Thursday, July 18, 2013
Journalists and United Nations diplomats
addressed the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to demand increased
protection for those in the journalism profession.
Jan Eliasson, the United Nations deputy secretary-general, detailed
the dimensions of the problem. In the past decade, he said, more than
600 journalists have been killed exercising what he called their
critical role in society.
Just 10 days ago, he added, a Somali television journalist was shot and killed on his way home.
"Every time a journalist is killed by extremists, drug cartels or
even government forces there is one less voice to speak on behalf of the
victims of conflict, crime and human rights abuses," said Eliasson.
"Every journalist murdered or intimidated into silence is one less
observer of efforts to uphold rights and ensure human dignity. The least
we can do when a journalist is murdered is to ensure that the death is
investigated swiftly and that justice is served."
Somali reporter Mustafa Haji Abdinur - one of several journalists who
spoke to the Security Council - said he is described in his country as a
"dead man walking." Abdinur, who reports for the French news agency
AFP, said he will never be discouraged. He said that even sitting in the
Security Council in New York, however, was not without risk.
"In showing my face to you and the world, I increase the threat of
becoming attacked when I go back home. But I am a journalist. They may
call me 'a dead man walking,' but I report the news," he said.
Richard Engel, the chief foreign correspondent for NBC television in
the United States, urged the Security Council to focus on two campaigns:
one for free speech for activists who use media, the other for a
renewed commitment to defend dedicated and trained professionals who
take risks to deliver the kind of information the council needs to make
its decisions.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Rosemary DiCarlo, agreed.
As she put it, journalists are literally the council's eyes and ears in
every corner of the world.
"Recognizing the value of the work of journalists reporting on
conflict, this council has an obligation to help protect those who
provide us with so much vital information. We thank journalists around
the world who risk their lives to seek the truth and shine light on the
darkness for the entire world to see. The Security Council could not do
its job without you," she said.
Another reporter appearing before the Security Council, Ghaith
Abdul-Ahad, said that for at least the past decade, there has been a
systematic hunting down of journalists. Abdul-Ahad, who reports from his
native Iraq for The Guardian newspaper, said there is a sense of
immunity for killing a journalist.
"If you, ladies and gentlemen, can make an effort to recognize
journalists as part of a humanitarian effort to tell a story. Many of
you hate us, by the way, I know that," he said. "It's a sign that we are
doing our job properly. But there has to be some sort of balance. Just
let us be there, treat us as human beings. Just don't kill us."
In his remarks, Deputy Secretary General Eliasson said more than 90 percent of those who kill journalists go unpunished.