By Loïc Dorthe / GICJ

The work of journalists reporting on events in regions of crisis is essential for the right of access to information and the protection of human rights worldwide. To achieve this, journalists must be independent and have access to a safe work environment. However, nowadays journalists are persecuted and murdered by governments more than on the war front, and there are no concrete mechanisms to combat the impunity of states willing to hide the truth and committing killings. 

The urgency for the implementation of an international convention to protect journalists was presented at a side event jointly organised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Aljazeera. Together they called on all states and the UN to support the establishment of such a convention to inspect and punish cases of assassinated journalists when states are unable or unwilling to do so. Such a mechanism would compel States to respect the work of journalists, allow them access to independent information in crisis regions and safeguard human rights.  

Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) joins the call of the International Federation of Journalists and Aljazeera. Journalists' work is of the utmost importance to ensure access to information and accountability for human rights violations. Journalists must be able to work independently and in a safe environment. In the age of disinformation coupled with hostility against journalists, a convention with concrete sanction mechanisms against governments is of the highest importance today.

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