IFEX, the global network of 95 organisations defending and promoting free expression, has announced the launch of its 2014 End Impunity campaign in advance of the first-ever UN International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on November 2. This date was chosen by the UN to coincide with the day in 2013 when French journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were executed by militants in Mali.
Complementing numerous exciting campaign initiatives launched by individual IFEX members, IFEX's 2014 network-wide campaign leverages the new UN Day to call on all governments to participate in concrete, collaborative, multi-stakeholder actions to help halt impunity for crimes against journalists in its tracks.
Early in October, IFEX sent an appeal to all UN Permanent Missions, urging them to recognise the first International Day to End Impunity and work with their national authorities to address the safety of journalists. IFEX highlighted the importance of government compliance with two mechanisms: The UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and the UNESCO Director- General's biennial Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity.
IFEX has prepared multilingual resources and digital tools to illustrate how impunity thwarts everyone's right to free expression and to help demystify UN mechanisms. They are available on the campaign site: www.daytoendimpunity.org, and include:
• Fact sheet: The 6 Things You Need to Know about the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
• Explainer: What is the UNESCO Director-General's Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity and Why Should I Care?
• Map: Global “Impunity Hotspotsâ€
• Interactive digital experience: Break the Silence
The problem of impunity persists. The 2012-2013 UNESCO Director-General Report, released in October 2014, states that between 2006 and 2013, fewer than 10% of the 593 cases of journalists and media workers killed have been resolved. We have prepared a media fact sheet that includes recent statistics on impunity.
IFEX is participating in two key upcoming meetings in November. The first is a seminar and inter-regional dialogue on the protection of journalists, taking place at the European Court of Human Rights. We will be looking at current legal standards of protection for journalists and discussing courses of action to improve the international framework for their safety and eradicate impunity.
The second is the third UN Inter-Agency meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, taking place at the Council of Europe. We will review the implementation of the UN Plan from 2013-2014 including successes, challenges, lessons learned and the way forward.
