Please find below 13 documents of reference adopted by the United Nations on the safety of journalists:
- the Resolution A/HRC/51/L14 on the safety of journalists adopted by consensus on 6 October 2022 at the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
- the Resolution A/76/173 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 16 December 2021
- the Resolution A/HRC/45/L42/rev 1 on the safety of journalists adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 6 October 2020
- the Resolution A/C.3/74/L.45/rev.1 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 19 November 2019,
- the Resolution A/HRC/39/L7 on the safety of journalists adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 27 September 2018,
- the Resolution A/C.3/72/L.35/Rev 1 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 20 November 2017,
- the Resolution A/HRC/33/L6 adopted on safety of journalists by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 29 September 2016,
- the Resolution 2222 adopted by the SECURITY COUNCIL on 27 May 2015,
- the Resolution on safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the United Nations on 20 November 2014,
- the Resolution on safety of journalists adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 25 September 2014,
- the Resolution on safety of journalists and the issue of impunity adopted by the GENERAL ASSEMBLY on 18 December 2013,
- the Resolution adopted by the HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL on 27 September 2012 ,
- the resolution 1738 adopted by the SECURITY COUNCIL on 23 December 2006
A/HRC/51/L.14
Item 3
Received from (main sponsors): Austria, Brazil, France, Greece, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia
51/xx. The safety of journalists
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,
Recalling all General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions on the safety of journalists, in particular Assembly resolution 76/173 of 16 December 2021 and Council resolution 45/18 of 6 October 2020, as well as Council resolution 50/15 of 8 July 2022 on freedom of opinion and expression and Security Council resolutions 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
Recalling also the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and the important role of the network of focal points throughout the United Nations system in enhancing the safety of journalists and media workers,
Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists, including its role in monitoring developments in this area, awareness-raising and capacity-building, and in this context recalling the 2020 report of the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the safety of journalists and the danger of impunity, the Global Media Defence Fund, as well as the Windhoek+30 Declaration,
Welcoming also the work of the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council with regard to the safety of journalists, in particular of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and taking note of her recent report on reinforcing media freedom and the safety of journalists in the digital age,
Welcoming also the initiatives taken by States, media organizations and civil society relevant to the safety of journalists, such as the Media Freedom Coalition, the Freedom Online Coalition, the International Partnership for Information and Democracy, as a result of the Paris Peace Forum, the International Civil Society Organizations Safety of Journalists Coalition, the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), the Journalism Safety Research Network, as well as the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles, or the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists, presented at the World Congress of the International Press Institute, held in March 2016 in Doha,
Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, in building and supporting the functioning of inclusive societies and democracies, an informed citizenry, the rule of law and participation in public affairs, in holding public institutions and officials accountable, including by exposing corruption,
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,
Underlining that the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, includes the right to seek, receive and impart information held by public authorities, subject only to any restrictions that fully comply with international law, and stressing the importance of access to information to the work of journalists and media workers, and that they themselves also play a critical role in the enjoyment of this right,
Recognizing the range of current threats to the safety of journalists, media freedom and media pluralism, which include, inter alia, physical, psychological, legal, political, technological and economic threats,
Recognizing also the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, and in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving, where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing, and where the spread of disinformation is often facilitated and amplified by the algorithms of digital platforms, including social media platforms;
Recognizing further the importance of investigative journalism and that the ability of the media to investigate and to publish the results of their investigations, including on the Internet, without fear of reprisals, plays an important role in societies, including in contributing to holding public institutions and officials accountable or detecting cases of corruption, and revealing human rights abuses by business enterprises,
Expressing concern about the ongoing and deepening threats to media diversity and independence as a result, among other things, of shutting down media resources under political pretext, a significant reduction in advertising revenues for legacy media, undermining news production and especially local and investigative journalism, increased concentration of media ownership, political control over and insufficient financial allocations to public service media, a failure to develop community broadcasting sufficiently, and ongoing attempts to exert control over the media, including through regulation,
Underlining that journalists and media workers serve a crucial function in times of crisis, and that States must take active measures to ensure that individuals and communities are fully informed about the full scope that any threat poses to lives and health of journalists and media workers, in order to make appropriate personal choices and decisions,
Recognizing the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including to inform the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,
Deeply concerned that the work of journalists and media workers often puts them at specific risk of human rights violations and abuses, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, arbitrary expulsion, physical and sexual and gender-based violence, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment of all kinds, including by the targeting of their family members or arbitrarily raiding and searching their residency, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,
Equally concerned about incidents of the extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including killings, enforced disappearances, harassment or surveillance,
Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including individual journalists, which increases the risk of threats, reprisals and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,
Alarmed also at acts of intimidation and reprisal directed against foreign journalists and media workers, especially by political leaders, public officials and/or authorities through, inter alia, the arbitrary and unwarranted denial of accreditation or visas in connection with their journalistic work,
Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,
Deeply concerned about all attempts to silence journalists and media workers, including by legislation that can be used to criminalize journalism, by the misuse of overbroad or vague laws to repress legitimate expression, including defamation and libel laws, laws on misinformation and disinformation or counter-terrorism and counter-extremism legislation, when not in conformity with international human rights standards,
Expressing serious concern at the rise of strategic lawsuits against public participation, including by business entities, to exercise pressure, intimidate or exhaust the resources and morale of journalists, and thereby stopping them from critical and/or investigative reporting on matters of public interest,
Underlining that any measure or restriction introduced under emergency measures must be necessary, proportionate to the evaluated risk and applied in a non-discriminatory way, have a specific focus and duration, and be in accordance with the State’s obligations under applicable international human rights law, and that the right to seek, receive and impart information requires that media freedom and the safety of journalists is protected during a state of emergency, including, inter-alia in the context of protests or during health crises,
Deeply concerned also that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis had and still has significant implications for the work, health and safety of journalists and media workers, and in this regard concerned about the consequences of the economic impact of the pandemic, which increases the vulnerability of journalists and weakens media sustainability, independence and pluralism and worsens the risk of the spreading of misinformation and disinformation by limiting access to a wide range of reliable information and opinions,
Alarmed at threats against, arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, as well as disproportionate and undue restrictions on access to information or censorship, freedom of movement or accreditation, of journalists and media workers linked to their reporting on the pandemic,
Taking into account that journalists may face specific risks in relation to their work due to various forms of discrimination, such as but not limited to sex, race, religion, ethnicity, minority status, economic and socio-economic status, disability, age or political affiliation,
Deeply alarmed at the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-responsive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, including threats of rape, intimidation, harassment, online gender-based harassment and abuse, including blackmailing with private content, inequality and gender-based stereotypes, to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed,
Recognizing that online attacks against women journalists, including through targeted unlawful or arbitrary digital surveillance, is one of the serious contemporary threats to their safety,
Expressing serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, in situations of armed conflict, including the specific risks faced by women journalists in this context, and recalling in this regard that journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are civilians under international humanitarian law and shall be protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,
Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,
Emphasizing the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or the interception of communications, hacking, including government-sponsored hacking, malware, spyware, forced data handover or denial of service attacks to force the shutdown of particular media websites or services, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,
Emphasizing also that, in the digital age, encryption, pseudonymization, and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to exercise freely their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources,
Recognizing further the important role that national human rights institutions can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and in addressing human rights violations against journalists through monitoring, educating and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further the contribution that national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up can play in the prevention of human rights violations against journalists,
Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists, and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,
Stressing the need to conduct impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into human rights violations and abuses against journalists and media workers, including into whether those violations or abuses were connected with the journalistic work of the victim,
Emphasizing the crucial role of the judiciary, prosecution services and law enforcement officers to ensure journalists’ safety, access to justice and effective remedy, and to ensure accountability for crimes and attacks against them, thereby contributing to upholding the rule of law,
Stressing also the need for greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling national legal frameworks consistent with the State’s international human rights obligations and commitments to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,
Resolution A/76/173 adopted by the General Assembly on 16 December 2021 on the safety of journalists
United Nations A/RES/76/173
General Assembly
Seventy-sixth session
Agenda item 74 (b)
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms
76/173. The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity
The General Assembly,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2 and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,3 as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19494 and the Additional Protocols thereto,5
Recalling its previous resolutions on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including resolution 68/163 of 18 December 2013, in which it proclaimed 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, and resolutions 69/185 of 18 December 2014, 70/162 of 17 December 2015, 72/175 of 19 December 2017 and 74/157 of 18 December 2019,
Welcoming the latest report of the Secretary-General on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, the current situation and the actions undertaken so far in relation thereto,6
Taking note with appreciation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, endorsed by the United Nations System Chief __________________
1 Resolution 217 A (III).
2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2716, No. 48088.
4 Ibid., vol. 75, Nos. 970–973.
5 Ibid., vol. 1125, Nos. 17512 and 17513.
6 A/76/285.
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Executives Board for Coordination on 12 April 2012, in which United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were invited to work with Member States towards a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers in both conflict and non-conflict situations, with a view to strengthening peace, democracy and development worldwide,
Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 2012,7 27/5 of 25 September 2014,8 33/2 of 29 September 2016,9 39/6 of 27 September 201810 and 45/18 of 6 October 2020 on the safety of journalists,11 27/12 of 25 September 2014 on the World Programme for Human Rights Education,12 32/13 of 1 July 2016 on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,13 34/7 of 23 March 201714 and 48/4 of 7 October 2021 on the right to privacy in the digital age15 and 44/12 of 16 July 2020 on freedom of opinion and expression,16 Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000, 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015, and Economic and Social Council resolution 2021/7 of 8 June 2021 on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system,
Taking note with appreciation of the 2020 report of the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the safety of journalists and the danger of impunity, as well as the Windhoek+30 Declaration,
Recalling all other relevant reports of the Secretary-General, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and special procedures of the Human Rights Council on the safety of journalists, as well as the most recent report of the Secretary- General on women and peace and security,17
Commending the role and the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with regard to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, including their collaboration to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and their facilitation of the commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November, in consultation with relevant entities within the United Nations system, Governments and relevant stakeholders, and recalling the outcome of the multi-stakeholder consultation on strengthening the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and taking note of the opportunity to further foster the implementation of the Plan on the occasion of its tenth anniversary in 2022,
Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development18 and the commitments therein to, inter alia, build peaceful and inclusive societies, protect human rights and promote gender equality for sustainable development so that no one is left behind, including by ensuring public access to information and protecting __________________
7 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1), chap. III.
8 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1, A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.1 and A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.2), chap. IV, sect. A.
9 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigendum (A/71/53/Add.1 and A/71/53/Add.1/Corr.1), chap. II.
10 Ibid., Seventy-third Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/73/53/Add.1), chap. III.
11 Ibid., Seventy-fifth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/75/53/Add.1), chap. III.
12 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1, A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.1 and A/69/53/Add.1/Corr.2), chap. IV, sect. A.
13 Ibid., Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/71/53), chap. V, sect. A.
14 Ibid., Seventy-second Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/72/53), chap. IV, sect. A.
15 Ibid., Seventy-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/76/53/Add.1), chap. IV, sect. A.
16 Ibid., Seventy-fifth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/75/53), chap. V, sect. A.
17 S/2021/827.
18 Resolution 70/1.
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fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements, and therefore recognizing the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in this regard,
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,
Acknowledging that journalism is continuously evolving to include input from media institutions, private individuals and a range of organizations that seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, online as well as offline, in the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby contributing to the shaping of public debate,
Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media and access to information, online as well as offline, in building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies and in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance, as well as understanding and cooperation,
Recognizing also the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving and where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing,
Recognizing further that the work of journalists often puts them and their family members at specific risk of intimidation, threats, harassment and violence, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,
Noting the good practices of different countries aimed at the protection of journalists, as well as, inter alia, those designed for the protection of human rights defenders, that can, where applicable, be relevant to the protection of journalists,
Urging States to do their utmost to prevent violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including by supporting capacity-building, training and awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military and security personnel, as well as among media organizations, journalists and civil society, regarding States’ international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists,
Recognizing the efforts by States to review and, where necessary, amend laws, policies and practices that limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference and to bring them fully in line with their obligations under international law,
Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,
Recognizing that the number of people whose lives are influenced by the way information is presented is significant and that journalism influences public opinion,
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Recognizing also the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including informing the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,
Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including foreign and/or individual journalists, and media workers, which increases the risk of threats, reprisals and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,
Expressing serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered civilians and shall be respected and protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks against journalists remains one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,
Recognizing the important role that national human rights institutions, where they exist, can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in addressing human rights violations and abuses against journalists through monitoring, educating and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further that national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up can contribute to the prevention of human rights violations and abuses against journalists,
Expressing deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers who have been killed, tortured, arrested, detained, harassed and intimidated in recent years as a direct result of their profession,
Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists and media workers, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, arbitrary expulsion and physical and sexual violence, as well as intimidation, harassment, online and offline threats, the targeting of their family members or arbitrarily raiding and searching their residence, and other forms of violence of all kinds,
Equally concerned about incidences of extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including harassment, surveillance and arbitrary deprivation of life,
Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,
Deeply concerned by the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, in non-conflict as well as in armed conflict situations, where they continue to be targeted at alarming rates, underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-responsive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists and media workers, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle all forms of sexual and gender-based discrimination, violence, abuse and harassment, including sexual harassment, threats and intimidation, as well as inequality and gender stereotypes, to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed and gender stereotypes in the media are adequately tackled,
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Deeply concerned also that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significant implications for the work, health and safety of journalists and media workers, and in this regard concerned about the consequences of the economic impact of the pandemic, which increases the vulnerability of journalists, especially women journalists, and weakens media sustainability, independence and pluralism and worsens the risk of the spreading of misinformation and disinformation by limiting access to a wide range of reliable information and opinions,
Alarmed at threats against, and arrests and enforced or involuntary disappearances, as well as disproportionate and undue restrictions on accreditation, access to information and freedom of movement of, journalists and media workers linked to their reporting on the pandemic,
Acknowledging the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance or interception of communications, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,
Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,
Stressing the need for greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling legal frameworks for freedom of expression to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,
1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention and expulsion, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment, online and offline, including through attacks on, or the forced closure of, their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations;
2. Also condemns unequivocally extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including harassment, surveillance and the arbitrary deprivation of life and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, further condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as all forms of sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence, including online and offline sexual harassment, intimidation and incitement to hatred against women journalists, and calls upon States to tackle these issues as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society;
3. Stresses the importance of the full respect for the right to seek, receive and impart information, as included in the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in this regard for the freedom of journalists to have access to information and the right of the general public to receive media output, and that the safety of journalists and media workers is indispensable to ensuring these rights;
4. Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;
5. Calls upon States to develop and implement effective and transparent legal frameworks and measures for the protection of journalists and media workers and for combating impunity, taking a gender-responsive approach, including, where appropriate, through the creation and strengthening of special investigative units or
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independent commissions, the appointment of a specialized prosecutor and the adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;
6. Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested, arbitrarily detained or taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearances;
7. Calls upon all States to pay attention to the safety of journalists covering events in which persons are exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability;
8. Encourages States to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;
9. Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultation with relevant entities of the United Nations system, and mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980, to continue to facilitate the implementation of the International Day in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders;
10. Urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks targeting journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including sexual and gender-based violence against women journalists and media workers in armed conflict and non-conflict situations, falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes, to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;
11. Urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists and media workers, or from using misogynist or any discriminatory language towards women journalists, which thereby undermines trust in the credibility of journalists as well as respect for the importance of independent journalism;
12. Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, taking a gender-responsive approach, inter alia, by means of:
(a) Legislative measures;
(b) Supporting the judiciary in considering training, capacity-building and awareness-raising and supporting training, capacity-building and awareness-raising among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists, including with a strong focus on combating, both online and offline, sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence against women journalists, as well as the particularities of online threats and harassment of women journalists;
(c) Regular monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists;
(d) Collecting and analysing concrete quantitative and qualitative data on online and offline attacks or violence against journalists, that are disaggregated by, among other factors, sex;
(e) Publicly and systematically condemning online and offline attacks, harassment and violence against journalists and media workers;
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(f) Dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks and to develop and implement gender-responsive strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified in Human Rights Council resolution 33/2;
(g) Putting in place safe gender-responsive preventive measures and investigative procedures, in order to protect journalists, especially women journalists;
(h) Encouraging journalists to report online and offline attacks against them, and providing victims and survivors with adequate support, including psychosocial support;
13. Condemns unequivocally measures taken by States in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or the dissemination of information online and offline, aiming to undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including through practices such as Internet shutdowns or measures to unduly restrict, block or take down media websites, such as denial of service attacks, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;
14. Calls upon States to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security or public order are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention or the threat thereof;
15. Also calls upon States to ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused, in particular through excessive criminal sanctions, to illegitimately or arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public and, where necessary, to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;
16. Reaffirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
17. Emphasizes that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to freely exercise their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources, and calls upon States not to interfere with journalists’ use of such technologies and to ensure that any restrictions thereon comply with States’ obligations under international human rights law;
18. Also emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, together with protective equipment;
19. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international and regional levels, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to helping to improve the safety of journalists at the national and local levels;
20. Calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, and invites States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;
A/RES/76/173 The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity
8/8 21-19208
21. Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;
22. Encourages the Secretary-General to further intensify his efforts regarding the safety of journalists and media workers, and invites the agencies, organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations system to actively exchange information and enhance cooperation, including through the network of focal points and, at the local level, with United Nations country teams, as well as accelerate gender mainstreaming in the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, in cooperation with Member States and under the overall coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
23. Recognizes the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, in particular target 16.10, and calls upon States to strengthen national collection of disaggregated data, analysis and reporting on the number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture and other harmful acts against journalists and associated media personnel, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.10.1, and to do their utmost to make these data available to the relevant entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to further assist in the implementation of the present resolution and to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session and to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session on the safety of journalists and media workers, with a special focus on the safety of women journalists, online and offline, and the activities of the network of focal points in addressing the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity and taking into account the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and the follow-up thereto.
53rd plenary meeting
16 December 2021
Resolution L42 adopted October 6, 2020 by the Human Rights Council by consensus
A/HRC/45/L.42/rev1
Item 3
Main sponsors: Austria, Brazil, France, Greece, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia. Co-sponsors: more than 70 countries.
The safety of journalists
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8 June 1977,
Recalling all General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions on the safety of journalists, in particular General Assembly resolution 74/157 of 18 December 2019 and Human Rights Council resolution 39/6 of 5 October 2018, as well as Human Rights Council Resolution 44/12 of 16 July on freedom of opinion and expression and Security Council resolutions 1738 of 23 December 2006 and 2222 of 27 May 2015, on the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
Recalling also the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the issue of impunity and the important role of the network of focal points throughout the United Nations system in order to enhance the safety of journalists and media workers,
Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists, including its role in monitoring developments in this area, awareness-raising and capacity-building,
Welcoming further the initiatives taken by States, media organization and civil society relevant to the safety of journalists, and taking note in this regard of the establishment of the Media Freedom Coalition, the Partnership on Information and Democracy, the Freedom Online Coalition, the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles and the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists presented at the World Congress of the International Press Institute, held in March 2016 in Doha,
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and development,
Recalling that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities, in accordance with article 19 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free, independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, in building and supporting the functioning of inclusive societies and democracies, an informed citizenry, the rule of law and participation in public affairs, in holding public institutions and officials accountable, including by exposing corruption,
Underlining that the right to freedom of opinion and expression in accordance with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights includes a right of access to information held by public authorities, subject only to any restrictions that fully comply with international law. and stressing the importance of this right to the work of journalists and media workers and that they also play a critical role in the enjoyment of this right,
Underlining also that any measure or restriction introduced under emergency measures be necessary, proportionate to the evaluated risk and applied in a non-discriminatory way, have a specific focus and duration, and be in accordance with the State’s obligations under applicable international human rights law and that the right to seek, receive and impart information requires that media freedom and the safety of journalists is protected during a state of emergency, including in the context of protests,
Underlining further that journalists and media workers serve a crucial function in times of crises, and that states must take active measures to ensure that individuals and communities are fully informed about the full scope any threat posed to their lives and health in order to make appropriate personal choices and decisions
Recognizing the importance of public trust in and the credibility of journalism, in particular the challenges of maintaining media professionalism in an environment where new forms of media are constantly evolving and where targeted disinformation and smear campaigns to discredit the work of journalists are increasing,
Recognizing also the importance of investigative journalism, and that the ability of media to investigate, and to publish the results of their investigations, including on the internet, without fear of reprisals, plays an important role in societies, including in contributing to holding public institutions and officials accountable or detecting cases of corruption, as well as revealing human rights abuses by business enterprises,
Underlining the importance of voluntary professional principles and ethics developed and observed by the media,
Alarmed at instances in which political leaders, public officials and/or authorities denigrate, intimidate or threaten the media, including individual journalists, which increases the risk of threats and violence against journalists and undermines public trust in the credibility of journalism,
Alarmed also at intimidation and reprisals directed at foreign journalists and media workers, on unwarranted grounds, including by political leaders, public officials and/or authorities
Recognizing also the crucial role of journalists and media workers in the context of elections, including to inform the public about candidates, their platforms and ongoing debates, and expressing serious concern that attacks against journalists and media workers increase during election periods,
Deeply concerned that the work of journalists and media workers often puts them at specific risk of human rights violations and abuses, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, arbitrary expulsion, physical and sexual violence, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment of any kind, including by targeting their family members or arbitrarily raiding and searching their residency, which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,
Equally concerned about incidences of extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers, including harassment, surveillance and arbitrary deprivation of life,
Deeply concerned about all attempts to silence journalists and media workers, including by legislation that can be used to criminalize journalism, by the misuse of overbroad or vague laws to repress legitimate expression, including defamation and libel laws, laws on mis-/disinformation or counter-terrorism and counter-extremism legislation, when not in conformity with international human rights standards, as well as by business entities and individuals using strategic lawsuits against public participation to exercise pressure on journalists and stop them from critical and/or investigative reporting,
Also deeply concerned that the COVID-19 crisis has significant implications for the work, health and safety of journalists and media workers, and, in this regard, concerned about the consequences of the economic impact of the pandemic which increases journalists’ vulnerability and weakens media sustainability, independence and pluralism and worsens the risks of misinformation and disinformation spreading by limiting access to a wide range of reliable information and opinions,
Alarmed at threats, arrests and involuntary disappearances, as well as disproportionate and undue restrictions on access to information or censorship, freedom of movement or accreditation of journalists and media workers, linked to their reporting on the pandemic,
Deeply alarmed at the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-responsive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, including threats of rape, intimidation, harassment, online gender-based harassment and abuse including blackmailing with private content, inequality and gender-based stereotypes, and to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed,
Taking into account that journalists may face specific risks in relation to their work due to various forms of discrimination, such as, but not limited to, sex, race, religion, ethnicity, minority status, disability or political affiliation,
Welcoming the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and taking note of her report on combating violence against women journalists,
Expressing further serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, as well as the specific risk faced by women journalists in relation to their work in situations of armed conflict, and recalling in this regard that journalists and media workers engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are civilians under International Humanitarian Law and shall be protected as such, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians,
Expressing deep concern at the growing threat to the safety of journalists posed by non-State actors, including terrorist groups and criminal organizations,
Emphasizing also the particular risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, hacking, including government-sponsored hacking, and denial of service attacks to force the shutdown of particular media websites or services, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression,
Emphasizing also that, in the digital age, encryption and anonymity tools have become vital for many journalists to exercise freely their work and their enjoyment of human rights, in particular their rights to freedom of expression and to privacy, including to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources,
Recognizing that national legal frameworks consistent with States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are an essential condition for a safe and enabling environment for journalists, and expressing deep concern about the misuse of national laws, policies and practices to hinder or limit the ability of journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference,
Recognizing also the important role that National Human Rights Institutions can play in promoting and protecting human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and in addressing human rights violations against journalists through monitoring, educating and awareness-raising activities, as well as through the examination of complaints, and recognizing further the contribution that National Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow-up can play in the prevention of human rights violations against journalists,
Emphasizing the role of international cooperation in support of national efforts to prevent attacks and violence against journalists and in raising the capacities of States in the field of human rights, including in preventing attacks and violence against journalists, including through the provision of technical assistance, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the States concerned,
Bearing in mind that impunity for attacks and violence against journalists constitutes one of the greatest challenges to the safety of journalists, and that ensuring accountability for crimes committed against journalists is a key element in preventing future attacks,
Stressing the need to conduct impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into human rights violations and abuses against journalists and media workers, including effective investigations into whether those violations or abuses were connected with the journalistic work of the victim,
Stressing also the need for greater emphasis on prevention measures and the creation of enabling national legal frameworks consistent with State’s international human rights obligations and commitments to ensure a safe and enabling environment for journalists and media workers,
1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers, such as killings, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, threats and harassment, online and offline, including through attacks on or the forced closure of their offices and media outlets in both conflict and non-conflict situations;
2. Also condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, intimidation and harassment, online and offline;
3. Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes,
4. Also condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online and offline, which undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, including through practices such as internet shutdowns or measures to unlawfully or arbitrarily block or take down media websites, such as Denial of Service attacks, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies;
5. Expresses concern about the spread of disinformation and propaganda, including on the Internet, which can be designed and implemented so as to mislead, to violate human rights, including the right to privacy and to freedom of expression, and to incite violence, hatred, discrimination, hostility, racism, xenophobia, negative stereotyping or stigmatization, and emphasizes the important contribution by journalists in countering this trend;
6. Stresses the importancce of the full respect for the right to seek, receive and impart information, as included in the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and in this regard for the freedom of journalists to have access to information held by public authorities and the right of the general public to receive media output, and that the safety of journalists and media workers is indispensable to ensure these rights;
7. Urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists, as well as using misogynist or any discriminatory language towards women journalists, and thereby undermining trust in the credibility of journalists as well as respect for the importance of independent journalism;
8. Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been arbitrarily arrested or arbitrarily detained, taken hostage or who have become victims of enforced disappearance;
9. Underlines the importance of providing for an enabling environment for the work of civil society organizations, as they play a vital role in enhancing the safety and security of journalists and media workers;
10. Calls upon States:
a) To bring their laws, policies and practices fully into compliance with their obligations and commitments under international human rights law, and to review and where necessary repeal or amend them so that they do not limit the ability of journalists and media workers to perform their work independently and without undue interference;
b) To establish prevention mechanisms such as an early warning and rapid response mechanism to give journalists and media workers, when threatened, immediate access to authorities competent and adequately resourced to provide effective protective measures, (former OP 9 e, amended)
c) To develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by, inter alia, (a) creating special investigative units or independent commissions; (b) appointing a specialized prosecutor; and (c) adopting specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution;
d) To ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate restitution, compensation and assistance,
e) To ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security, public order or health are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily or unduly hinder the work and safety of journalists, including through arbitrary arrest or detention, or the threat thereof;
f) To support capacity-building, training and awareness-raising in the judiciary and among law enforcement officers and military and security personnel, as well as among media organizations, journalists and civil society, regarding States’ international human rights and international humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists;
g) To take into account the specific role, exposure and vulnerability of journalists and media workers observing, monitoring, recording and reporting protests and assemblies, and to protect their safety,
h) To ensure that defamation and libel laws are not misused, in particular through excessive criminal sanctions, to illegitimately or arbitrarily censor journalists and interfere with their mission of informing the public, and where necessary to revise and repeal such laws, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law ;
i) To protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, including whistle-blowers, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists and those who provide them with information in fostering government accountability and an inclusive and peaceful society, subject only to limited and clearly defined exceptions provided for in national legal frameworks, including judicial authorization, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;
j) To adopt and implement transparent, clear and expedient laws and policies that provide for the effective disclosure of information held by public authorities, including online, and a general right to request and receive information, for which public access should be granted, except within narrow, proportionate, necessary and clearly defined limitations that comply with international human rights law;
k) To refrain from interference with the use of technologies such as encryption and anonymity tools, as well as from employing unlawful or arbitrary surveillance techniques, including through hacking;
l) To ensure that targeted surveillance technologies are only used in accordance with human rights principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality, and that legal mechanisms of redress and effective remedies are available for victims of surveillance-related violations and abuses;
m) To promote the availability and accessibility of the broadest possible diversity of media content as well as the representation of the whole diversity of society in the media, and in this regard, to do their utmost to reduce economic vulnerability of journalists;
n) To cooperate with journalists, the media, and civil society organisations to assess the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting on the provision of vital information to the public and the sustainability of media environments; and to consider, wherever possible, devising appropriate mechanisms to provide financial support to media, including local journalism and investigative reporting and tp ensure that support is undertaken without compromising editorial independence;
o) To take measures to prevent sexual harassment and other forms of sexual- and gender-based violence, including threats, threats of rape, intimidation and harassment against women journalists, encourage reporting of harassment or violence by providing gender-sensitive investigative procedures and provide adequate support, remedy, reparations and compensation for victims, including psychological support as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society, prohibit incitement to hatred against women journalists, online and offline, and other forms of abuse and harassment through relevant policy and legal measures that comply with international human rights law;
p) To give full support for and to raise public awareness of the importance of an independent, plural and diverse media, online as well as offline, inter alia by government representatives publicly, unequivocally, and systematically condemning violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers and refraining from verbally attacking journalists, inciting hatred against them as well as distrust towards independent journalists;
q) To establish or enhance information-gathering and monitoring mechanisms, such as databases, to permit the collection, analyses and reporting of concrete quantitative and qualitative disaggregated data on threats, attacks or violence against journalists and do their utmost to make data in accordance with SDG indicator 16.10.1 available to the relevant entities, in particular the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
r) To provide for an enabling environment for civil society organizations to contribute to monitor and report cases of violence against the media and other infringements of freedom of expression, provide assistance to journalists and media workers against wrongful prosecutions, and advocate for crimes against them to be properly investigated and, where appropriate, for improvement of legal frameworks governing the enabling environment for journalists and media workers;
s) To integrate the iusue of the safety of journalists and media freedom and access to information into national development frameworks under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ;
t) To ensure better internal coordination and sharing of information, in particular within and between relevant ministries, law enforcement and the judiciary at the local and national level (former OP9h);
u) To sign, ratify an implement more effectively the international and regional human rights instruments relevant for the safety of journalists and media workers, and implement the relevant resolutions adopted by UN bodies and regional intergovernmental organisations as well as recommendations received by treaty-bodies, special procedures, and in the process of the universal periodic review relating to the safety of journalists; (former OP 9 i and j)
11. Recognizes the important contribution of the promotion and protection of the safety of journalists in the realization of target 16.10 of the Sustainable Development Goals,
12. Emphasizes the important role that media organizations can play in providing adequate safety, risk awareness, digital security and self-protection training and guidance to journalists and media workers, in particular for journalists on dangerous assignments, together with protective equipment and insurances, where necessary;
13. Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international level, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to ensuring the safety of journalists, and encourages national, subregional, regional and international human rights mechanisms and bodies, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, in the framework of their mandates, to continue to address the relevant aspects of the safety of journalists in their work;
14. Invites United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other international and regional organizations, Member States and all relevant stakeholders, when applicable and in the scope of their mandates, to cooperate further in promoting awareness of and implementing the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and to this end calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and international and regional human rights mechanisms;
15. Invites all relevant Human Rights Council special procedure mandate holders to continue and strengthen their work and cooperation related to the issue of the safety of journalist and impunity;
16. Invites States to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists, including in response to requests by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization through the mechanism operated by its International Programme for the Development of Communication;
17. Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists through the process of the universal periodic review;
18. Requests the High Commissioner to present to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eight session a report on the impact and repercussions of measures taken by governments in response to COVID-19 on the safety and work of journalists and media workers, integrating a gender perspective, and identify trends and collect good practices, in particular on how the Office of the Hight Commissioner, within its mandate and working with other relevant UN entities, can assist, when requested, in the development of national approaches to protect journalists;
19. Encourages States and all other relevant stakeholders to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;
20. Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in accordance with its programme of work.