The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the United Nations (UN) has called for information on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, which are to be included in the UN Secretary General’s report to be presented to the General Assembly.
Citing the General Assembly resolution 68/163 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, OHCHR pointed out that paragraph 8 of the resolution requests the Secretary-General to report at its 69th session on the implementation of the resolution.
According to the OHCHR, it would appreciate receiving relevant information with regard to the implementation of the resolution. It is particularly interested in information regarding efforts made by Member States to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, ensure accountability for acts of violence against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, and to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference.
The OHCHR requested information on the efforts of member states particularly in such areas as legislative measures;awareness-raising among relevant entities and individuals regarding international human rights and humanitarian law obligations relating to the safety of journalists;monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists;public condemnations of attacks against journalists; andinvestigations and prosecutions of, and remedy for, attacks against journalists.
The OHCHR requested that such information should be addressed no later than May 2, 2014 to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Office at Geneva, CH-1211, Geneva 10, fax number +41 22 917 9014, c/o SebastiaanVerelst. Responses or queries may also be sent electronically to registry@ohchr.org, cc. sverelst@ohchr.org.
The UN General Assembly resolution 68/163 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity is available online for download as a pdf file at:
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ERI/pdf/UNGA_Resolution_on_the_Safety_of_Journalists_2013.pdf.
