The International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) of UNESCO on June 29, 2017 in Geneva,Switzerland launched a book on Safety of Journalists and Combating Impunity during the Multistakeholder Consultation on Strengthening the Implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
The book titled “An Attack on One is an Attack on All: Successful Initiatives to Protect and Combat Impunity” brings alive 22 stories of courageous efforts at protecting journalists and ending impunity on attacks against them.
The publication highlights efforts made by media and civil society groups, revealing what is possible when governments and others work together to protect journalists and end impunity for attacks against them.
Furthermore, the stories describe individual determination as a powerful force to push back against attacks on journalists.
Lionel Veer, Netherlands ambassador to UNESCO, lauded the book’s portrayal of journalistic attacks, and described it as an “attack on democracy as a whole”.
He added that: “We must all be in solidarity with journalists who are endangered as a result of their profession. That’s why successful projects on protecting journalists need to be celebrated.”
Albana Shala, Chairperson of the IPDC, while flagging the publication, noted that although attacks on journalists continue unabated, there are examples of successful grassroots and global efforts to stem this tide.
Shala said: “I’m very proud that this book serves to bring to life stories of survival and success that would otherwise remain untold,” adding “These stories can help in the implementation of the UN Plan of Action.”
Head of the social-media-based Rappler in the Philippines Maria Ressa, one of the journalists whose story were among the collections, gave her experience of the fierce online abuse she had suffered, and how she had refused to be cowed into silence.
The gathering included UN special rapporteurs on various aspects of freedom of expression, UNESCO and OHCHR Member States, professional associations, media, academia and other key non-UN actors.
The compilation and publication of the book is funded by UNESCO’s IPDC. The IPDC is a UNESCO intergovernmental programme that raises funds for media development, including a host of safety-related projects submitted by media actors around the world.
The IPDC complements this work with a mandate for the UNESCO secretariat to monitor journalistic safety and impunity rates. In turn, the information generated constitutes the UN’s official data on these subjects. It feeds the tracking of progress under the Sustainable Development Goal 16.10 on “public access to information and fundamental freedom”.
Please visit the link here to download the full publication.
