Paris: The State of Qatar stressed the need to provide international protection to journalists in conflict and war zones and to support the global efforts to provide effective protection for them; emphasizing that ensuring the safety of journalists is one of its priorities and an essential prerequisite for achieving the objective of the freedom of expression.
The statement was made by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) Dr. Nasser bin Hamad Al Hanzab, during the 33rd session of the Intergovernmental Council of the International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC), which was held at the Unesco headquarters in Paris.
His Excellency highlighted reviewed the State of Qatar’s efforts at the international and local levels, and the initiatives it had participated in to protect journalists, including the launch of and international conference for the protection of journalists and the International Declaration on the Protection of Journalists in Doha in 2016.
He indicated that Qatar also sponsored the United Nations Security Council’s first resolution on the protection of journalists in armed conflict situations which was adopted in 2006 during Qatar’s leadership of the Council, referring to the United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention, which was held in Doha in 2015, and the adoption of the Doha Declaration in which the heads of states and governments pledged to prevent and combat violence against journalists and media professionals.
He drew the attention to the Middle East region as its facing significant challenges in protecting journalists, noting in this context the crime of murdering the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by the Israeli occupation forces.
The Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the Unesco said that late journalist Shireen Abu Akleh paid her life for the inalienable right to the truth; noting Qatar’s deep concerned over the continued impunity for violations and crimes committed against journalists.
He affirmed that protective and preventive means would be effective only if they were combined with mechanisms for the protection of the transmission of facts and prosecution; noting that in many cases it, was difficult to ascertain the truth amidst the absence of impartial parties that were supposed to do so.
