A/HRC/20/22 V. Recommendations General 105. All relevant actors should pay continued and increased attention to the safety of journalists and violations of their right to life, as well as those of their families, and strengthen efforts to elevate this issue to the international agenda. 106. The Special Rapporteur invites all international and domestic human rights bodies to consider adopting declarations, resolutions or other similar instruments that highlight the important role of journalists and draw attention to the need to protect them from attack. In particular, the United Nations should set the example in this regard, possibly in the Human Rights Council. 107. Efforts by all parties—intergovernmental organizations, Governments and NGOs—should be supported and strengthened to gather further information and data on these killings and threats and to analyse the trends and developments, including in a gender-sensitive way. 108. When information-gathering on human rights violations is carried out in countries where future criminal prosecutions may be at stake, particular care should be taken to preserve documentation and other evidence which could be of future use in respect of accountability for the killing of journalists. Recommendations to States 109. Unequivocal legal and practical protection of the freedom of expression is a prerequisite for the protection of journalists. Clear and effective safeguards to prevent physical threats against journalists and to ensure accountability should be established and regarded as a priority in terms of focus and resources. 110. A clear public stand should be taken at the highest level of Government to condemn extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions of journalists and threats to their lives, and to re-emphasize the important role of journalists in society. 111. States have the obligation to conduct prompt and exhaustive investigations into all suspected cases of violations of the right to life of journalists and to identify and bring to justice those responsible, not only the actual perpetrators but also the “masterminds” who initiate the attacks. The investigations and judicial proceedings should be conducted impartially, in the absence of improper influences, pressures, threats or interferences. Statutes of limitation should not allow prosecutions to be blocked. 112. States where there is a pattern of killing of journalists should take special measures to address this issue, and should be scrutinized in respect of those measures by the relevant human rights mechanisms. 113. In countries where high incidences of attacks against journalists are reported, the investigations should be carried out by special investigative units with sufficient resources and appropriate training to operate efficiently and effectively. Where there is a possibility of undue influence by local authorities or other government bodies, such an investigation should be moved to a different authority outside of their jurisdiction or sphere of influence (for example, in appropriate cases, to the federal as opposed to the state level). Independent complaints mechanisms have an important role to play. 19