One year after the adoption of the Geneva Declaration, the PEC renews its call for concrete action
Geneva, September 21, 2005 - Marking the first anniversary of the Geneva Declaration on Actions to Promote Safety and Security of Journalists and Media in Dangerous Situations, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) renews its call for more concrete action to defend media in zones of conflict and civil unrest.
Though the Campaign has been reinforced by some 37,000 journalists in 50 countries, it feels that there has been no progress on the adoption of concrete measures for the protection of media in zones of conflict.
In line with the September 21, 2004 Geneva Declaration, signed so far by 36 organizations, the PEC appeals today to all journalists and associations to unite in order to mobilize governments within the context of freedom of expression and the right to information, to move forward towards establishing a working group to discuss this important and vital issue of media protection.
The PEC calls upon governments to move and take the initiative for installing concrete measures that would make international law a firm commitment and not only a smoke screen.
Since 2003 more than 80 media colleagues and their associates were killed in Iraq, a figure which is greater than the media casualties in 20 years in the Vietnam War.
This year alone, since January and up to September 20, 47 journalists (19 in Iraq, 5 in the Philippines) were killed, in comparison with 53 in the whole year 2004 and 40 in 2003 (source: RSF). 2005 could beat the tragic record of media casualties.
The recent attack against Reuters staffers in Iraq (see the news on our website: www.pressemblem.ch) shows the seriousness of the problem.
Impunity is total; the perpetrators of acts of violence against journalists are left without judgment.
The call, by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), to establish an Independent Commission of Enquiry, has not found the appropriate response.
The PEC started to contact some government representatives and international organizations with the aim of establishing a working group that would discuss this urgent matter.
Answers were not discouraging, but remained vague. Some said "we will study the file", others said "we will wait for the results of the commission of experts", furthermore a more blunt answer was received "the journalists are not united on ways and means to achieve those measures and which measures", and: "current international law must first be applied."
However, how can the provisions of international law and international humanitarian law be effectively applied in this context in the absence of a new mechanism?
So far, in the case of the abduction or the killing of a journalist the standard reaction is that of statements of sympathy, condemnation and solidarity, but nothing concretely takes place.
A positive development: the Commission of Experts, which was decided upon at the Geneva meeting organized by the PEC one year ago, has been established in coperation with INSI and is presided by the Director of the BBC World Service and Global News Richard Sambrook.
The Commission has met for three times so far in May 2005 in Doha/Qatar, in July in London, and this September in New York to listen to witnesses on attacks and acts of violence against journalists.
The Commission will have other meetings from now to May 2006 when it will present its report and recommendations.
The PEC sincerely hopes that the Commission would recommend decisive steps towards improving the working conditions and protection of journalists in zones of conflict and civil unrest.
The PEC whose membership since June 2005 has assembled more than 35,000 journalists living in some 50 countries, many of whom are victims of armed conflicts, reminds the media community as well as the international community of its prime objective to establish an open-ended inter-governmental working group which would study measures that could be taken to improve media protection.
Those measures discussed would give the chance to look into a new international convention or additional protocol.
All provisions of such a draft convention are open for discussion at this stage.
The PEC expresses hope that the working group would meet between now and in the course of 2006 preferably in Geneva, the World Capital of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.
The goodwill of all members of the media community and other stakeholders is urgently required at this stage.
The urgency remains to start the real work.
For the PEC board, the co-founders: Hedayat Abdel Nabi and Blaise Lempen.
For the text and the signatories of the Geneva Declaration and other informations on the Campaign, see our website: www.pressemblem.ch - page: Geneva meeting. If you want to add your signature and show your solidarity, please send us your agreement to the Geneva Declaration to these three e-mail addresses:
