U.N. resolution on journalist safety

A draft resolution that would help force governments to investigate killings of journalists was presented to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan at the World Electronic Media Forum in Tunis. Annan told the WEMF meeting, "The United Nations ... defends your right, as journalists, to be free from physical intimidation and harm."

The resolution was presented at the Forum by International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) General Secretary Aidan White, acting on behalf of the IFJ and the International News Safety Institute (INSI). The two organizations are trying to gather governmental support for the resolution to be put before the UN Security Council.

In his speech (read the full text here), Annan noted that:

the vast majority of journalists killed since 1995 did not die in cross fire, but were deliberately hunted down and murdered, often in direct reprisal for their reporting. I will continue to press Governments to uphold their responsibility both to create conditions in which journalists can do their job safely, and to bring to justice those who commit crimes against them.

Many governments allow such killings of journalists to go univestigated and unpunished. According to an INSI statement, "If adopted the resolution would give the Secretary General for the first time an opportunity to monitor how governments are chasing down the killers of journalists and to put before the Security Council proposals for further action." The resolution would also allow "governments who persistently refuse to track down the killers of journalists to be reported to the International Criminal Court."

Annan also urged journalists around the world "to find the words and images that will draw attention to the silent, daily tsunami of poverty, hunger, disease and environmental degradation."