The United Nations and associated organizations marked 2 November as the 2023 International Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists with events around the world.
The AEJ is a partner in the Council of Europe’s Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety for Journalists, and AEJ UK chair and former AEJ media freedom representative William Horsley joined the CoE’s launch of a five-year campaign for media freedom in Riga on 5 and 6 October.
The UN International Day on 2 November 2023 specifically lists 30 cases of impunity for the murders of journalists including at least one in the UK – Martin O’Hagan, a reporter with the Sunday World who investigated the activities of both Catholic and Protestant paramilitary groups, and was killed in September 2001 in Armagh, Northern Ireland. The “Red Hand Defenders”, an operational name for the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), claimed responsibility for the murder and it has long been suspected that those who ordered his killing were paid police informants linked to the LVF. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has been calling for the British and Irish governments to appoint a panel of independent, international experts to investigate both the murder and the failed police investigation.
The UN International Day 2023 seeks to:
- raise awareness of the main challenges faced by journalists and communicators in the exercise of their profession
- warn of the escalation of violence and repression against them – including attacks and restrictions on the press in the context of coverage of social protests; the use of judicial mechanisms against journalists for reasons related to their journalistic work on matters of public interest; and the increase of forced exile of journalists in some countries
- highlight the role of a safe and free press in ensuring the integrity of elections and our democratic systems
- reaffirm the obligation of states to adopt effective measures to protect the independent press and strengthen institutional frameworks that combat violence and impunity
- promote media independence, sustainability and diversity.
End impunity for crimes against journalists
UN International Day to end impunity
AEJ UK chair at UN International Day panel on uses and misuses of media law
Platform for the safety of journalists
Journalists matter: Campaign for the Safety of Journalists
William Horsley on Campaign for the Safety of Journalists
