Guy Berger (UNESCO): 4P for journalist security

For the UNESCO director, prevention, protection and judicial process are required, to which he adds “people power”.

Guy Berger, director of the UNESCO division for the freedom of expression and media development declared that in 2017 UNESCO has condemned 80 cases in the world of journalists being killed, of which 3 in Europe. Most of these killings took place outside of war-zones. He was speaking at the conference, “Journalists attacked – the attackers unpunished” organised by Ossigeno per l’Informazione in the Italian Senate in Rome on occasion of the UN International Day to put an end to impunity for crimes committed against journalists.

Guy Berger underlined that it is the duty of nation states to protect media workers against attacks which range from molestation (whose victims are above all women) through intimidation up to murders and that only in one case in ten are they punished.

Hence the importance, Berger underlined, of the monitoring platform of the Council of Europe with which Ossigeno per l’Informazione is linked.

Berger emphasised that in order for journalists to exercise their profession in safety, prevention, protection and judicial process were needed; pointing out that this year UNESCO has also added “People Power”. Through the hash tag #truthneverdies it encourages the public to continue projects for which journalists have sacrificed their lives. A warning to aggressors to inform them that their efforts will be in vain.

DEB