A/HRC/20/22 African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights. 28 Impunity, in other words, in itself can also constitute a violation of the right to life.29 45. Binding treaties and customary law, as well as ―soft law‖ instruments, such as declarations and significant public positions taken by office bearers of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), will now be considered in an overview of the relevant stakeholders. (a) United Nations level 46. The Secretary-General has on various occasions condemned the killing of journalists.30 47. In resolutions adopted at its special sessions, the Human Rights Council has condemned the killing of journalists. 31 The targeting of journalists in a number of countries, including Somalia, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras and the Philippines, has been addressed under the universal periodic review mechanism.32 48. Different special procedures have also dealt with the safety of journalists. The topic is central to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and he has submitted a comprehensive report to the General Assembly on the topic (A/65/284, in particular para. 20 ff).33 The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders devoted a section of her 2012 annual report to the Human Rights Council on the action taken by her mandate regarding journalists as human rights defenders (A/HRC/19/55, paras. 29-59). 49. Special procedures have the ability to move fast, have the mandate to cover all countries (not only those that have ratified particular human rights treaties) and do not require the exhaustion of domestic remedies. They often send letters of allegation to States where journalists have been killed, in order to ensure accountability. Of particular importance to the issue of prevention, however, is the fact that they also have the power to send urgent appeals to States where journalists and others are under threat, to urge those States to protect the person in question. It is an important access point that should be used more often. It should be noted that the special procedures may not act merely on the basis of newspaper reports, but have to be approached by an individual, group, non-governmental organization, intergovernmental agency or Government, who must provide information 28 29 30 31 32 33 10 Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Mack Chang v. Guatemala, Judgement of 25 November 2003; íguez v. Honduras (see note 23 above); and African Commission on Human and People‘s Rights, communication No. 87/93, The Constitutional Rights Project v. Nigeria (1995), para. 14. Human Rights Committee general comment No. 31 (2004) on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant, para. 18. See, among others, S/2007/643, paras. 29-30; S/2009/277, para. 19; S/2010/579, para. 16; A/56/681– S/2001/1157, para. 34; A/61/326–S/2006/727, para. 44; A/62/345–S/2007/555, para. 53; see also A/63/372–S/2008/617, para. 50. Resolutions 12/16, para. 3; S-15/1, para. 3; S-16/1, paras. 1-2; S-17/1, para. 5; and S-18/1, para. 2 (a). See the respective annual reports of the Human Rights Council: A/HRC/18/2 (advance unedited version), paras. 319 and 321 (Somalia); A/HRC/10/29, paras. 651 and 662 (Colombia); A/HRC/11/37, paras. 609 and 616 (Mexico); A/HRC/16/2, paras. 525-526 (Honduras); A/HRC/8/52, paras. 473-474 (Philippines). See also previous annual reports: E/CN.4/2003/67, paras. 32, 59 and 70-71; E/CN.4/2005/64 and Corr.1, paras. 53-54 and 56; E.CN.4/2006/55, paras. 59-61, and mission reports: for example, Mexico (A/HRC/17/27/Add.3); Colombia (E/CN.4/2005/64/Add.3), para. 94; and Côte d‘Ivoire, (E/CN.4/2005/64/Add.2), paras. 48-49.