A/HRC/27/35 World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development, in which it is found that nearly 50 per cent of States failed to even respond to requests by the UNESCO DirectorGeneral for voluntary information on the status of judicial inquiries into journalist killings, and called upon States to be more transparent, to share information and to take concrete steps to address impunity. These could consist in appointing special prosecutors and improving the overall functioning of the judicial system. 14. The Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, Getachew Engida, confirmed that impunity was unfortunately “the name of the game”, and that statistics clearly showed that many States had not taken the necessary steps to investigate the killings of journalists. He called the situation unacceptable, since the killing of a journalist amounted to taking oxygen out of the democratic system. He, like Mr. Smyth, regretted the fact that many States did not cooperate with UNESCO in the collection of information regarding judicial inquiries into the killings of journalists, but assured that the organization continued to work with States to persuade them to be more transparent. Although UNESCO, together with OHCHR and other United Nations agencies, had spearheaded the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, it was clear that, without real political commitment from States, the Plan of Action risked remaining on paper only and not translating into tangible results. While noting that there was an international legal framework for the protection of journalists in place, adjustments in the legal system at the national level were needed in many countries. Mr. Engida referred to the silencing of journalists through anti-terrorism or national security laws. He also stressed the need to build capacity of law enforcement officials and the judiciary with respect to the protection of journalists, as well as of journalists to better protect themselves. Looking towards the future, Mr. Engida highlighted that UNESCO was advocating for the post-2015 development agenda to include freedom of expression, the rule of law and good governance as stand-alone goals. 15. The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, described attacks on journalists and the media, and on freedom of expression in general, as unacceptable. She identified lack of political will as an important issue, and stated that States should be asked why they do not comply with the norms to which they have voluntarily agreed. The international community needed to find a way to engage with such States, to discover how to open doors where they remain closed. Ms. Mijatović also highlighted the importance of continuing to repeat the names of journalists who had been killed, and to avoid referring to them as numbers only. In this context, she remembered Anna Politkovskaya, Elmar Huseynov, Hrant Dink, Milan Pantić, Dada Vujasinović, Slavko Ćuruvija and Duško Jovanović. Ms. Mijatović suggested that other important questions were why journalism was so fiercely attacked, why the truth was being stopped, and why the work of journalists was often regarded as inconvenient. She called upon the international community to condemn with a stronger voice those countries that did not live up to standards, to be bold and courageous and not to be afraid of naming and shaming, because too much diplomacy in the case of murder was unhelpful. 16. According to Abeer Saady, a journalist and Vice-President of the Syndicate of Journalists of Egypt, although defining journalism had become difficult, it was about informing people and allowing them to make enlightened decisions. Ms. Saady referred to statistics gathered by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which suggested that 49 out of the 70 journalists killed in 2013 (and for which the motive was confirmed) were from her region. She advocated for a long-term perspective, and emphasized that an investment in the safety of journalists in the region should not be regarded as an investment in those individuals or even in the profession, but rather as an investment in democratic transformation. She stated that 90 per cent of journalists killed in the region were either shot in the head or tortured before death, and that using a badge to distinguish oneself as a journalist was no longer considered a means of providing protection but rather of increasing 6

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