United Nations says 2012 is deadliest year for journalists; states need to defend press freedom
11 December 2012, Journalists and NGOs from Europe, with representatives of the Council of Europe and OSCE, played an active part in an important UN conference in Vienna on journalists’ safety last week. The UN says that 100 journalists have been deliberately killed worldwide already in 2010. And the Vienna meeting agreed concrete means of implementing the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity over the coming two years, with as much support as possible from media and journalists’ associations. An 8-point “London Statement” signed by representatives of over 40 global media organisations and journalists’ groups was delivered to the UN at the Vienna meeting. It voiced the acute concerns of journalists and media houses on every continent about the continuing rise in targeted killings and other physical assaults on journalists, and demands that governments and UN agencies should fulfil the high expectations raised by the UN Plan. Guy Berger, a senior UNESCO official, told journalists in all countries where they face serious threats of violence and legal harassment: “ The Plan is not the solution to the problem, but an important tool that can help towards getting some progress so that people like you can do your job as you should be free to, and as your society deserves.”