A/HRC/39/23 physical attacks, surveillance and marginalization of independent outlets. 20 In previous years, events resulted in the adoption of the Jakarta Declaration, 21 the Finlandia Declaration 22 and the Riga Declaration. 23 In 2018, UNESCO celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of World Press Freedom Day with events on “Keeping power in check: media, justice and the rule of law” in Ghana24 and Geneva.25 15. In 2017, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists was marked by statements and events, including a joint statement by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, that highlighted the killing of over 30 journalists in attacks during 2017 and challenged the public demonization of reporting and specific media outlets and reporters by political leaders at the highest levels, 26 and a regional seminar in Sri Lanka27 entitled “Reinforcing regional cooperation to promote freedom of expression and the rule of law in Asia through ending impunity for crimes against journalists”.28 16. International and regional conferences enable awareness-raising, and discussion of and decision-making regarding preventive measures. In 2011, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Lithuanian chairmanship of OSCE organized the Conference on Safety of Journalists resulting in the Vilnius recommendations on safety of journalists. 29 In recent years, UNESCO has organized various conferences concerning the safety of journalists and the establishment of preventive mechanisms, for example, during the Conference on News Organizations Standing up for the Safety of Media Professionals in February 2016,30 member States, media industry leaders, unions and social media discussed preventive actions that news organizations could take, including adopting newsroom safety protocols, safety training and risk analysis. The Conference on Safety of Journalists and Ending Impunity for Crimes Committed against Journalists in Africa (organized by UNESCO and the Federation of African Journalists in November 2017) 31 adopted the Nairobi declaration on national mechanisms for safety of journalists. 32 The Nairobi declaration emphasized the importance of establishing national safety mechanisms in East African countries and provided for the establishment of a regional committee for safety of journalists. The Conference also adopted the Addis Ababa resolution on the creation of an African Union working group on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity in Africa,33 in which the African Union was requested to create a working group on safety of journalists, to be convened by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to promote the establishment of national safety mechanisms. The working group is now being established. On 22 March 2018, UNESCO, building on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity (A/72/290), organized an event on 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Opinion/JointDeclaration2May2018_EN.pdf. See https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/jakarta_declaration_4may2017_en.pdf. See https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/finlandia_declaration_3_may_2016.pdf. See www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/WPFD/riga_declaration_en.pdf. See https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldpressfreedomday. See www.unesco.org/new/en/geneva/about-this-office/singleview/news/unesco_celebrates_the_2018_world_press_freedom_day_at_un_gen. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22338&LangID=E. See https://en.unesco.org/endimpunity-2017/seminar-colombo. See https://en.unesco.org/news/regional-seminar-sri-lanka-promote-regional-cooperation-fosterfreedom-expression-and-ending. See www.osce.org/cio/78522?download=true, 8 June 2011. See https://en.unesco.org/events/news-organizations-standing-safety-media-professionals. See www.unesco.org/new/en/addisababa/about-this-office/singleview/news/promoting_the_safety_of_journalists_and_the_campaign_against-3. See www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Nairobi/ nairobideclarationsafetyjournalists.pdf. See www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/AddisAbaba/pdf/AddisAbabaResolution2017.pdf. 5