A/HRC/39/23 forced to flee their homes, killings and disappearances, and pervasive impunity. 75 Following his March 2018 visit to Liberia, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression documented the situation facing women journalists, noting that physical security on assignment may be inadequate, and bad infrastructure and roads made reporting, especially in rural parts of the country, a serious safety issue.76 35. Special procedures have raised the issue of the safety of journalists during Human Rights Council interactive dialogues. For example, during the thirty-seventh session of the Council, the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, referred to the risks faced by journalists covering corruption, tax evasion and illicit financial flows. Referring to the killings of journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia77 and Ján Kuciak78 as of the utmost serious concern, he called on the Council to remain vigilant regarding similar situations. 79 36. The human rights treaty bodies monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties and assess States’ compliance with their obligations under those treaties (see A/72/290, para. 51). In its concluding observations (2017–2018), the Human Rights Committee 80 and the Committee against Torture 81 raised concerns and made recommendations about the safety of journalists and restrictions on freedom of expression. For example, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the allegations of public officials in Serbia publicly vilifying and intimidating media workers, particularly through the prosecution of journalists and members of civil society for expressing their opinions. The Committee recommended that immediate steps be taken to provide effective protection to media workers from all forms of intimidation. It called on Serbia to ensure that all cases were duly investigated and perpetrators of those acts of intimidation prosecuted and appropriately sanctioned. It also said Serbia should refrain from prosecuting journalists, human rights defenders and other members of civil society as a means of deterring or discouraging them from freely expressing their opinions. 82 37. International commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions, supported by OHCHR, have monitored violations of the rights of journalists and made recommendations in that regard. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic has addressed this, recently reporting that journalists have been intimidated and arrested for reporting on alleged violations committed by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the international coalition. 83 The United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi found that human rights defenders and journalists had been the primary targets of systematic repression by the authorities (see A/HRC/33/37, paras. 78 and 81). The Commission of Inquiry documented the issuing of international arrest warrants against journalists and the revocation of licences of independent media organizations, as well as the suspension of the Burundian Union of Journalists, observing that the democratic space enabling journalists to express themselves freely had been severely restricted (see A/HRC/36/54, paras. 15 and 52). The March 2017 (A/HRC/34/63) and February 2018 (A/HRC/37/71) reports of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan detailed attacks against journalists and called for the security and freedom of expression of the media to be ensured. Similarly, the Independent International Fact-finding Mission on 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22489&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22785&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22262&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22753&LangID=E. See http://webtv.un.org/watch/clustered-id-ie-on-foreign-debt-and-sr-on-adequate-housing-8thmeeting-37th-regular-session-human-rights-council/5742256033001. CCPR/C/TKM/CO/2, CCPR/C/BGD/CO/1, CCPR/C/BIH/CO/3, CCPR/C/COD/CO/4, CCPR/C/LBN/CO/3 and CCPR/C/HUN/CO/6. CAT/C/PAK/CO/1, CAT/C/BHR/CO/2-3, CAT/C/LKA/CO/5, CAT/C/TKM/CO/2 and CAT/C/RWA/CO/2. CCPR/C/SRB/CO/3. See A/HRC/37/72, para. 44. See also A/HRC/31/68, paras. 114 and 155 (g); A/HRC/31/CRP.1, paras. 75 and 78; and A/HRC/30/48, paras. 51, 155–158, and 178 (j). 11