A/HRC/27/35 10. The High Commissioner highlighted the importance of creating an early warning and rapid response mechanism giving journalists and other media actors immediate access to the appropriate authorities and to protective measures when they are threatened. Such a mechanism should be established in consultation with journalists and other media actors and organizations, and comprise representatives of State bodies dealing with law enforcement and human rights issues, together with representatives of civil society, including journalists and media organizations. 11. Lastly, the High Commissioner emphasized that, most importantly, States must combat impunity. Every act of violence committed against a journalist that was not investigated and went unpunished was an open invitation for further violence; ensuring accountability for attacks against journalists was therefore a key element in preventing future attacks. She warned that failure to do so could be interpreted as tolerance of or acquiescence to violence. The investigation and prosecution of all attacks against journalists through an effective and functioning domestic criminal justice system was therefore considered imperative, as was remedy for victims. The High Commissioner referred to good practices, including the creation of special investigative units or independent mechanisms to carry out investigations, with specialized expertise; specific protocols and methods of investigation and prosecution; and training for law enforcement and military personnel, as well as for prosecutors and the judiciary, regarding their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, with a focus on the safety of journalists. The High Commissioner encouraged States to examine, reinforce and replicate such initiatives. III. Contributions of panellists 12. In her introductory remarks, the journalist and panel moderator Ghida Fakhry Khane underscored the importance of the topic of discussion. She referred to the crucial role that journalists played in keeping the public informed and in keeping in check the authorities and institutions that purport to work in the public interest, but also to the high levels of risk, intimidation, harassment and violence that journalists endured. She described journalism as a “risky business” in many parts of the world, and recalled that the purpose of the discussion was to identify good practices in guaranteeing the safety of journalists and ways to ensure their implementation. She hoped that the discussions could lead to specific recommendations on what States, international and regional organizations, but also journalists and media organizations themselves, could do to mitigate the risks for journalists. 13. Frank Smyth, journalist and senior adviser for journalist security at the Committee to Protect Journalists, agreed with the High Commissioner that unequivocal political commitment from States and combating impunity for attacks against journalists were the key requirements. Firstly, he emphasized the importance of using clear language when discussing the safety of journalists. The greatest threat to press freedom, the freedom of expression and the safety of journalists around the world was the problem of unsolved journalist murders. He pointed out that more than two out of three journalists killed since 1992 had not stepped on a landmine or been caught in crossfire or victim of an air strike or a car bomb explosion, but murdered outright in direct reprisal for their reporting. Mr. Smyth recalled that such acts were crimes by any measure, in any context, and in every nation around the world. Nonetheless, impunity reigned in nearly nine out of ten cases. The consistent and alarmingly high rate of impunity for murdering journalists around the globe was cause for great concern, for the impact of killing one journalist with impunity was to effectively silence countless more. Secondly, Mr. Smyth deplored the lack of political will shown by many States in addressing the issue. He referred to the 2014 UNESCO report 5