UN: Impunity for crimes against journalists must end

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Tuesday 03 Nov 2015 - 10:51 Makkah mean time-21-1-1437 Pic: UN News Center New York (IINA) – Marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon honored journalists and media workers who were killed in the line of duty for merely "reporting the truth" and underscored the importance of protecting their rights and ensuring they can report freely. “More than 700 journalists have been killed in the last decade – one every five day – simply for bringing news and information to the public. Many perish in the conflicts they cover so fearlessly. But all too many have been deliberately silenced for trying to report the truth,” said Ban in a message on Monday to mark the second International Day. Noting that only 7 percent of cases involving crimes against journalists are resolved and less that one crime out of 10 is ever fully investigated, he stressed that such impunity deepens fear among journalists and enables governments to get away with censorship. “We must do more to combat this trend and make sure that journalists can report freely. Journalists should not have to engage in self-censorship because they fear for their life,” said the UN chief.  He urged collective action to end the cycle of impunity and safeguard the right of journalists to speak truth to power. The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly to highlight the urgent need to protect journalists and to commemorate the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013. AB/IINA