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Please find below 13 documents of reference adopted by the United Nations on the safety of journalists:

- the Resolution A/HRC/51/L14 on the safety of journalists adopted by consensus on 6 October 2022 at the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

- the Resolution A/76/173 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 16 December 2021

- the Resolution A/HRC/45/L42/rev 1 on the safety of journalists adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 6 October 2020

- the Resolution A/C.3/74/L.45/rev.1 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 19 November 2019,

- the Resolution A/HRC/39/L7 on the safety of journalists adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 27 September 2018,

- the Resolution A/C.3/72/L.35/Rev 1 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 20 November 2017,

- the Resolution  A/HRC/33/L6 adopted  on safety of journalists by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 29 September 2016,

- the Resolution 2222 adopted by the SECURITY COUNCIL on 27 May 2015,

- the Resolution on safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the United Nations on 20 November 2014,

- the Resolution on safety of journalists adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 25 September 2014,

- the Resolution on safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 18 December 2013,

- the Resolution adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 27 September 2012 ,

- the resolution 1738 adopted by the SECURITY COUNCIL on 23 December 2006

A/HRC/51/L.14

Item 3

Received from (main sponsors): Austria, Brazil, France, Greece, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia

51/xx. The safety of journalists

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,

Recalling all General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions on the safety of journalists, in particular Assembly resolution 76/173 of 16 December 2021 and Council resolution 45/18 of 6 October 2020, as well as Council resolution 50/15 of 8 July 2022 on freedom of opinion and expression and Security Council resolutions 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,

Recalling also the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and the important role of the network of focal points throughout the United Nations system in enhancing the safety of journalists and media workers,

Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists, including its role in monitoring developments in this area, awareness-raising and capacity-building, and in this context recalling the 2020 report of the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the safety of journalists and the danger of impunity, the Global Media Defence Fund, as well as the Windhoek+30 Declaration,

Welcoming also the work of the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council with regard to the safety of journalists, in particular of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and taking note of her recent report on reinforcing media freedom and the safety of journalists in the digital age,

Welcoming also the initiatives taken by States, media organizations and civil society relevant to the safety of journalists, such as the Media Freedom Coalition, the Freedom Online Coalition, the International Partnership for Information and Democracy, as a result of the Paris Peace Forum, the International Civil Society Organizations Safety of Journalists Coalition, the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), the Journalism Safety Research Network, as well as the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles, or the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists, presented at the World Congress of the International Press Institute, held in March 2016 in Doha,

Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, in building and supporting the functioning of inclusive societies and democracies, an informed citizenry, the rule of law and participation in public affairs, in holding public institutions and officials accountable, including by exposing corruption,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,

Underlining that the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, includes the right to seek, receive and impart information held by public authorities, subject only to any restrictions that fully comply with international law, and stressing the importance of access to information to the work of journalists and media workers, and that they themselves also play a critical role in the enjoyment of this right,

Recognizing the range of current threats to the safety of journalists, media freedom and media pluralism, which include, inter alia, physical, psychological, legal, political, technological and economic threats,

Recognizing also the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, and in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving, where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing, and where the spread of disinformation is often facilitated and amplified by the algorithms of digital platforms, including social media platforms;

Recognizing further the importance of investigative journalism and that the ability of the media to investigate and to publish the results of their investigations, including on the Internet, without fear of reprisals, plays an important role in societies, including in contributing to holding public institutions and officials accountable or detecting cases of corruption, and revealing human rights abuses by business enterprises,

Expressing concern about the ongoing and deepening threats to media diversity and independence as a result, among other things, of shutting down media resources under political pretext, a significant reduction in advertising revenues for legacy media, undermining news production and especially local and investigative journalism, increased concentration of media ownership, political control over and insufficient financial allocations to public service media, a failure to develop community broadcasting sufficiently, and ongoing attempts to exert control over the media, including through regulation,

Underlining that journalists and media workers serve a crucial function in times of crisis, and that States must take active measures to ensure that individuals and communities are fully informed about the full scope that any threat poses to lives and health of journalists and media workers, in order to make appropriate personal choices and decisions,

Recognizing the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including to inform the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,

Deeply concerned that the work of journalists and media workers often puts them at specific risk of human rights violations and abuses, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, arbitrary expulsion, physical and sexual and gender-based violence, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment of all kinds, including by the targeting of their family members or arbitrarily raiding and searching their residency, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,

Equally concerned about incidents of the extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including killings, enforced disappearances, harassment or surveillance,

Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including individual journalists, which increases the risk of threats, reprisals and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,

Alarmed also at acts of intimidation and reprisal directed against foreign journalists and media workers, especially by political leaders, public officials and/or authorities through, inter alia, the arbitrary and unwarranted denial of accreditation or visas in connection with their journalistic work,

Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,

Deeply concerned about all attempts to silence journalists and media workers, including by legislation that can be used to criminalize journalism, by the misuse of overbroad or vague laws to repress legitimate expression, including defamation and libel laws, laws on misinformation and disinformation or counter-terrorism and counter-extremism legislation, when not in conformity with international human rights standards,

Expressing serious concern at the rise of strategic lawsuits against public participation, including by business entities, to exercise pressure, intimidate or exhaust the resources and morale of journalists, and thereby stopping them from critical and/or investigative reporting on matters of public interest,

Underlining that any measure or restriction introduced under emergency measures must be necessary, proportionate to the evaluated risk and applied in a non-discriminatory way, have a specific focus and duration, and be in accordance with the State’s obligations under applicable international human rights law, and that the right to seek, receive and impart information requires that media freedom and the safety of journalists is protected during a state of emergency, including, inter-alia in the context of protests or during health crises,

Deeply concerned also that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis had and still has significant implications for the work, health and safety of journalists and media workers, and in this regard concerned about the consequences of the economic impact of the pandemic, which increases the vulnerability of journalists and weakens media sustainability, independence and pluralism and worsens the risk of the spreading of misinformation and disinformation by limiting access to a wide range of reliable information and opinions,

Alarmed at threats against, arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, as well as disproportionate and undue restrictions on access to information or censorship, freedom of movement or accreditation, of journalists and media workers linked to their reporting on the pandemic,

Taking into account that journalists may face specific risks in relation to their work due to various forms of discrimination, such as but not limited to sex, race, religion, ethnicity, minority status, economic and socio-economic status, disability, age or political affiliation,

Deeply alarmed at the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-responsive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, including threats of rape, intimidation, harassment, online gender-based harassment and abuse, including blackmailing with private content, inequality and gender-based stereotypes, to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed,

Recognizing that online attacks against women journalists, including through targeted unlawful or arbitrary digital surveillance, is one of the serious contemporary threats to their safety,

Expressing serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, in situations of armed conflict, including the specific risks faced by women journalists in this context, and recalling in this regard that journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are civilians under international humanitarian law and shall be protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,

Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,

Emphasizing the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or the interception of communications, hacking, including government-sponsored hacking, malware, spyware, forced data handover or denial of service attacks to force the shutdown of particular media websites or services, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,

Emphasizing also that, in the digital age, encryption, pseudonymization, and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to exercise freely their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources,

Recognizing further the important role that national human rights institutions can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and in addressing human rights violations against journalists through monitoring, educating and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further the contribution that national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up can play in the prevention of human rights violations against journalists,

Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,

Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists, and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,

Stressing the need to conduct impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into human rights violations and abuses against journalists and media workers, including into whether those violations or abuses were connected with the journalistic work of the victim,

Emphasizing the crucial role of the judiciary, prosecution services and law enforcement officers to ensure journalists’ safety, access to justice and effective remedy, and to ensure accountability for crimes and attacks against them, thereby contributing to upholding the rule of law,

Stressing also the need for greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling national legal frameworks consistent with the State’s international human rights obligations and commitments to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,

  1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers, such as killings, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, threats and harassment, online and offline, including through attacks on or the forced closure of their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

  2. Also condemns unequivocally the extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including killings, enforced disappearances, harassment or surveillance and urges States to cease and/or refrain from such attacks or measures;

  3. Further condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as gender-based discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence, threats, intimidation and harassment, online and offline;

  4. Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;

  5. Condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or the dissemination of information online and offline, which undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including through practices such as Internet shutdowns or measures to unlawfully or arbitrarily restrict, block or take down media websites, such as denial of service attacks, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;

  6. Expresses concern about the spread of disinformation and propaganda, including on the Internet, which can be designed and implemented so as to mislead, to violate human rights, including the rights to privacy and to freedom of expression, to spread hatred, racism, xenophobia, negative stereotyping or stigmatization, and to incite violence, discrimination and hostility, and emphasizes the important contribution by journalists in countering this trend;

  7. Stresses the importance of the full respect for the right to seek, receive and impart information, as included in the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in this regard for the freedom of journalists to have access to information held by public authorities and the right of the general public to receive media output, and that the safety of journalists and media workers is indispensable to ensure these rights;

  8. Urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists, or using misogynist or any discriminatory language towards women journalists, thereby undermining trust in the credibility of journalists and respect for the importance of independent journalism;

  9. Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested or arbitrarily detained, taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearance;

  10. Underlines the importance of providing for an enabling environment for the work of civil society organizations, as they play a vital role in enhancing the safety and security of journalists and media workers;

  11. Calls upon States:

  1. To bring their laws, policies and practices fully into compliance with their obligations and commitments under international human rights law, and to review and where necessary repeal or amend them so that they do not limit the ability of journalists and media workers to perform their work independently and without undue interference;

  2. To establish prevention and protection mechanisms, such as an early warning and rapid response mechanism, to give journalists and media workers, when threatened, immediate access to authorities competent and adequately resourced to provide effective protective measures;

  3. To ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged cases of violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, including by following and exhausting lines of enquiry that determine whether violence, threats and attacks result from the journalistic activities of the victims, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate restitution, compensation and assistance;

  4. To develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by, inter alia, (i) creating special investigative units or independent commissions, (ii) appointing a specialized prosecutor (iii) adopting specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution that are gender-responsive and take into account relevant international human rights standards, such as the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, (iv) consider designating a government focal point to coordinate policies and liaise with other relevant stakeholders on the issue of safety of journalists;

  5. To ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security, public order or health are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention, or the threat thereof;

  6. To support capacity-building, training and awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military and security personnel, as well as among media organizations, journalists and civil society, regarding States’ international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists;

  7. To take into account the specific role, exposure and vulnerability of journalists and media workers observing, monitoring, recording and reporting protests and assemblies, and the need to protect their safety, even if a protest has been declared unlawful or is dispersed;

  8. To ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused, in particular through criminal sanctions, to illegitimately or arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public, and where necessary to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

  9. To take measures to protect journalists and media workers from strategic lawsuits against public participation, where appropriate, including by adopting laws and policies related to such cases that allow early dismissal, limit the damages claimed, permit public interest defense, and provide legal support to victims;

  10. To protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, including whistle-blowers, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists and those who provide them with information in fostering government accountability and an inclusive and peaceful society, subject only to limited and clearly defined exceptions provided for in national legal frameworks, including judicial authorization, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

  11. To adopt and implement transparent, clear and expedient laws and policies that provide for the effective disclosure of information held by public authorities, including online, and a general right to request and receive information, for which public access should be granted, except within narrow, proportionate, necessary and clearly defined limitations that comply with international human rights law;

  12. To refrain from interference with the use of technologies such as encryption and anonymity tools, and from employing unlawful or arbitrary surveillance techniques, including through hacking;

  13. To ensure that targeted surveillance technologies are only used in accordance with the human rights principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality, and that legal mechanisms of redress and effective remedies are available for victims of surveillance-related violations and abuses;

  14. To promote the availability and accessibility of the broadest possible diversity of media content and the representation of the whole diversity of society in the media, and in this regard to do their utmost to reduce the economic and socio-economic vulnerability of journalists, and to address the financial viability of media organizations, in particular local news media;

  15. To cooperate with journalists, the media and civil society organizations to assess the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic was, and still is inflicting on the provision of vital information to the public and the sustainability of media environments, and to consider, wherever possible, devising appropriate mechanisms to provide financial support to the media, including local journalism and investigative reporting, and to ensure that support is given without compromising editorial independence;

  16. To take measures to prevent sexual harassment and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including threats, threats of rape, intimidation and harassment against women journalists, to encourage the reporting of harassment or violence by providing gender-sensitive investigative procedures, to provide adequate support, remedy, reparations and compensation for victims, including psychological support as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, to eliminate gender inequality and to tackle gender-based stereotypes in society, and to prohibit incitement to hatred against women journalists, online and offline, and other forms of abuse and harassment through relevant policy and legal measures that comply with international human rights law;

  17. To give full support for and to raise public awareness of the importance of independent, plural and diverse media, inter alia by government representatives publicly, unequivocally and systematically condemning violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers and refraining from verbally attacking or discrediting journalists, inciting hatred against them or distrust towards independent journalists;

  18. To establish or enhance information-gathering and monitoring mechanisms, such as databases, including by drawing on data collected by media- and/or civil society organizations, to permit the collection, analysis and reporting of concrete quantitative and qualitative disaggregated data on threats, attacks or violence against journalists, and to do their utmost to make data, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.10.1, available to relevant entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

  19. To provide for an enabling environment for civil society organizations to contribute to monitor and report cases of violence against the media and other infringements of freedom of expression, to provide assistance to journalists and media workers against wrongful prosecutions, and to advocate for crimes against them to be properly investigated and, where appropriate, for improvement of legal frameworks governing an enabling environment for journalists and media workers;

  20. To implement all accepted universal periodic review recommendations relating to the safety of journalists and media freedom, in consultation with relevant stakeholders;

  21. To integrate the issue of the safety of journalists and media freedom and access to information into national development frameworks under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

  22. To consider developing National Action Plans or similar measures, where appropriate, to improve the safety of journalists;

  23. To ensure better internal coordination and sharing of information, in particular within and between relevant ministries, law enforcement and the judiciary at the local and national levels;

  24. To sign, ratify and implement more effectively the international and regional human rights instruments relevant to the safety of journalists and media workers, and to implement relevant resolutions adopted by United Nations bodies and regional intergovernmental organizations and the recommendations made by treaty bodies, the special procedures and in the context of the universal periodic review relating to the safety of journalists;

  1. Further calls upon States to encourage journalists and media workers to report threats and attacks against them to the relevant authorities, agencies or platforms, on the national as well as on the regional and international level, such as the relevant special procedures of the Human rights Council, the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, the ACHPR Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, the “Digital platform on the safety of journalists in Africa”, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media or the Council of Europe´s “Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists”, as appropriate;

  2. Recognizes the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in the realization of Sustainable Development Goal target 16.10;

  3. Emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, in particular for journalists on dangerous assignments, together with protective equipment and insurances, where necessary;

  4. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, and encourages national, subregional, regional and international human rights mechanisms and bodies, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, in the framework of their mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their work;

  5. Invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the scope of their mandates, to actively exchange information and enhance cooperation, including through the United Nations network of focal points on safety of journalists and the issue of impunity and, at the local level, with United Nations country teams, and to cooperate further in promoting awareness of and implementing the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to this end calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human rights, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and international and regional human rights mechanisms;

  6. Invites all relevant special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council to continue and strengthen their work and cooperation relating to the issue of the safety of journalist and impunity;

  7. Encourages States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;

  8. Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;

  9. Invites States, the Director-General of UNESCO, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and all other relevant stakeholders to take the opportunity of the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity to strengthen the implementation of the UN Plan of Action over the next decade by, inter alia, strengthening multi-stakeholder partnerships and coalition building, and by fostering a coherent and comprehensive policy approach, which encompasses the three pillars of prevention, protection and prosecution;

  10. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize, before the fifty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council, a one-day expert seminar on legal and economic threats to the safety of journalists in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and to prepare a summary report thereon to be submitted to the Council at its fifty-fifth session;

  11. Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in accordance with its programme of work.


Resolution A/76/173 adopted by the General Assembly on 16 December 2021 on the safety of journalists

United Nations A/RES/76/173
General Assembly

Seventy-sixth session
Agenda item 74 (b)
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms

76/173. The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity
The General Assembly,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2 and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,3 as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19494 and the Additional Protocols thereto,5
Recalling its previous resolutions on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including resolution 68/163 of 18 December 2013, in which it proclaimed 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, and resolutions 69/185 of 18 December 2014, 70/162 of 17 December 2015, 72/175 of 19 December 2017 and 74/157 of 18 December 2019,
Welcoming the latest report of the Secretary-General on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, the current situation and the actions undertaken so far in relation thereto,6
Taking note with appreciation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, endorsed by the United Nations System Chief __________________
1 Resolution 217 A (III).
2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2716, No. 48088.
4 Ibid., vol. 75, Nos. 970–973.
5 Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513.
6 A/76/285.
A/RES/76/173 The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity
2/8 21-19208
Executives Board for Coordination on 12 April 2012, in which United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were invited to work with Member States towards a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide,
Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 2012,7 27/5 of 25 September 2014,8 33/2 of 29 September 2016,9 39/6 of 27 September 201810 and 45/18 of 6 October 2020 on the safety of journalists,11 27/12 of 25 September 2014 on the World Programme for Human Rights Education,12 32/13 of 1 July 2016 on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,13 34/7 of 23 March 201714 and 48/4 of 7 October 2021 on the right to privacy in the digital age15 and 44/12 of 16 July 2020 on freedom of opinion and expression,16 Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000, 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015, and Economic and Social Council resolution 2021/7 of 8 June 2021 on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system,
Taking note with appreciation of the 2020 report of the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the safety of journalists and the danger of impunity, as well as the Windhoek+30 Declaration,
Recalling all other relevant reports of the Secretary-General, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and special procedures of the Human Rights Council on the safety of journalists, as well as the most recent report of the Secretary- General on women and peace and security,17
Commending the role and the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with regard to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including their collaboration to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and their facilitation of the commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November, in consultation with relevant entities within the United Nations system, Governments and relevant stakeholders, and recalling the outcome of the multi-stakeholder consultation on strengthening the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and taking note of the opportunity to further foster the implementation of the Plan on the occasion of its tenth anniversary in 2022,
Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development18 and the commitments therein to, inter alia, build peaceful and inclusive societies, protect human rights and promote gender equality for sustainable development so that no one is left behind, including by ensuring public access to information and protecting __________________
7 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III.
8 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1, A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.1 and A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.2), chap. IV, sect. A.
9 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigendum (A/71/53/Add.1 and A/71/53/Add.1/Corr.1), chap. II.
10 Ibid., Seventy-third Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/73/53/Add.1), chap. III.
11 Ibid., Seventy-fifth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/75/53/Add.1), chap. III.
12 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1, A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.1 and A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.2), chap. IV, sect. A.
13 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/71/53), chap. V, sect. A.
14 Ibid., Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/72/53), chap. IV, sect. A.
15 Ibid., Seventy-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/76/53/Add.1), chap. IV, sect. A.
16 Ibid., Seventy-fifth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/75/53), chap. V, sect. A.
17 S/2021/827.
18 Resolution 70/1.
The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity A/RES/76/173
21-19208 3/8
fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements, and therefore recognizing the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in this regard,
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,
Acknowledging that journalism is continuously evolving to include input from media institutions, private individuals and a range of organizations that seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, online as well as offline, in the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby contributing to the shaping of public debate,
Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media and access to information, online as well as offline, in building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies and in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance, as well as understanding and cooperation,
Recognizing also the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving and where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing,
Recognizing further that the work of journalists often puts them and their family members at specific risk of intimidation, threats, harassment and violence, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,
Noting the good practices of different countries aimed at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders, that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists,
Urging States to do their utmost to prevent violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including by supporting capacity-building, training and awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military and security personnel, as well as among media organizations, journalists and civil society, regarding States’ international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists,
Recognizing the efforts by States to review and, where necessary, amend laws, policies and practices that limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference and to bring them fully in line with their obligations under international law,
Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,
Recognizing that the number of people whose lives are influenced by the way information is presented is significant and that journalism influences public opinion,
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Recognizing also the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including informing the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,
Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including foreign and/or individual journalists, and media workers, which increases the risk of threats, reprisals and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,
Expressing serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks against journalists remains one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,
Recognizing the important role that national human rights institutions, where they exist, can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in addressing human rights violations and abuses against journalists through monitoring, educating and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further that national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up can contribute to the prevention of human rights violations and abuses against journalists,
Expressing deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers who have been killed, tortured, arrested, detained, harassed and intimidated in recent years as a direct result of their profession,
Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists and media workers, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, arbitrary expulsion and physical and sexual violence, as well as intimidation, harassment, online and offline threats, the targeting of their family members or arbitrarily raiding and searching their residence, and other forms of violence of all kinds,
Equally concerned about incidences of extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including harassment, surveillance and arbitrary deprivation of life,
Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,
Deeply concerned by the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, in non-conflict as well as in armed conflict situations, where they continue to be targeted at alarming rates, underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-responsive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists and media workers, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle all forms of sexual and gender-based discrimination, violence, abuse and harassment, including sexual harassment, threats and intimidation, as well as inequality and gender stereotypes, to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed and gender stereotypes in the media are adequately tackled,
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Deeply concerned also that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significant implications for the work, health and safety of journalists and media workers, and in this regard concerned about the consequences of the economic impact of the pandemic, which increases the vulnerability of journalists, especially women journalists, and weakens media sustainability, independence and pluralism and worsens the risk of the spreading of misinformation and disinformation by limiting access to a wide range of reliable information and opinions,
Alarmed at threats against, and arrests and enforced or involuntary disappearances, as well as disproportionate and undue restrictions on accreditation, access to information and freedom of movement of, journalists and media workers linked to their reporting on the pandemic,
Acknowledging the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance or interception of communications, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,
Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,
Stressing the need for greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling legal frameworks for freedom of expression to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,
1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention and expulsion, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment, online and offline, including through attacks on, or the forced closure of, their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations;
2. Also condemns unequivocally extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including harassment, surveillance and the arbitrary deprivation of life and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, further condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as all forms of sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence, including online and offline sexual harassment, intimidation and incitement to hatred against women journalists, and calls upon States to tackle these issues as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society;
3. Stresses the importance of the full respect for the right to seek, receive and impart information, as included in the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in this regard for the freedom of journalists to have access to information and the right of the general public to receive media output, and that the safety of journalists and media workers is indispensable to ensuring these rights;
4. Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;
5. Calls upon States to develop and implement effective and transparent legal frameworks and measures for the protection of journalists and media workers and for combating impunity, taking a gender-responsive approach, including, where appropriate, through the creation and strengthening of special investigative units or
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independent commissions, the appointment of a specialized prosecutor and the adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;
6. Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested, arbitrarily detained or taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearances;
7. Calls upon all States to pay attention to the safety of journalists covering events in which persons are exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability;
8. Encourages States to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;
9. Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultation with relevant entities of the United Nations system, and mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980, to continue to facilitate the implementation of the International Day in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders;
10. Urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks targeting journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including sexual and gender-based violence against women journalists and media workers in armed conflict and non-conflict situations, falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes, to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;
11. Urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists and media workers, or from using misogynist or any discriminatory language towards women journalists, which thereby undermines trust in the credibility of journalists as well as respect for the importance of independent journalism;
12. Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, taking a gender-responsive approach, inter alia, by means of:
(a) Legislative measures;
(b) Supporting the judiciary in considering training, capacity-building and awareness-raising and supporting training, capacity-building and awareness-raising among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists, including with a strong focus on combating, both online and offline, sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence against women journalists, as well as the particularities of online threats and harassment of women journalists;
(c) Regular monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists;
(d) Collecting and analysing concrete quantitative and qualitative data on online and offline attacks or violence against journalists, that are disaggregated by, among other factors, sex;
(e) Publicly and systematically condemning online and offline attacks, harassment and violence against journalists and media workers;
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(f) Dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks and to develop and implement gender-responsive strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified in Human Rights Council resolution 33/2;
(g) Putting in place safe gender-responsive preventive measures and investigative procedures, in order to protect journalists, especially women journalists;
(h) Encouraging journalists to report online and offline attacks against them, and providing victims and survivors with adequate support, including psychosocial support;
13. Condemns unequivocally measures taken by States in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or the dissemination of information online and offline, aiming to undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including through practices such as Internet shutdowns or measures to unduly restrict, block or take down media websites, such as denial of service attacks, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;
14. Calls upon States to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security or public order are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention or the threat thereof;
15. Also calls upon States to ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused, in particular through excessive criminal sanctions, to illegitimately or arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public and, where necessary, to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;
16. Reaffirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
17. Emphasizes that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to freely exercise their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources, and calls upon States not to interfere with journalists’ use of such technologies and to ensure that any restrictions thereon comply with States’ obligations under international human rights law;
18. Also emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, together with protective equipment;
19. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international and regional levels, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to helping to improve the safety of journalists at the national and local levels;
20. Calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, and invites States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;
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21. Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;
22. Encourages the Secretary-General to further intensify his efforts regarding the safety of journalists and media workers, and invites the agencies, organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations system to actively exchange information and enhance cooperation, including through the network of focal points and, at the local level, with United Nations country teams, as well as accelerate gender mainstreaming in the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, in cooperation with Member States and under the overall coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
23. Recognizes the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, in particular target 16.10, and calls upon States to strengthen national collection of disaggregated data, analysis and reporting on the number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture and other harmful acts against journalists and associated media personnel, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.10.1, and to do their utmost to make these data available to the relevant entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to further assist in the implementation of the present resolution and to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session and to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session on the safety of journalists and media workers, with a special focus on the safety of women journalists, online and offline, and the activities of the network of focal points in addressing the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity and taking into account the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and the follow-up thereto.
53rd plenary meeting
16 December 2021



Resolution L42 adopted October 6, 2020 by the Human Rights Council by consensus

A/HRC/45/L.42/rev1

Item 3

Main sponsors: Austria, Brazil, France, Greece, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia. Co-sponsors: more than 70 countries.

The safety of journalists

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,

Recalling all General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions on the safety of journalists, in particular General Assembly resolution 74/157 of 18 December 2019 and Human Rights Council resolution 39/6 of 5 October 2018, as well as Human Rights Council Resolution 44/12 of 16 July on freedom of opinion and expression and Security Council resolutions 1738 of 23 December 2006 and 2222 of 27 May 2015, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,

Recalling also the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the issue of impunity and the important role of the network of focal points throughout the United Nations system in order to enhance the safety of journalists and media workers,

Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists, including its role in monitoring developments in this area, awareness-raising and capacity-building,

Welcoming further the initiatives taken by States, media organization and civil society relevant to the safety of journalists, and taking note in this regard of the establishment of the Media Freedom Coalition, the Partnership on Information and Democracy, the Freedom Online Coalition, the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles and the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists presented at the World Congress of the International Press Institute, held in March 2016 in Doha,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,

Recalling that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities, in accordance with article 19 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, in building and supporting the functioning of inclusive societies and democracies, an informed citizenry, the rule of law and participation in public affairs, in holding public institutions and officials accountable, including by exposing corruption,

Underlining that the right to freedom of opinion and expression in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights includes a right of access to information held by public authorities, subject only to any restrictions that fully comply with international law. and stressing the importance of this right to the work of journalists and media workers and that they also play a critical role in the enjoyment of this right,

Underlining also that any measure or restriction introduced under emergency measures be necessary, proportionate to the evaluated risk and applied in a non-discriminatory way, have a specific focus and duration, and be in accordance with the State’s obligations under applicable international human rights law and that the right to seek, receive and impart information requires that media freedom and the safety of journalists is protected during a state of emergency, including in the context of protests,

Underlining further that journalists and media workers serve a crucial function in times of crises, and that states must take active measures to ensure that individuals and communities are fully informed about the full scope any threat posed to their lives and health in order to make appropriate personal choices and decisions

Recognizing the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving and where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing,

Recognizing also the importance of investigative journalism, and that the ability of media to investigate, and to publish the results of their investigations, including on the internet, without fear of reprisals, plays an important role in societies, including in contributing to holding public institutions and officials accountable or detecting cases of corruption, as well as revealing human rights abuses by business enterprises,

Underlining the importance of voluntary professional principles and ethics developed and observed by the media,

Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including individual journalists, which increases the risk of threats and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,

 Alarmed also at intimidation and reprisals directed at foreign journalists and media workers, on unwarranted grounds, including by political leaders, public officials and/or authorities

Recognizing also the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including to inform the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,

Deeply concerned that the work of journalists and media workers often puts them at specific risk of human rights violations and abuses, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, arbitrary expulsion, physical and sexual violence, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment of any kind, including by targeting their family members or arbitrarily raiding and searching their residency, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,

Equally concerned about incidences of extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including harassment, surveillance and arbitrary deprivation of life,

Deeply concerned about all attempts to silence journalists and media workers, including by legislation that can be used to criminalize journalism, by the misuse of overbroad or vague laws to repress legitimate expression, including defamation and libel laws, laws on mis-/disinformation or counter-terrorism and counter-extremism legislation, when not in conformity with international human rights standards, as well as by business entities and individuals using strategic lawsuits against public participation to exercise pressure on journalists and stop them from critical and/or investigative reporting,

Also deeply concerned that the COVID-19 crisis has significant implications for the work, health and safety of journalists and media workers, and, in this regard, concerned about the consequences of the economic impact of the pandemic which increases journalists’ vulnerability and weakens media sustainability, independence and pluralism and worsens the risks of misinformation and disinformation spreading by limiting access to a wide range of reliable information and opinions,  

Alarmed at threats, arrests and involuntary disappearances, as well as disproportionate and undue restrictions on access to information or censorship, freedom of movement or accreditation of journalists and media workers, linked to their reporting on the pandemic,

 Deeply alarmed at the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-responsive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, including threats of rape, intimidation, harassment, online gender-based harassment and abuse including blackmailing with private content, inequality and gender-based stereotypes, and to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed,

  Taking into account that journalists may face specific risks in relation to their work due to various forms of discrimination, such as, but not limited to, sex, race, religion, ethnicity, minority status, disability or political affiliation,

Welcoming the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and taking note of her report on combating violence against women journalists,

Expressing further serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, as well as the specific risk faced by women journalists in relation to their work in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are civilians under International Humanitarian Law and shall be protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,

Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,

Emphasizing also the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, hacking, including government-sponsored hacking, and denial of service attacks to force the shutdown of particular media websites or services, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,

Emphasizing also that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to exercise freely their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources,

Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,

Recognizing also the important role that National Human Rights Institutions can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and in addressing human rights violations against journalists through monitoring, educating and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further the contribution that National Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow-up can play in the prevention of human rights violations against journalists,

Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,

Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists, and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,

Stressing the need to conduct impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into human rights violations and abuses against journalists and media workers, including effective investigations into whether those violations or abuses were connected with the journalistic work of the victim,

Stressing also the need for greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling national legal frameworks consistent with State’s international human rights obligations and commitments to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,

1.            Condemns unequivocally all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers, such as killings, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, threats and harassment, online and offline, including through attacks on or the forced closure of their offices and media outlets in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

2.            Also condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, intimidation and harassment, online and offline;

3.            Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes,

4.            Also condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online and offline, which undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including through practices such as internet shutdowns or measures to unlawfully or arbitrarily block or take down media websites, such as Denial of Service attacks, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;

5.            Expresses concern about the spread of disinformation and propaganda, including on the Internet, which can be designed and implemented so as to mislead, to violate human rights, including the right to privacy and to freedom of expression, and to incite violence, hatred, discrimination, hostility, racism, xenophobia, negative stereotyping or stigmatization, and emphasizes the important contribution by journalists in countering this trend;

6.            Stresses the importancce of the full respect for the right to seek, receive and impart information, as included in the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in this regard for the freedom of journalists to have access to information held by public authorities and the right of the general public to receive media output, and that the safety of journalists and media workers is indispensable to ensure these rights;

7.           Urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists, as well as using misogynist or any discriminatory language towards women journalists, and thereby undermining trust in the credibility of journalists as well as respect for the importance of independent journalism;

8.            Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested or arbitrarily detained, taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearance;

9.            Underlines the importance of providing for an enabling environment for the work of civil society organizations, as they play a vital role in enhancing the safety and security of journalists and media workers;

10.          Calls upon States:

a)  To bring their laws, policies and practices fully into compliance with their obligations and commitments under international human rights law, and to review and where necessary repeal or amend them so that they do not limit the ability of journalists and media workers to perform their work independently and without undue interference;

b)  To establish prevention mechanisms such as an early warning and rapid response mechanism to give journalists and media workers, when threatened, immediate access to authorities competent and adequately resourced to provide effective protective measures, (former OP 9 e, amended)

c) To develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by, inter alia, (a) creating special investigative units or independent commissions; (b) appointing a specialized prosecutor; and (c) adopting specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;

d) To ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate restitution, compensation and assistance,

e) To ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security,  public order or health are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention, or the threat thereof;

f) To support capacity-building, training and awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military and security personnel, as well as among media organizations, journalists and civil society, regarding States’ international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists;

g) To take into account the specific role, exposure and vulnerability of journalists and media workers observing, monitoring, recording and reporting protests and assemblies, and to protect their safety, 

h) To ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused, in particular through excessive criminal sanctions, to illegitimately or arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public, and where necessary to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law ;

i)  To protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, including whistle-blowers, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists and those who provide them with information in fostering government accountability and an inclusive and peaceful society, subject only to limited and clearly defined exceptions provided for in national legal frameworks, including judicial authorization, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

j) To adopt and implement transparent, clear and expedient laws and policies that provide for the effective disclosure of information held by public authorities, including online, and a general right to request and receive information, for which public access should be granted, except within narrow, proportionate, necessary and clearly defined limitations that comply with international human rights law; 

k) To refrain from interference with the use of technologies such as encryption and anonymity tools, as well as from employing unlawful or arbitrary surveillance techniques, including through hacking;

l) To ensure that targeted surveillance technologies are only used in accordance with human rights principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality, and that legal mechanisms of redress and effective remedies are available for victims of surveillance-related violations and abuses;

m) To promote the availability and accessibility of the broadest possible diversity of media content as well as the representation of the whole diversity of society in the media, and in this regard, to do their utmost to reduce economic vulnerability of journalists;

n) To cooperate with journalists, the media, and civil society organisations to assess the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting on the provision of vital information to the public and the sustainability of media environments; and to consider, wherever possible, devising appropriate mechanisms to provide financial support to media, including local journalism and investigative reporting and tp ensure that support is undertaken without compromising editorial independence;

o)  To take measures to prevent sexual harassment and other forms of sexual- and gender-based violence, including threats, threats of rape, intimidation and harassment against women journalists, encourage reporting of harassment or violence by providing gender-sensitive investigative procedures and provide adequate support, remedy, reparations and compensation for victims, including psychological support as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society, prohibit incitement to hatred against women journalists, online and offline, and other forms of abuse and harassment through relevant policy and legal measures that comply with international human rights law;

p) To give full support for and to raise public awareness of the importance of an independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, inter alia by government representatives publicly, unequivocally,  and systematically condemning violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers and refraining from verbally attacking journalists, inciting hatred against them as well as distrust towards independent journalists;

q) To establish or enhance information-gathering and monitoring mechanisms, such as databases, to permit the collection, analyses and reporting of concrete quantitative and qualitative disaggregated data on threats, attacks or violence against journalists and do their utmost to make data in accordance with SDG indicator 16.10.1 available to the relevant entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

r) To provide for an enabling environment for civil society organizations to contribute to monitor and report cases of violence against the media and other infringements of freedom of expression, provide assistance to journalists and media workers against wrongful prosecutions, and advocate for crimes against them to be properly investigated and, where appropriate, for improvement of legal frameworks governing the enabling environment for journalists and media workers;

 s) To integrate the iusue of the safety of journalists and media freedom and access to information into national development frameworks under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ;

 t) To ensure better internal coordination and sharing of information, in particular within and between relevant ministries, law enforcement and the judiciary at the local and national level (former OP9h);

u) To sign, ratify an implement more effectively the international and regional human rights instruments relevant for the safety of journalists and media workers, and implement the relevant resolutions adopted by UN bodies and regional intergovernmental organisations as well as recommendations received by treaty-bodies, special procedures, and in the process of the universal periodic review relating to the safety of journalists; (former OP 9 i and j)

11.          Recognizes the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in the realization of target 16.10 of the Sustainable Development Goals,

12.          Emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, in particular for journalists on dangerous assignments, together with protective equipment and insurances, where necessary;

13.          Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, and encourages national, subregional, regional and international human rights mechanisms and bodies, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, in the framework of their mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their work;

14.          Invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the scope of their mandates, to cooperate further in promoting awareness of and implementing the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to this end calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and international and regional human rights mechanisms;

15.     Invites all relevant Human Rights Council special procedure mandate holders to continue and strengthen their work and cooperation related to the issue of the safety of journalist and impunity;

16.     Invites States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;

17.          Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;

18.     Requests the High Commissioner to present to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eight session a report on the impact and repercussions of measures taken by governments in response to COVID-19 on the safety and work of journalists and media workers,  integrating a gender perspective, and identify trends and collect good practices, in particular on how the Office of the Hight Commissioner, within its mandate and working with other relevant UN entities, can assist, when requested, in the development of national approaches to protect journalists;

19.          Encourages States and all other relevant stakeholders to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;

20.          Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in accordance with its programme of work.


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 20.11.2019. United Nations. Resolution adopted by consensus by the third committee of the General Assembly on 19 November 2019 on "The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity" A/C.3/74/L.45/rev.1 sponsored by 106 States

The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2 and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,3 as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19494 and the Additional Protocols thereto,5

Recalling its previous resolutions on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including resolution 68/163 of 18 December 2013, in which it proclaimed 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, and resolutions 69/185 of 18 December 2014, 70/162 of 17 December 2015 and 72/175 of 19 December 2017,

Welcoming the latest report of the Secretary-General on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, the current situation and the actions undertaken so far in relation thereto,6

Taking note with appreciation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, endorsed by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination on 12 April 2012, in which United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were invited to work with Member States towards a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 2012,7 27/5 of 25 September 2014,8 33/2 of 29 September 20169 and 39/6 of 27 September 201810 on the safety of journalists, 32/13 of 1 July 2016 on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,11 34/7 of 23 March 2017 on the right to privacy in the digital age12 and 27/12 of 25 September 2014 on the World Programme for Human Rights Education,8 Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000, 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015 and Economic and Social Council resolution 2019/2 of 6 June 2019 on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system,

Taking note with appreciation of the Global Report 2017/2018 of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, entitled World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development, as well as the 2017 edition of the Safety Guide for Journalists: A Handbook for Reporters in High-Risk Environments,

Recalling all other relevant reports of the Secretary-General, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and special procedures of the Human Rights Council on the safety of journalists, as well as the most recent report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security,13

Commending the role and the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with regard to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including their collaboration to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and their facilitation of the commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November, in consultation with relevant entities within the United Nations system, Governments and relevant stakeholders, and taking note of the outcome of the multi-stakeholder consultation on strengthening the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity,

Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development14 and the commitments therein to, inter alia, build peaceful and inclusive societies, protect human rights and promote gender equality for sustainable development so that no one is left behind, including by ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements, and therefore recognizing the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in this regard,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,

Acknowledging that journalism is continuously evolving to include input from media institutions, private individuals and a range of organizations that seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, online as well as offline, in the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby contributing to the shaping of public debate,

Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media and access to information, online as well as offline, in building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies and in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance, as well as understanding and cooperation,

Recognizing also the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving and where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing,

Recognizing further that the work of journalists often puts them and their family members at specific risk of intimidation, threats, harassment and violence, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,

Noting the good practices of different countries aimed at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders, that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists,

Urging States to do their utmost to prevent violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including by supporting capacity-building, training and awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military and security personnel, as well as among media organizations, journalists and civil society, regarding States’ international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists,

Recognizing the efforts by States to review and, where necessary, amend laws, policies and practices that limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference and to bring them fully in line with their obligations under international law,

Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,

Recognizing that the number of people whose lives are influenced by the way information is presented is significant and that journalism influences public opinion,

Recognizing also the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including informing the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,

Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including individual journalists, which increases the risk of threats and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks against journalists remains one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,

Recalling in this regard that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,

Recognizing the important role that national human rights institutions, where they exist, can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in addressing human rights violations and abuses against journalists through monitoring, educating and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further that national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up can contribute to the prevention of human rights violations and abuses against journalists,

Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists and media workers, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, online and offline threats and other forms of violence,

Expressing deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers who have been killed, tortured, arrested, detained, harassed and intimidated in recent years as a direct result of their profession,

Expressing deep concern also at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,

Deeply concerned by the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, in non-conflict as well as in armed conflict situations, where they continue to be targeted at alarming rates, underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists and media workers, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, violence, abuse and harassment, including sexual harassment, threats and intimidation, as well as inequality and gender-based stereotypes, to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed and gender stereotypes in the media are adequately tackled,

Acknowledging the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance or interception of communications, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,

Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,

Stressing the need for greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling legal frameworks for freedom of expression to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,
 
1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, threats and online and offline harassment, including through attacks on, or the forced closure of, their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

2. Also condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as gender-based discrimination and violence, including online and offline sexual harassment, intimidation and incitement to hatred against women journalists, and calls upon States to tackle these issues as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society;

3. Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;

4. Calls upon States to develop and implement effectively legal frameworks and measures for the protection of journalists and media workers and for combating impunity, taking into consideration the gender dimensions thereof, including, where appropriate, through the creation and strengthening of special investigative units or independent commissions, the appointment of a specialized prosecutor and the adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;

5. Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested, arbitrarily detained or taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearances;

6. Calls upon all States to pay attention to the safety of journalists covering events in which persons are exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability;

7. Encourages States to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;

8. Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultation with relevant entities of the United Nations system, and mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980, to continue to facilitate the implementation of the International Day in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders;

9. Urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks targeting journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including sexual and gender-based violence against women journalists and media workers in armed conflict and non-conflict situations, falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes, to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;

10. Urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists and media workers, specifically women, which thereby undermines trust in the credibility of journalists as well as respect for the importance of independent journalism;

11. Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, taking into account the gender dimensions thereof, inter alia, by means of (a) legislative measures; (b) supporting the judiciary in considering training and awareness-raising and supporting training and awareness-raising among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists, including with a strong focus on combating sexual and gender-based discrimination, and violence against women journalists, as well as the particularities of online threats and harassment of women journalists; (c) regular monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) collecting and an analysing concrete quantitative and qualitative data on online and offline attacks or violence against journalists, that are disaggregated by, among other factors, sex; (e) publicly and systematically condemning online and offline attacks, harassment and violence against journalists and media workers; (f) dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks and to develop and implement gender-sensitive strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified in Human Rights Council resolution 33/2;9 and (g) putting in place safe gender-sensitive preventive measures and investigative procedures, in order to encourage women journalists to report online and offline attacks against them and provide adequate support, including psychosocial support, to victims and survivors;

12. Condemns unequivocally measures taken by States in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or the dissemination of information online and offline, aiming to undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including measures to unduly restrict, block or take down media websites, such as denial of service attacks, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;

13. Calls upon States to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security or public order are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention or the threat thereof;

14. Also calls upon States to ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused, in particular through excessive criminal sanctions, to illegitimately or arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public and, where necessary, to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

15. Emphasizes that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to freely exercise their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources, and calls upon States not to interfere with the use of such technologies and to ensure that any restrictions thereon comply with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

16. Also emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, together with protective equipment;

17. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international and regional levels, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to helping to improve the safety of journalists at the national and local levels;

18. Calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, and invites States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;

19. Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;

20. Encourages the Secretary-General to further intensify his efforts regarding the safety of journalists and media workers, and invites the agencies, organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations system to actively exchange information and enhance cooperation, including through the network of focal points, as well as accelerate gender mainstreaming in the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, in cooperation with Member States and under the overall coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

21. Recognizes the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in the realization of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals,14 in particular target 16.10, and calls upon States to strengthen national collection of disaggregated data, analysis and reporting on the number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture and other harmful acts against journalists and associated media personnel, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.10.1, and to do their utmost to make these data available to the relevant entities, in particular the Office of the United High Commissioner for Human rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;  

22. Requests the Secretary-General to further assist in the implementation of the present resolution and to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session and to the Human Rights Council at its forty-ninth session on the safety of journalists, with a special focus on the activities of the network of focal points in addressing the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity and taking into account the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and the follow-up thereto.

1 Resolution 217 A (III). 2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2716, No. 48088. 4 Ibid., vol. 75, Nos. 970–973. 5 Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513. 6 A/74/314. 7 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III. 8 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1, A/69/53/Add.1 /Corr.1 and A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.2), chap. IV, sect. A. 9 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigendum (A/71/53/Add.1 and A/71/53 /Add.1/Corr.1), chap. II. 10 Ibid., Seventy-third Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/73/53/Add.1), chap. III. 11 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/71/53), chap. V, sect. A. 12 Ibid., Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/72/53), chap. IV, sect. A. 13 S/2019/800.  14 Resolution 70/1.
 
27.09.2018. Resolution on the Safety of Journalists A/HRC/39/L7 adopted by consensus by the Human Rights Council.

    The Human Rights Council,

    Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

    Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,

    Recalling all General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions on the safety of journalists, in particular General Assembly resolution 72/175 of 19 December 2017 and Human Rights Council resolution 33/2 of 29 September 2016, as well as Security Council resolutions 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,

Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the safety of journalists, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session,

    Recalling also all other relevant reports of the Secretary-General, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and special procedures of the Human Rights Council on the safety of journalists,

Recalling further the options put forward in the outcome-document of the Multi-stakeholder Consultation on Strengthening the Implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity,

Welcoming the decision of the Secretary-General to appoint a designated official on the safety of journalists in his Executive Office and to mobilize a network of focal points throughout the United Nations system to propose specific steps to intensify efforts to enhance the safety of journalists and media workers,

Welcoming also the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists, including its role in monitoring developments in this area, as reflected in the UNESCO Global Report 2017/2018 on World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development, and expressing concern at the increase in violence and harassment against journalists described therein,

Welcoming further the initiatives taken by States, media organization and civil society relevant to the safety of journalists, and taking note in this regard of the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles and the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists presented at the World Congress of the International Press Institute, held in March 2016 in Doha,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,

Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of a free, independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, in building and supporting the functioning of inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies, an informed citizenry, the rule of law and participation in public affairs, in holding public institutions and officials  accountable, including by exposing corruption, as well as in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance, as well as mutual understanding and cooperation,

Underlining the importance of voluntary professional principles and ethics developed and observed by the media

Recognizing also the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including to inform the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,

Recognizing further the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving and where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing,

    Recognizing that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, threats, harassment and violence, including by targeting their family members, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,

    Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists and media workers, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats, including of a physical, legal, political, technological and economic nature, and acts of other forms of violence,

Also deeply alarmed at the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, intimidation, harassment, inequality and gender-based stereotypes, and to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination, while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed,

Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including individual journalists, which increases the risk of threats and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,

Expressing further serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered civilians and shall be protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,

Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,

Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,

Recognizing also the important role that National Human Rights Institutions can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and in addressing human rights violations against journalists through monitoring, educating, and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further the contribution that National Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow up can play in the prevention of human rights violations against journalists;

Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,

    Emphasizing also the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, hacking, including government-sponsored hacking, and Denial of Service attacks to force the shutdown of particular media websites or services, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,
    
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists, and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,

Stressing the need for a greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling legal frameworks for freedom of expression to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,

 1.    Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, threats and harassment, online and offline, including through attacks on or the forced closure of their offices and media outlets in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

 2.    Also condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, intimidation and harassment, online and offline;

3.      Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes, and calls upon States to develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified during the panel discussion held on 11 June 2014 and/or compiled in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,4 inter alia: (a)     The creation of special investigative units or independent commissions;     (b) The appointment of a specialized prosecutor;     (c) The adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;

4.    Urges States to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;

5.    Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested or arbitrarily detained, taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearances;

6.    Condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online and offline, which undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including measures to unlawfully or arbitrarily block or take down media websites, such as Denial of Service attacks, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;

7.    Expresses concern about the spread of disinformation and propaganda, including on the Internet, which can be designed and implemented so as to mislead, to violate human rights, including the right to privacy and to freedom of expression and to incite violence, hatred, discrimination or hostility, and emphasizes the important contribution by journalists in countering this trend;

8.    Urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists, and thereby undermining trust in the credibility of journalists as well as respect for the importance of independent journalism;

9.    Urges States to do their utmost to prevent violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including by:

a)    increasing and accelerating efforts to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference;

b)    giving full support to and raising public awareness of the importance of an independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline,;

c)    publicly, unequivocally and systematically condemning violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers;

d)    establishing or enhancing information-gathering and monitoring mechanisms, such as databases, to permit the collecting, analysing and reporting of concrete quantitative and qualitative disaggregated data on threats, attacks or violence against journalists;

e)    establishing an early warning and rapid response mechanism to give journalists and media workers, when threatened, immediate access to authorities competent and adequately resourced to provide effective protective measures;

f)    supporting capacity-building, training and awareness-raising among the judiciary, law enforcement officers and military and security personnel, as well as among media organisations, journalists and civil society, regarding States’ international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists;

g)    putting in place safe gender-sensitive preventive measures and investigative procedures, in order to encourage women journalists to report offline and online attacks against them and provide adequate support, including psychosocial support, to victims and survivors;

h)    ensuring better internal coordination and sharing of information, in particular within and between relevant ministries, law enforcement and the judiciary at the local and national level;

i)    signing and ratifying the international and regional human rights instruments relevant for the safety of journalists;

j)    implementing more effectively the applicable legal framework for the protection of journalists and media workers, the relevant resolutions adopted by UN bodies and regional intergovernmental organisations as well as recommendations received by treaty-bodies, special procedures, and in the process of the universal periodic review relating to the safety of journalists;

k)    integrating the safety of journalists and media freedom into national development frameworks under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

10.    Further urges States to bring their laws, policies and practices fully into compliance with their obligations and commitments under international human rights law, and to review and where necessary repeal or amend them so that they do not limit the ability of journalists and media workers to perform their work independently and without undue interference;

11.    Further calls upon States to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security or public order are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention, or the threat thereof;

12.    Also calls upon States to ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused, in particular through excessive criminal sanctions, to illegitimately or arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public, and where necessary to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

13.    Also calls upon States to protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, including whistle-blowers, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists and those who provide them with information in fostering government accountability and an inclusive and peaceful society, subject only to limited and clearly defined exceptions provided in national legal frameworks, including judicial authorization, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

14.    Emphasizes that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to exercise freely their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources, and calls upon States in this regard to comply with their obligations under international human rights law and not to interfere with the use of such technologies, as well as to refrain from employing unlawful or arbitrary surveillance techniques, including through hacking,

15.    Also calls upon States to tackle gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred against women journalists, online and offline, as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society;

16.    Encourages States and all other relevant stakeholders to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;

17.    Also emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, in particular for journalists on dangerous assignments, together with protective equipment and insurances, where necessary;

18.    Recognizes the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in the realisation of target 16.10 of the Sustainable Development Goals, and calls upon States to strengthen national data collection, analysis and reporting on the number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture and other harmful acts against journalists and associated media personnel, in accordance with SDG indicator 16.10.1, and to do their utmost to make this data available to the relevant entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

19.    Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, and encourages national, subregional, regional and international human rights mechanisms and bodies, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, in the framework of their mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their work;

20.    Invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the scope of their mandates, to cooperate further in promoting awareness of and implementing the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to this end calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and international and regional human rights mechanisms;

21.    Invites States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;

22.    Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;

23.    Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in accordance with its programme of work.

21.11.2017. Resolution on the Safety of Journalists and the issue of impunity adopted without a vote by the UN General Assembly A/C.3/72/L.35/Rev.1

The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity

The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto

Recalling its previous resolutions on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including resolution 70/162 of 17 December 2015, resolution 68/163 of 18 December 2013 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, in which it proclaimed 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, as well as its resolution 69/185 of 18 December 2014 on the same issue,

Welcoming the latest report of the Secretary-General on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, in particular its focus on the safety of women journalists, and recalling his previous reports on this topic,

Taking note with appreciation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, endorsed by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination on 12 April 2012, in which United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were invited to work with Member States towards a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 2012,8 27/5 of 25 September 20149 and 33/2 of 29 September 2016 on the safety of journalists,10 32/13 of 14 July 2016 on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,11 34/7 of 23 March 2017 on the right to privacy in the digital age12 and 27/12 of 25 September 2014 on the World Programme for Human Rights Education,9 as well as Security Council resolutions 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015,

Recalling the summary report on the panel discussion of the Human Rights Council on the issue of the safety of journalists, held on 11 June 2014, submitted to the Council at its twenty-seventh session, as well as the 2015 publication of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization entitled World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: Special Digital Focus 2015, and taking note with appreciation of the 2017 edition of the “Safety Guide for Journalists: A Handbook for Reporters in a High-risk Environment”,

Recalling also all relevant reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council with regard to the safety of journalists, as well as the reports of the Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the interactive dialogue thereon,

Commending the role and the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with regard to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including their collaboration to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and their facilitation of the commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November, in consultation with relevant entities within the United Nations system, Governments and relevant stakeholders, and taking note of the outcome of the Multi-stakeholder Consultation on Strengthening the Implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity,

Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on good practices concerning the safety of journalists, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session, as well as its report on the right to privacy in the digital age, submitted to the Council at its twenty-seventh session,

Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the commitments therein to, inter alia, promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, including by ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements, and therefore recognizing the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in this regard,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,

Acknowledging that journalism is continuously evolving to include input from media institutions, private individuals and a range of organizations that seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, online as well as offline, in the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby contributing to the shaping of public debate,

Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free media, online as well as offline, in building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies and in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance, as well as understanding and cooperation,

Recognizing also that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence, the presence of which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,

Noting the good practices of different countries aimed at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists,

Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,

Recognizing also the efforts by States to review and, where necessary, amend laws, policies and practices that limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference and to bring them fully in line with their obligations under international law,

Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,

Recognizing that the number of people whose lives are influenced by the way information is presented is significant and that journalism influences public opinion,

Recognizing also the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including informing the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concerns that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,

Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks against journalists remains one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,

Recalling, in this regard, that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,

Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists and media workers, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and other forms of violence,

Expressing deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers who have been killed, tortured, arrested, detained, harassed and intimidated in recent years as a direct result of their profession,

Expressing deep concern also at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,

Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, including violence, inequality and gender-based stereotypes, and to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on equal terms with men while ensuring their greatest possible safety, to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed and gender stereotypes in the media are adequately tackled,

Acknowledging also the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance or interception of communications in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,

1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment, including through attacks on, or the forced closure of, their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

2. Also condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists in the exercise of their work, including sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence, intimidation and harassment, online and offline;

3. Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;

4. Calls upon States to implement more effectively the applicable legal framework for the protection of journalists and media workers in order to combat
the pervasive impunity, including through enforcement mechanisms with the capacity to pay systematic attention to their safety;

5. Also calls upon States to tackle sexual and gender-based discrimination, including violence and incitement to hatred, against women journalists, online and offline, as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society;

6. Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested, arbitrarily detained or taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearances;

7. Calls upon all States to pay attention to the safety of journalists covering events in which persons are exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability;

8. Encourages States to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;

9. Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultation with relevant entities of the United Nations system, and mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980, to continue to facilitate the implementation of the International Day in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders;

10. Urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;

11. Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, inter alia by means of (a) legislative measures; (b) supporting the judiciary in considering training and awareness-raising and supporting training and awareness-raising among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists, including with a strong focus on sexual and gender-based discrimination, and violence against women journalists, as well as the particularities of online threats and harassment of women journalists; (c) regular monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) collecting and analysing concrete quantitative and qualitative data on attacks or violence against journalists, that are disaggregated by, among other factors, sex; (e) publicly and systematically condemning violence and attacks; (f) dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks and to develop and implement gender-sensitive strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified in Human Rights Council resolution 33/2; and (g) putting in place safe gender-sensitive investigative procedures, in order to encourage women journalists to report attacks against them and provide adequate support, including psychosocial support, to victims and survivors;

12. Condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or
dissemination of information online and offline, aiming to undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;

13. Calls upon States to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security or public order are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention or the threat thereof;

14. Emphasizes that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to freely exercise their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources, and calls upon States not to interfere with the use of such technologies and to ensure that any restrictions thereon comply with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

15. Also emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, together with protective equipment;

16. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international and regional levels, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to helping to improve the safety of journalists at the national and local levels;

17. Calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, and invites states to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;

18. Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;

19. Recognizes the decision of the Secretary-General to mobilize a network of focal points throughout the United Nations system to propose specific steps to intensify efforts to enhance the safety of journalists and media workers, encourages the Secretary-General to continue his efforts in this regard, and invites the agencies, organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations system to actively exchange information and enhance cooperation, including through this network of focal points, about the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, in cooperation with Member States and under the overall coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

20. Requests the Secretary-General to further assist in the implementation of the present resolution and to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session and to the Human Rights Council at its forty-third session on the safety of journalists, with a special focus on the activities of the network of focal points in addressing the issues of safety of journalists and impunity and taking into account the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and its follow-up.

 29.09.2016. Resolution on the safety of journalists adopted without a vote by the Human Rights Council A/HRC/33/L6           
   
Human Rights Council
   Thirty-third session
   Agenda item 3
   Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

        Albania, Andorra,* Armenia,* Austria,* Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina,* Brazil,* Bulgaria,* Chile,* Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia,* Cyprus,*, Czechia,* Denmark,* Estonia,* Finland,* France, Georgia, Germany, Greece,* Honduras,* Hungary,* Iceland,* Ireland,* Israel,* Italy,* Japan,* Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein,* Lithuania,* Luxembourg,* Mali,* Malta,* Mexico, Monaco,* Montenegro,* Morocco, Netherlands, Norway,* Panama, Peru,* Poland,* Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Moldova,* Romania,* Serbia,* Slovakia,* Slovenia, Spain,* Sweden,* Switzerland, Timor-Leste,* Tunisia,* Ukraine,* United States of America,* Uruguay*

33/…    The safety of journalists

    The Human Rights Council,
    
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
    
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,
    
Recalling all General Assembly resolutions on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including resolutions 68/163 of 18 December 2013, in which the Assembly proclaimed 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, and 70/162 of 17 December 2015, and Security Council resolutions 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
    
Recalling also Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 2012 and 27/5 of 25 September 2014, on the safety of journalists, Council decision 24/116 of 26 September 2013, on a panel discussion on the safety of journalists, and all other relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and the Council, in particular Council resolution 12/16 of 2 October 2009 and all other resolutions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Council resolution 13/24 of 26 March 2010, on the protection of journalists in situations of armed conflict, Council resolution 28/16 of 26 March 2015, on the right to privacy in the digital age, and Council resolutions 26/13 of 26 June 2014 and 32/13 of 1 July 2016, on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,
    
Welcoming the latest report of the Secretary-General on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, and recalling his previous report thereon,
    
Recalling all relevant reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council on the safety of journalists, in particular the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, presented to the Council at its twentieth session, and the interactive dialogue thereon,
    
Recalling also the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on good practices in the safety of journalists, the panel discussion of the Human Rights Council on the issue of the safety of journalists, held on 11 June 2014, and the summary report of the Office of the High Commissioner thereon,
    
Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists, and taking note with appreciation of its 2015 publications, entitled World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development and Building Digital Safety for Journalism,
    
Taking note with appreciation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, endorsed by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination on 12 April 2012, in which United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were invited to work with Member States towards a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide,
    
Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the commitments therein to, inter alia, promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, including by ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements, and therefore recognizing the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in this regard,
    
Welcoming also initiatives taken by States, media organization and civil society relevant to the safety of journalists, and taking note in this regard of the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles and the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists presented at the World Congress of the International Press Institute, held in March 2016 in Doha,
    
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,
    
Recognizing that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence, the presence of which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,
    
Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists and media workers, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of other forms of violence,
    
Expressing deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers who have been killed, tortured, arrested or detained in recent years as a direct result of their profession,
    
Expressing further serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered civilians and shall be protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,
    
Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,
    
Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,
    
Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists,
    
Emphasizing also the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,
    
Recognizing the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including to inform the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,
    
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists, and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,

1.    Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, intimidation, threats and harassment, including through attacks on or the forced closure of their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations;
    
2.    Also condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists in the exercise of their work, including sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence, intimidation and harassment, online and offline;
    
3.    Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;
    
4.    Urges States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;
    
5.    Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, including by means of (a) legislative measures; (b) supporting the judiciary in considering training and awareness-raising and supporting training and awareness-raising among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists; (c) the regular monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) publicly, unequivocally and systematically condemning violence and attacks; and (e) dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks;
    
6.     Also calls upon States to develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified during the panel discussion held on 11 June 2014 and/or compiled in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,4 inter alia:
    (a)     The creation of special investigative units or independent commissions;
    (b)     The appointment of a specialized prosecutor;
    (c)     The adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;
    (d)     The training of prosecutors and the judiciary on the safety of journalists;
    (e)     The establishment of information-gathering mechanisms, such as databases, to permit the gathering of verified information about threats and attacks against journalists;
    (f)     The establishment of an early warning and rapid response mechanism to give journalists, when threatened, immediate access to the authorities and protective measures;
    
7.     Further calls upon States to implement more effectively the applicable legal framework for the protection of journalists and media workers in order to combat the pervasive impunity, including through enforcement mechanisms with the capacity to pay systematic attention to their safety;
    
8.    Urges States to bring their laws, policies and practices fully into compliance with their obligations and commitments under international human rights law, and to review and where necessary amend them so that they do not limit the ability of journalists and media workers to perform their work independently and without undue interference;
    
9.    Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested or arbitrarily detained, taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearances;
    
10.    Calls upon all States to pay particular attention to the safety of journalists during periods of elections and while covering events in which persons are exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability;
    
11.    Also calls upon States to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security or public order are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention, or the threat thereof;
    
12.    Further calls upon States to protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists in fostering government accountability and an inclusive and peaceful society, subject only to limited and clearly defined exceptions provided in national legal frameworks, including judicial authorization, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;
    
13.    Emphasizes that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to exercise freely their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources, and calls upon States not to interfere with the use of such technologies, with any restrictions thereon complying with States’ obligations under international human rights law;
    
14.    Also emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, together with protective equipment and insurances, where necessary;
    
15.    Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, and encourages national, subregional, regional and international human rights mechanisms and bodies, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, in the framework of their mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their work;
    
16.    Invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the scope of their mandates, to cooperate further in promoting awareness of and implementing the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to this end calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and international and regional human rights mechanisms;
    
17.    Invites States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;
    
18.    Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;
    
19.    Requests the High Commissioner to prepare a report with an overview of available mechanisms concerned with ensuring the safety of journalists, including existing international and regional prevention, protection, monitoring and complaint mechanisms, with a view to providing an analysis of their effectiveness, in consultation with States, the mechanisms themselves and all other relevant stakeholders, and to submit to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session;
    
20.    Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in accordance with its programme of work.
            


27.05.2015. UNITED NATIONS. Security Council resolution 2222 adopted unanimously on protection of journalists

The Security Council

PP1 Bearing in mind its primary responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security, and underlining the importance of taking measures aimed at conflict prevention and resolution,

PP2 Reaffirming its resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict and its resolution 1738 (2006) on the protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflicts as well as other relevant resolutions and presidential statements,

PP3 Reaffirming its commitment to the Purposes of the Charter of the United Nations as set out in Article 1 (1-4) of the Charter, and to the Principles of the Charter as set out in Article 2 (1-7) of the Charter, including its commitment to the principles of the political independence, sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all States, and respect for the sovereignty of all States,

PP4 Recalling the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, in particular the Third Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 on the treatment of prisoners of war, and the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977, in particular article 79 of the Additional Protocol I regarding the protection of journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict,

PP5 Recognizing that the work of journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence in situations of armed conflict

PP6 Reaffirming that parties to an armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of affected civilians, including those who exercise their right to freedom of expression by seeking, receiving and disseminating information by different means, online as well as offline, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

PP7 Recognizing the important role of international humanitarian law, and international human rights law as applicable, in protecting journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflicts,

PP8 Further recognizing that States bear the primary responsibility to respect and ensure the human rights of their citizens, as well as individuals within their territory as provided for by relevant international law,

PP9 Recalling the right to freedom of expression reflected in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly in 1948 (“the Universal Declaration”), and recalling also the right to freedom of expression in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the General Assembly in 1966 (“ICCPR”) and that any restrictions thereon shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary on the grounds set out in paragraph 3 of Article 19 of the ICCPR,

PP10 Deeply concerned at the frequency of acts of violence in many parts of the world against journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel in armed conflict, in particular deliberate attacks in violation of international humanitarian law,

PP11 Emphasizing that there are existing prohibitions under international humanitarian law against attacks intentionally directed against civilians, as such, which in situations of armed conflict constitute war crimes, and recalling the need for States to end impunity for such criminal acts,

PP12 Bearing in mind that impunity for crimes committed against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflict remains a significant challenge to their protection and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against them is a key element in preventing future attacks.

PP13 Recognizing that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel can play an important role in protection of civilians and conflict prevention by acting as an early warning mechanism in identifying and reporting potential situations that could result in genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,

PP14 Reaffirming its condemnation of all incitements to violence against civilians in situations of armed conflict, and condemning the use of the media to incite violence, genocide, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law,

PP15 Recalling that States Parties to the Geneva Conventions have an obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed a grave breach of these Conventions, and an obligation to try them before their own courts, regardless of their nationality, or may hand them over for trial to another concerned State provided this State has made out prima facie case against the said persons,

PP16 Further recalling the responsibility of all Member States to comply with their respective obligations to end impunity and to investigate and prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or other serious violations of international humanitarian law and noting that the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern committed against civilians has been strengthened through the work on and prosecution of these crimes by the International Criminal Court, in accordance with the principle of complementarity to national criminal jurisdictions as set out in the Rome Statute, ad hoc and mixed tribunals and specialized chambers in national tribunals,

PP17 Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel posed by terrorist groups and strongly condemning incidents of killings, kidnapping and hostage taking committed by terrorist groups for any purpose, including raising funds or gaining political concessions, and expressing its determination to prevent kidnapping and hostage taking committed by terrorist groups and to secure the safe release of hostages without ransom payments or political concessions, in accordance with applicable international law,

PP18 Stressing the contribution that peacekeeping operations and special political missions, where mandated, can make to international efforts to promote and protect human rights, and the protection of civilians, including journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel including through monitoring and reporting on violations and abuses as well as providing support for national governments’ efforts to promote and protect human rights, and in order to strengthen the fight against impunity for crimes committed against civilians, including journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel

PP19 Recognizing the importance of a comprehensive, coherent and action-oriented approach, including in early planning, of protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict. Stressing, in this regard, the need to adopt a broad strategy of conflict prevention, which addresses the root causes of armed conflict in a comprehensive manner in order to enhance the protection of civilians on a long-term basis, including by promoting sustainable development, poverty eradication, national reconciliation, good governance, democracy, the rule of law and respect for and protection of human rights,

PP20 Acknowledging the important role that regional and sub-regional organisations can play in ensuring the protection of journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel in armed conflicts and the importance of effective co-operation between the United Nations and those organizations,

PP21 Further acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in conduct of their work, and underlining in this context the importance of considering the gender dimension of measures to address their safety in situations of armed conflict,

PP22 Recognizing that the consideration of the issue of protection of journalists in armed conflict by the Security Council is based on the urgency and importance of this issue, and recognizing the valuable role that the Secretary-General can play in providing more information on this issue,

1. Condemns all violations and abuses committed against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of armed conflict, and calls upon all parties to armed conflict to bring an end to such practices,

2. Affirms that the work of a free independent and impartial media constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, and thereby can contribute to the protection of civilians,

3. Recalls in this regard that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians. This is without prejudice to the right of war correspondents accredited to the armed forces to the status of prisoners of war provided for in article 4.A.4 of the Third Geneva Convention,

4 Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for violations and abuses committed against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of armed conflict, which in turn may contribute to the recurrence of these acts,

5. Emphasized the responsibility of States to comply with the relevant obligations under international law to end impunity and to prosecute those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law,

6. Urges Member States to take appropriate steps to ensure accountability for crimes committed against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of armed conflict and through the conduct of impartial, independent and effective investigations within their jurisdiction and to bring perpetrators of such crimes to justice,

7. Recalls its demand that all parties to an armed conflict comply fully with the obligations applicable to them under international law related to the protection of civilians in armed conflict, including journalists, media professionals and associated personnel,

8. Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel who have been kidnapped or taken as hostages, in situations of armed conflict,

9. Urges all parties involved in situations of armed conflict to respect the professional independence and rights of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel as civilians,

10. Recalls also that media equipment and installations constitute civilian objects, and in this respect shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals, unless they are military objectives,

11. Recognizes the important role that education and training in international humanitarian law can play in supporting efforts to halt and prevent attacks against civilians affected by armed conflict, including journalists, media professionals and associated personnel

12. Affirms that United Nations peacekeeping and special political missions, where appropriate should include in their mandated reporting information on specific acts of violence against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situation of armed conflict,

13. Urges all parties to armed conflict to do their utmost to prevent violations of international humanitarian law against civilians, including journalists, media professionals and associated personnel,

14 Calls upon Member States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists, media professionals and associated personnel to perform their work independently and without undue interference in situations of armed conflict

15. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including among the United Nations and relevant international regional and sub-regional organizations, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to promoting and ensuring the safety of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflicts,

16. Encourages the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations to share expertise on good practices and lessons learned on protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflict and, in close co-operation, to enhance the coherent and effective implementation of applicable international humanitarian law and relevant Security Council resolutions including those on protection of journalist, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of the armed conflict,

17. Invites States which have not yet done so to consider becoming parties to the additional Protocols I and II of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions at the earliest possible date

18. Reaffirms that it will continue to address the issue of protection of journalists in armed conflict.

19. Requests the Secretary-General to include consistently as a sub-item in his reports on the protection of civilians in armed conflict the issue of the safety and security of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, including the existence of measures to protect such individuals facing an imminent threat, and to ensure that information on attacks and violence against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel and preventative actions taken to prevent such incidents is included as a specific aspect in relevant country specific reports.

23.11.2014. United Nations. General Assembly. Resolution A/C.3/69/L.50/Rev.1 adopted without vote on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity

The General Assembly
 
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, 
 
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 and recalling relevant international  human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2 and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,3 as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19494 and the Additional Protocols thereto,5 
 
Recalling its resolution 68/163 of 18 December 2013 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, in which it proclaimed 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists,   
 
Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General,6 
 
Taking note with appreciation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, endorsed by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination on 12 April 2012, in which United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were invited to work with Member States towards a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide, 
 
Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 20127 and 27/5 of 25 September 20148 on the safety of journalists, 20/8 of 5 July 2012 on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,9 and 27/12 of 25 September 20148on the World Programme for Human Rights Education, as well as Security Council resolution 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006,
 
Welcoming the panel discussion of the Human Rights Council on the issue of the safety of  journalists, held on 11 June 2014, and taking  note with appreciation of the summary report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights thereon, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session,10 as well the 2014 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization report entitled World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development,11 
 
Taking note of all relevant reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council with regard to the safety of journalists, in particular the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression12 and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,13 submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twentieth session, and the interactive dialogue thereon, 
 
Commending the role and the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with regard to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, and their facilitation of the commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, in consultation with relevant entities within the United Nations system, Governments and relevant stakeholders, 
 
Taking note with appreciation of  the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on good practices concerning the safety of journalists,14 submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session, 
 
Noting with appreciation the international conference on the safety of journalists, held in Warsaw on 23 and 24 April 2013, and its specific recommendations, 
 
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of  the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development, 
 
Acknowledging that journalism is continuously evolving to include inputs from media institutions, private individuals and a range of organizations that seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, online as well as offline, in the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby contributing to the shaping of public debate, 
 
Recognizing the relevance of freedom of expression and of free media, online as well as offline, in building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies and in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance, as well as understanding and cooperation, 
 
Recognizing also that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence, 
 
Noting the good practices of different countries aimed at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists, 
 
Recognizing that the number of people whose lives are influenced by the way information is presented is significant and that journalism influences public opinion, 
 
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks against journalists remains one of the biggest challenges to the safety of journalists and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks, 
 
Recalling in this regard that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians, 
 
Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and other forms of violence, 
 
Expressing deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers who have been killed or detained in recent years as a direct result of their profession, 
 
Expressing deep concern also at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations, 
 
Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and underlining, in this context, the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, 
 
Acknowledging also the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance or interception of communications in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression, 
 
1.Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, as well as intimidation and harassment in both conflict and non-conflict situations; 
 
2.Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes; 
 
3.Urges the immediate release of journalists and media workers who have been taken as hostages or who have become victims of enforced disappearances; 
 
4.Encourages States to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard; 
 
5.Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultation with relevant entities of the United Nations system, and mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980, to continue facilitating the implementation of the International Day in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders; 
 
6.Urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies; 
 
7.Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, including by means of: (a) legislative measures; (b) awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among  journalists and in civil society, regarding international human rights and humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists; (c) the monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) publicly and systematically condemning violence and attacks; and (e) dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks and to develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified in Human Rights Council resolution 27/5 of 25September 2014;
 
8.Stresses the need  to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, including with regional organizations;
 
9.Calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and regional human rights mechanisms and to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists; 
 
10.Invites the relevant agencies, organizations, funds and  programmes of the United Nations system to actively exchange information, including through already identified focal points, about the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, in cooperation with Member States and under the overall coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
 
11.Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventieth session and to the Human Rights Council at its thirtieth session on the implementation of the present resolution.
 
1 Resolution 217 A (III).
2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
3 Resolution 61/177, annex.
4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973.
5 Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513.
6 A/69/268.
7 Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A(A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III.
8 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A(A/69/53/Add.1), chap. IV.
9 Ibid.,Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53(A/67/53).
10 A/HRC/27/35.
11 Available at www.unesco.org.
12 A/HRC/20/17.
13 A/HRC/20/22and Corr.1.
14 A/HRC/24/23.

25.09.2014. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. Resolution on safety of journalists adopted without vote A/HRC/27/L.7

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 68/163 of 18 December 2013 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, as well as Security Council resolution 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,

Recalling also Human Rights Council resolution 21/12 of 27 September 2012 on the safety of journalists, Council decision 24/116 of 26 September 2013 on a panel discussion on the safety of journalists, and all other relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and the Council, in particular Council resolution 12/16 of 2 October 2009 and all other resolutions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Council resolution 13/24 of 26 March 2010 on the protection of journalists in situations of armed conflict, and Council resolution 26/13 of 26 June 2014, on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all in accordance with articles 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,

Recalling all relevant reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council with regard to the safety of journalists, in particular the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, presented to the Council at its twentieth session,[1] and the interactive dialogue thereon,

Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on good practices on the safety of journalists, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session,[2]

Welcoming the panel discussion of the Human Rights Council on the issue of the safety of journalists, held on 11 June 2014, and taking note with appreciation of the summary report of the Office of the High Commissioner thereon, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session,[3]

Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists,

Noting with appreciation the international conference on the safety of journalists, held in Warsaw on 23 and 24 April 2013, and its specific recommendations,

Recognizing that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence,

Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists, including through killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of other forms of violence,

Expressing serious concern at the recent attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, in particular in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,

Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists,

Acknowledging also the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,

Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes one of the main challenges to strengthening the protection of journalists, and emphasizing that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,

1.      Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, and intimidation and harassment in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

2.      Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;

3.      Urges States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators including, inter alia, those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;

4.      Takes note of the good practices of different countries aiming at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists;

5.      Calls upon States to develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified during the panel discussion held on 11 June 2014 and/or compiled in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on good practice on the safety of journalists, inter alia:

(a)   The creation of special investigative units or independent commissions;

(b)   The appointment of a specialized prosecutor;

(c)    The adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;

(d)   The training of prosecutors and judiciary regarding the safety of journalists;

(e)    The establishment of information-gathering mechanisms, such as databases, to permit the gathering of verified information about threats and attacks against journalists;

(f)    The establishment of an early warning and rapid response mechanism to give journalists, when threatened, immediate access to the authorities and protective measures;

6.      Emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to employees, along with protective equipment, where necessary;

7.      Welcomes the proclamation by the General Assembly, in its resolution 68/163, of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists;

8.      Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, including with regional organizations, and invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the scope of their mandates, to cooperate further in the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to this end also calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and regional human rights mechanisms, and to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists;

9.      Acknowledges the importance of addressing the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;

10.   Encourages national, subregional, regional and international human rights mechanisms and bodies, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, in the framework of their mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their work;

11.   Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in accordance with its programme of work, no later than at its thirty-third session.
                                
[1]   A/HRC/20/17 and A/HRC/20/22.                     [2]   A/HRC/24/23.                     [3]   A/HRC/27/35.

20.12.2013. General Assembly. Resolution adopted on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity on 18 December 2013 A/RES/68/163


The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1) and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (2) and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, (3) as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 (4) and the Additional Protocols thereto (5),
 
Recalling the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, endorsed by the United Nations System Chief  Executives Board for Coordination on 12 April 2012, in which United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were invited to work with Member States towards a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development
worldwide,
 
Recalling also Human Rights Council resolutions 20/8 of 5 July 2012 on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet (6),  21/12 of 27 September 2012 on the safety of journalists, (7) and 24/15 of 27 September 2013 on the World Programme for Human Rights Education (8) and Council decision 24/116 of 26 September 2013 on a panel discussion on the safety of journalists (9) as well as Security Council resolution 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006,
 
Taking note of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (10)  and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, (11) submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twentieth session,
 
Commending the role and the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with regard to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity,
 
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on good practices concerning the safety of journalists, (12)  submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session,
 
Noting with appreciation the international conference on the safety of journalists, held in Warsaw on 23 and 24 April 2013, and its specific recommendations, (13)
 
Acknowledging that journalism is continuously evolving to include inputs from media institutions, private individuals and a range of organizations that seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, online as well as offline, in the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby contributing to shape public debate,
 
Recognizing the relevance of freedom of expression and of free media in building inclusive knowledge societies and democracies and in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance,
 
Recognizing also that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence,
 
Taking note of the good practices of different countries aimed at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists,
 
Recognizing that the number of people whose lives are influenced by the way information is presented is significant and that journalism influences public opinion,
 
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks against journalists constitutes one of the main challenges to strengthening the protection of journalists,
 
Recalling in this regard that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,
 
Expressing concern at the threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,
 
Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and underlining, in this context, the importance of taking a gender sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists,
 
1. Takes note with appreciation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity;
 
2. Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, as well as intimidation and harassment in both conflict and non conflict situations;
 
3. Decides to proclaim 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists;
 
4. Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultation with relevant entities of the United Nations system, and mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980, to facilitate the implementation of the International Day in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders;
 
5. Urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy and effective investigations into all alleged violence against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction and to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies;
 
6. Calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, including by means of: (a) legislative measures; (b) awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among journalists and in civil society, regarding international human rights and
humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists;
(c) the monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) publicly condemning attacks; and (e) dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks;
 
7. Invites the relevant agencies, organizations, funds and programs of the United Nations system to consider identifying focal points for the exchange of information about the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, in cooperation with Member States and under the overall coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
 
8. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session on the implementation of the present resolution.
 
70th plenary meeting
18 December 2013

1 Resolution 217 A (III).
2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
3 Resolution 61/177, annex.
4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973.
5 Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513.
6 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53 and corrigendum (A/67/53 and Corr.1), chap. IV, A.
7 Ibid., Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III.
8 Ibid., Sixty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/68/53/Add.1), chap. III.
9 Ibid., chap. IV.
10 A/HRC/20/17.
11 A/HRC/20/22 and Corr.1.
12 A/HRC/24/23.
13 See S/2013/422, annex.

27.09.2012. United Nations A/HRC/RES/21/12. Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council at its twenty-first session on Safety of journalists

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant
international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, as well as the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,
Recalling all relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and the
Human Rights Council on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in particular Council resolution 12/16 of 2 October 2009, as well as Council resolutions 13/24 of 26 March 2010 and 20/8 of 5 July 2012,
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right
guaranteed to all in accordance with articles 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,
Reaffirming that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person,
Recognizing the importance of all forms of the media, including the printed media,
radio, television and the Internet, in the exercise, promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression,
Acknowledging the particular role played by journalists in matters of public interest, including by raising awareness of human rights,
Underlining the importance of voluntary professional principles and ethics developed and observed by the media,
Recognizing that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence,
Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and underlining, in this context, the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists,
Taking note of the good practices of different countries aiming at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists,
Underlining the important role of regional and subregional organizations in the safety of journalists,
Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists,
Taking note of the International Conference on Protection of Journalists in Dangerous Situations, held on 22 and 23 January 2012 in Doha,
1. Recalls, in the context of this resolution, the rights contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in particular article 19, which states that:
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference;
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice;
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals;
2. Takes note of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (1) and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, (2) presented to the Human Rights Council at its twentieth session, and the interactive dialogue thereon;
3. Expresses its concern that violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression continue to occur, including increased attacks against and killings of journalists and media workers, and stressing the need to ensure greater protection for all media professionals and for journalistic sources;
4. Condemns in the strongest term all attacks and violence against journalists, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, as well as intimidation and harassment;
5. Expresses its concern that there is a growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations;
6. Calls on all parties to armed conflict to respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including their obligations under the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and, where applicable, the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977, the provisions of which extend protection to journalists in situations of armed conflict, and to allow, within the framework of applicable rules and procedures, media access and coverage, as appropriate, in situations of international and non-international armed conflict;
7. Expresses its concern that attacks against journalists often occur with impunity, and calls upon States to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy and effective investigations into such acts falling within their jurisdiction, and to bring to justice those responsible and to ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies;
8. Calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, including by means of (a) legislative measures; (b) awareness-raising in the judiciary, law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists; (c) the monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) publicly condemning attacks; and (e) dedicating necessary resources to investigate and prosecute such attacks;
9. Encourages States to put in place voluntary protection programmes for journalists, based on local needs and challenges, including protection measures that take into account the individual circumstances of the persons at risk, as well as, where applicable, the good practices in different countries;
10. Invites relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, as appropriate, in the framework of their mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their work;
11. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, including with regional organizations, and invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the scope of their mandates, to cooperate further in the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, elaborated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and endorsed by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination;
12. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, to prepare, working in consultation with States and other relevant stakeholders, a compilation of good practices in the protection of journalists, the prevention of attacks and the fight against impunity for attacks committed against journalists, and to present the compilation in a report to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session.

23.12.2006. United Nations S/RES/1738 (2006) - Resolution 1738 adopted by the Security Council at its 5613th meeting, on 23 December 2006

The Security Council,

Bearing in mind its primary responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security, and underlining the importance of taking measures aimed at conflict prevention and resolution,

Reaffirming its resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000) and 1674 (2006) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict and its resolution 1502 (2003) on protection of United Nations personnel, associated personnel and humanitarian personnel in conflict zones, as well as other relevant resolutions and presidential statements,

Reaffirming its commitment to the Purposes of the Charter of the United Nations as set out in Article 1 (1-4) of the Charter, and to the Principles of the Charter as set out in Article 2 (1-7) of the Charter, including its commitment to the principles of the political independence, sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all States, and respect for the sovereignty of all States,

Reaffirming that parties to an armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of affected civilians,

Recalling the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, in particular the Third Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 on the treatment of prisoners of war, and the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977, in particular article 79 of the Additional Protocol I regarding the protection of journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict,

Emphasizing that there are existing prohibitions under international humanitarian law against attacks intentionally directed against civilians, as such, which in situations of armed conflict constitute war crimes, and recalling the need for States to end impunity for such criminal acts,

Recalling that the States Parties to the Geneva Conventions have an obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed a grave breach of these Conventions, and an obligation to try them before their own courts, regardless of their nationality, or may hand them over for trial to another concerned State provided this State has made out a prima facie case against the said persons,

Drawing the attention of all States to the full range of justice and reconciliation mechanisms, including national, international and "mixed" criminal courts and tribunals and truth and reconciliation commissions, and noting that such mechanisms can promote not only individual responsibility for serious crimes, but also peace, truth, reconciliation and the rights of the victims,

Recognizing the importance of a comprehensive, coherent and action-oriented approach, including in early planning, of protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict. Stressing, in this regard, the need to adopt a broad strategy of conflict prevention, which addresses the root causes of armed conflict in a comprehensive manner in order to enhance the protection of civilians on a long-term
basis, including by promoting sustainable development, poverty eradication, national reconciliation, good governance, democracy, the rule of law and respect for and protection of human rights,

Deeply concerned at the frequency of acts of violence in many parts of the world against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflict, in particular deliberate attacks in violation of international humanitarian law,

Recognizing that the consideration of the issue of protection of journalists in armed conflict by the Security Council is based on the urgency and importance of this issue, and recognizing the valuable role that the Secretary-General can play in providing more information on this issue,

1. Condemns intentional attacks against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, as such, in situations of armed conflict, and calls upon all parties to put an end to such practices;

2. Recalls in this regard that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians. This is without prejudice to the right of war correspondents accredited to the armed forces to the status of prisoners of war provided for in article 4.A.4 of the Third Geneva Convention;

3. Recalls also that media equipment and installations constitute civilian objects, and in this respect shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals, unless they are military objectives;

4. Reaffirms its condemnation of all incitements to violence against civilians in situations of armed conflict, further reaffirms the need to bring to justice, in accordance with applicable international law, individuals who incite such violence, and indicates its willingness, when authorizing missions, to consider, where appropriate, steps in response to media broadcast inciting genocide, crimes
against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law;

5. Recalls its demand that all parties to an armed conflict comply fully with the obligations applicable to them under international law related to the protection of civilians in armed conflict, including journalists, media professionals and associated personnel;

6. Urges States and all other parties to an armed conflict to do their utmost to prevent violations of international humanitarian law against civilians, including journalists, media professionals and associated personnel;

7. Emphasizes the responsibility of States to comply with the relevant obligations under international law to end impunity and to prosecute those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law;

8. Urges all parties involved in situations of armed conflict to respect the professional independence and rights of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel as civilians;

9. Recalls that the deliberate targeting of civilians and other protected persons, and the commission of systematic, flagrant and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in situations of armed conflict may constitute a threat to international peace and security, and reaffirms in this regard its readiness to consider such situations and, where necessary, to adopt appropriate steps;

10. Invites States which have not yet done so to consider becoming parties to the Additional Protocols I and II of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions at the earliest possible date;

11. Affirms that it will address the issue of protection of journalists in armed conflict strictly under the agenda item "protection of civilians in armed conflict";

12. Requests the Secretary-General to include as a sub-item in his next reports on the protection of civilians in armed conflict the issue of the safety and security of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel.