A/HRC/20/22 114. States should pay special attention to facilitating the work of civil society and media organizations that deal with freedom of expression and the protection of journalists. 115. Investigations into high-scale attacks against journalists may be assigned to commissions of inquiry when appropriate. 116. Journalists and their families should be given the opportunity to benefit from protection programmes, including witness protection programmes, which operate efficiently and on a rapid-response basis. In countries where high incidences of attacks against journalists are reported, States should seriously consider establishing special protection programmes in consultation with civil society, journalists and other stakeholders. 117. Diplomatic channels should be used to their full potential where the life of journalists is at stake, when journalists from a particular country are in State custody in a foreign country. 118. Law enforcement officials and the armed forces should receive training, as part of standard procedure, on the legitimacy of the presence of journalists during nonarmed and armed conflict and the legal protection for their safety. 119. States should implement the recommendations on the safety of journalists made under the universal periodic review mechanism by human rights treaty bodies, United Nations special procedures, and regional human rights mechanisms. States are encouraged to share their good practices in protecting the safety of journalists in their national reports submitted during the second cycle of the universal periodic review. 120. States should sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. 121. States should fully cooperate with UNESCO, in particular in the preparation of the Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which is published every two years. The record so far leaves much room for improvement. 122. States should further strengthen their cooperation with the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and regional human rights mechanisms, and respond and react to their communications in a timely manner. 123. NHRIs likewise have an important role in addressing the protection of journalists. In particular, NHRIs that are based in the countries where a high number of journalists are killed should take on the issue of the safety of journalists as a priority concern. Recommendations to United Nations bodies and agencies 124. The Special Rapporteur invites States and relevant United Nations bodies and agencies, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, to explore the need for a specific United Nations instrument, for example a declaration, on the safety of journalists that would emphasize the recognized obligations of States with regard to the protection of the right to life and safety of journalists. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur draws attention to the UNESCO Medellín Declaration on Securing the Safety of Journalists and Combating Impunity, and the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 125. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the activities undertaken by a number of United Nations bodies and agencies towards enhancing the safety of journalists, and 20