RES/33/2 The safety of journalists

GE.16-17239(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-third session

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 29 September 2016

33/2. 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 resolutions on the safety of journalists and the issue

of impunity, including resolutions 68/163 of 18 December 2013, in which the Assembly

proclaimed 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against

Journalists, and 70/162 of 17 December 2015, 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 Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 2012 and

27/5 of 25 September 2014, on the safety of journalists, Council decision 24/116 of 26

September 2013, on a panel discussion on the safety of journalists, and all other relevant

resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and the Council, in particular Council

resolution 12/16 of 2 October 2009 and all other resolutions on the right to freedom of

opinion and expression, Council resolution 13/24 of 26 March 2010, on the protection of

journalists in situations of armed conflict, Council resolution 28/16 of 26 March 2015, on

the right to privacy in the digital age, and Council resolutions 26/13 of 26 June 2014 and

32/13 of 1 July 2016, on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the

Internet,

Welcoming the latest report of the Secretary-General on the safety of journalists and

the issue of impunity,1 and recalling his previous report thereon,2

1 A/70/290.

2 A/69/268.

Recalling all relevant reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council

on the safety of journalists, in particular the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the

promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special

Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, presented to the Council at

its twentieth session,3 and the interactive dialogue thereon,

Recalling also the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights on good practices in the safety of journalists,4 the panel discussion of the

Human Rights Council on the issue of the safety of journalists, held on 11 June 2014, and

the summary report of the Office of the High Commissioner thereon,5

Welcoming the important work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization for the safety of journalists, and taking note with appreciation of its

2015 publications entitled World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development

and Building Digital Safety for Journalism,

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

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,

Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development6 and the

commitments therein to, inter alia, promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable

development, including by ensuring public access to information and protecting

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,

Welcoming also the initiatives taken by States, media organization and civil society

relevant to the safety of journalists, and taking note in this regard of 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,

Recognizing that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of

intimidation, harassment and violence, the presence of which often deters journalists from

continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of

important information,

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, expulsion, intimidation, harassment,

threats and acts of other forms of violence,

3 A/HRC/20/17 and 22.

4 A/HRC/24/23.

5 A/HRC/27/35.

6 General Assembly resolution 70/1.

Expressing deep concern at the increased number of journalists and media workers

who have been killed, tortured, arrested or detained in recent years as a direct result of their

profession,

Expressing further serious concern at attacks and violence against journalists and

media workers 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

shall be considered civilians 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,

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,

Acknowledging the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their

work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach

when considering measures to address the safety of journalists,

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 interception of communications, in violation of their rights to

privacy and to freedom of expression,

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 periods of elections,

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,

1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and

media workers, such as torture, killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and

arbitrary detention, intimidation, threats and harassment, 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 in the

exercise of their work, including sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence,

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. Urges States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks

against journalists and media workers, 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 remedies;

5. 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, including by means of (a) legislative measures; (b) supporting the

judiciary in considering training and awareness-raising and supporting training and

awareness-raising among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as

among journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and humanitarian

law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists; (c) the regular

monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) publicly, unequivocally and

systematically condemning violence and attacks; and (e) dedicating the resources necessary

to investigate and prosecute such attacks;

6. Also calls upon States to develop and implement strategies for combating

impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate,

good practices such as those identified during the panel discussion held on 11 June 2014

and/or compiled in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights,4 inter alia:

(a) The creation of special investigative units or independent commissions;

(b) The appointment of a specialized prosecutor;

(c) The adoption of specific protocols and methods of investigation and

prosecution;

(d) The training of prosecutors and the judiciary on the safety of journalists;

(e) The establishment of information-gathering mechanisms, such as databases,

to permit the gathering of verified information about threats and attacks against journalists;

(f) The establishment of an early warning and rapid response mechanism to give

journalists, when threatened, immediate access to the authorities and protective measures;

7. Further calls upon States to implement more effectively the applicable legal

framework for the protection of journalists and media workers in order to combat pervasive

impunity, including through enforcement mechanisms with the capacity to pay systematic

attention to their safety;

8. Urges States 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, amend them so that they do not limit the ability of journalists

and media workers to perform their work independently and without undue interference;

9. 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 disappearances;

10. Calls upon all States to pay particular attention to the safety of journalists

during periods of elections and while 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;

11. 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;

12. Also calls upon States to protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of

journalists’ sources, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists in fostering

government accountability and an inclusive and peaceful society, subject only to limited

and clearly defined exceptions provided in national legal frameworks, including judicial

authorization, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

13. Emphasizes 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, and calls

upon States not to interfere with the use of such technologies, with any restrictions thereon

complying with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

14. 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 and

insurances, where necessary;

15. 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;

16. 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;

17. 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;

18. Encourages States to continue to address the issue of the safety of journalists

through the process of the universal periodic review;

19. Requests the High Commissioner to prepare a report with an overview of

available mechanisms concerned with ensuring the safety of journalists, including existing

international and regional prevention, protection, monitoring and complaint mechanisms,

with a view to providing an analysis of their effectiveness, in consultation with States, the

mechanisms themselves and all other relevant stakeholders, and to submit it to the Human

Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session;

20. Decides to continue its consideration of the safety of journalists in

accordance with its programme of work.

38th meeting

29 September 2016

[Adopted without a vote.]