismo periodo de 2009.

“Los periodistas se encuentran muy expuestos en numerosos países que tienen problemas internos. Los gobiernos y la comunidad internacional deben actuar con mayor firmeza para impedir tales muertes y castigar a los responsables”,  ha afirmado el Secretario general de la PEC, Blaise Lempen, en la presentación del informe de la PEC correspondiente al primer semestre de este año.

De acuerdo con ese informe, los países de mayor peligrosidad han sido México, con nueve trabajadores de los medios muertos, delante de Honduras (8 muertos), Pakistán (6 muertos), Nigeria (4) y Filipinas (4). Estos cinco países representan más de la mitad de las víctimas.

En Rusia, al igual que en Colombia, tres periodistas han sido asesinados, mientras que en Nepal, Iraq, Tailandia y Venezuela, fueron asesinados dos en cada uno. En los siguientes países, un periodista fue respectivamente asesinado: Afganistán, Angola, Bangladesh, Brasil, Bulgaria, Camerún, Chipre, Ecuador, Israel, República Democrática del Congo, Ruanda, Turquía, Somalia y Yemen.

La PEC deplora el hecho de que todavía hay dos periodistas franceses  detenidos desde hace más de seis meses en el este de Afganistán. En Somalia, numerosos periodistas han sido heridos en los combates en ese país, donde la inseguridad dificulta cada vez más el acceso al mismo, al igual que en Afganistán.

Las causas de todas estas muertes son variadas : los periodistas han sido particularmente las víctimas de la guerra entre los traficantes de la droga en México, del conflicto entre el Gobierno y la oposición en Honduras y en Tailandia;  las tensiones tribales en Pakistán y en Nigeria y los arreglos de cuentas en Filipinas, en el  Cáucaso ruso  y en Nepal.

La Campaña Emblema de Prensa ha constatado que si bien  por continentes, la América Latina detenta el record de periodistas asesinados en seis meses (24 en total), Asia le sigue en segundo lugar (14) y el África presenta una inquietante tendencia al alza (9).

Durante los primeros seis meses de 2009, la PEC había censado ya 53 periodistas asesinados, una cifra más elevada que los 45 asesinados en junio del 2008. En total, el pasado año se registró una cifra record de 122 periodistas asesinados, contra 91 el año precedente.
 

***04.06.2010. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes heartly the constructive debate on the protection of journalists in armed conflict at the Human Rights Council // la Presse Emblème Campagne (PEC) se félicite de la tenue d'un débat constructif sur la protection des journalistes dans les zones de conflit au Conseil des droits de l'homme

Please go to:

www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10109&LangID=E

for the UN transcript of the panel discussion. Read also reactions on our page PRESS (click left) - read statements of deputy High Commissionner, PEC, United States below -

More than 20 States and a dozen NGOs have made oral statements at the occasion of the three hours' discussion with the six experts: deputy United Nations High Commissioner Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy Assistant Director-General for Communication at UNESCO Mogens Schmidt, Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Robin Geiss, legal advisor at the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Al-Ahram Editor-in-Chief Osama Saraya and PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi  (photo: PEC flyer for this event)  

The panel of experts at the meeting June 4, 2010 at the Human Rights Council. Many experts and States expressed their concern about the alarming trend of attacks against journalists and stressed the need to fight impunity. It was the first time that the HRC organized a panel on the protection of journalists (photos PEC)

Member of the panel and PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi delivering her speech to UN Member States at the Human Rights Council Room XX, Palais des Nations, Geneva 

PEC press release:

GENEVA, June 4 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes heartly the constructive debate that took place today in the Human Rights Council on the Protection of Journalists in Armed Conflicts.
The PEC considers today’s panel as a turning point for a beginning of a meaningful cooperation between members states and journalists because of the heightened interest of member states that was reflected in the debate.
Some member states sided with the view that the current existing laws are sufficient while others called for their improvement.
Introducing the panel discussion on the protection of journalists in armed conflict, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-Wha Kang said that today’s panel took place against the backdrop of alarming reports of killings, harassment, intimidation or kidnapping of
journalists, men and women, in situations of armed conflict. According to reports, deliberate attempts to target journalists in areas of ongoing conflict were increasing. International law set out clear provisions for the protection of journalists in armed conflict.
The Deputy High Commissioner said that despite these unequivocal norms, there continued to be a high number of abuses and crimes targeting journalists, which were committed with impunity and emboldened other would-be perpetrators to follow suit.
Osama Saraya, Editor in Chief of Al Ahram Newspaper, said that death was not the only result of the phenomenon of attacking of journalists.
Some of the victims still lived with the trauma and could not function in the workplace due to physical and mental scars and injuries.
Omar Faruk Osman, President of the Federation of the African Journalists, said that the Human Rights Council should send a clear message that it would not remain idle while journalists continued to be the subject of violent death and unjustified attacks.
He added that the real problem was that these instruments and laws were not respected or enforced.
A number of countries expressed hope that the Security Council and the Human Rights
Council can work together to find ways and means to strengthen the protection of journalists in zones of armed conflict.
The Press Emblem Campaign stressed that there is a need to create a working group to develop a global compact including guidelines to protect journalists.
The PEC further stressed that any identification sign “PRESS” must be protected by law, because in the absence of laws journalists are victims of assault.
The PEC representative Hedayat Abdel Nabi said that this is a historic opportunity within the environment of multiple actors on the military scene, it is a historic moment to come to agreement between member states and journalists calling for regular armies not shoot at journalists
carrying the distinctive emblem.
Reacting to the debate, the PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen praised a "promising first step toward a more active role of the United Nations in this vital matter, including the fight against impunity".
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will issue a report on the panel, and the majority of speakers expressed their readiness to continue this dialogue in the Council.

Opening Remarks by Ms. Kyung-wha Kang Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights at the panel discussion on the protection of journalists in armed conflict

Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,  I am delighted to open this panel discussion on the protection of journalists in armed conflict.  I would like to thank and commend the Human Rights Council for placing this important issue high on its agenda and giving significant time for a substantive discussion.

This panel takes place against the backdrop of alarming reports of killings, harassment, intimidation or kidnapping of journalists, men and women, in situations of armed conflict. According to these reports, deliberate attempts to target journalists in areas of ongoing conflict are increasing.

War reporting is inherently dangerous. Indeed, it could arguably be one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Still, out of sense of professional duty,  many journalists  and media professional make the courageous choice to go to conflict zones, so as to tell the world about the stories of armed conflicts and the human cost they entail.  Amidst the so-called “fog of war”, they play a vital role in keeping the world informed and ensuring that our responses are based on the facts and truths unfolding on the ground.

International law sets out clear provisions for the protection of journalists in armed conflict.  According to international humanitarian law, journalists in armed conflict should be considered as civilians and therefore be afforded the protection to which the civilians are entitled.  International human rights law guarantees the right to life, as well as the right to liberty and security of persons, as well as the right to freedom of expression, for all, including for journalists. . 

Despite these unequivocal norms, there continues to be a high number of abuses and crimes targetting journalists, which are committed with impunity, encouraging other abuses to follow suit.  This flaunting of  international norms highlights the need to take proactive measures to ensure that they will be fully respected and implemented. Translating them from aspiration into more effective action on the ground is a common challenge for the international community

Mr. President,

As a testimony to the importance of the issue, several United Nations bodies and other entities have addressed the issue of the protection of journalists in armed conflict.
 
As all are aware, the International Committee of the Red Cross has a mandate to protect civilians in armed conflict, including journalists. In its endeavours to make the rules that protect journalists known and respected, the ICRC plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of journalists. In addition, UNESCO has a specific mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom and has dedicated part of its work to the protection of journalists.

The Security Council has also pronounced itself on this issue: in 2006, it adopted a landmark resolution which condemned deliberate attacks against journalists and media professionals in situations of armed conflict and called upon all parties to put an end to such practices.

The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and his predecessors have drawn the attention of the Human Rights Council to this alarming issue. And the Council has repeatedly expressed its concern that threats and acts of violence directed against journalists and other media workers in situations of armed conflict have increased and are not adequately prosecuted or punished.

Several civil society organizations have also taken initiatives to address the issue of protection of journalists in armed conflict. Reporters without Borders, the International News Safety Institute, the Press Emblem Campaign, to name only a few, have contributed significantly to the raising of the awareness of the international community in this context.

Mr. President,

Our efforts to strengthen the protection of journalists in armed conflict will not be effective if we do not take into account the views and needs of journalists and media professionals themselves.  Their accounts of personal experiences are crucial to our understanding of the challenges they face in conflicts zones and news rooms. .

The panellists whom we are privileged to have today will provide us with a rich array of observations and recommendations on ways to strengthen the protection of journalists in situations of armed conflict.  I am sure their views and approaches to the issue will strengthen the resolve of the  Human Rights Council in drawing the attention of the international community to the dangers faced by journalists in armed conflicts, and in developing  a common approach to this challenge, not only across United Nations entities, but in the international community as a whole.

I wish you a fruitful and constructive debate.

Thank you.

Statement of the PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi member of the panel:   

PEC statement to the Panel Discussion on the Protection of Journalists 
                         4 June 2010 - Human Rights Council             

     "Today’s panel discussion on the Protection of Journalists in armed conflicts coincides with the 6th anniversary of the creation of the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC); it is a form of recognition and tribute to all the fallen journalists across the globe.

    The issue of the protection of journalists in armed conflicts spurred a group of journalists at the UN in Geneva to start a global movement for the protection of journalists in armed conflict and dangerous situations.

    The PEC today believes that the time has come for action, action in the form of developing guidelines through a working group that would lead to a global compact for the protection of journalists, and feels that the proposed ideas can be the focal point. 

    The PEC calls for the creation of a working group to launch those guidelines and believes that the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council is in a position to act as such a working group or to support the creation of an Adhoc intergovernmental working group to be entrusted with this task and report to the Council as soon as possible or at the latest in its session in June 2011.

    The Campaign also hopes that today’s meeting will evolve in accel