A/HRC/39/23 “safe journalists, strong democracies: how on and offline attacks on women journalists are hurting us all”,34 which discussed preventative measures. 17. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights 35 calls on all business enterprises to adopt a preventive approach. This requires that business enterprises (a) avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur; and (b) seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts. 36 The Guiding Principles apply to all business enterprises, including media companies. Examples of enterprises helping to prevent harm being caused to journalists include the “Statement on human rights defenders and media representatives” of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which requires bidders and hosts of FIFA tournaments to uphold their commitment to respect and help to protect the rights of human rights defenders and media representatives. FIFA committed to set up a mechanism allowing human rights defenders and media representatives to complain when their rights had been unduly restricted while conducting legitimate work relating to the activities of FIFA. 37 There are examples of business enterprises engaging in multi-stakeholder collaboration to support journalists, such as American Express providing a free hotline, and April International providing worldwide preferential-rate insurance to freelance reporters and photographers, both in collaboration with Reporters Without Borders. 38 Furthermore, business enterprises outside the media sector may need to consider the situation for journalists as part of their human rights due diligence before making decisions about establishing or continuing programmes. This is an indicator of human rights risks that may exist for companies operating in a particular context. In its contribution, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reported that, as part of its political assessments, it examined freedom for journalists in its countries of operations and that formed part of its country assessments. III. Protection mechanisms 18. The applicable international legal framework for the protection of journalists has been described in previous reports on the safety of journalists. 39 A legal framework provides an agreed normative basis upon which all stakeholders at the international and regional levels, and the national/local levels, can determine the legality of acts and, if necessary, activate accountability processes, signal disapproval and concern, call on States and other actors to protect journalists from attack and implement policies, practices and structures to prevent and address future attacks. Indeed, in its 2005 Plan of Action on Protection and Empowerment, OHCHR notes that human rights protection is based on international law and necessarily focuses on both immediate responses when people are threatened, and on longer term work to build and strengthen laws and institutions that protect rights — within States and at the global level. 40 19. In resolutions, the Human Rights Council highlighted and condemned threats and attacks against journalists and called for States to take action in accordance with their human rights obligations (see A/72/290, para. 45). It expressed deep concern at the detention of journalists in Eritrea and reiterated its call for the Government to provide all relevant information to OHCHR on the identity, safety, well-being and whereabouts of all detained and missing journalists.41 Regarding the Syrian Arab Republic, it demanded the 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 6 See www.un.org/webcast/pdfs/180322am-unesco-journalists.pdf. A/HRC/17/31, annex, guiding principles 11–24. Guiding principle 13. See http://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/ejf1ecdku14lm2v9zc03.pdf. See https://rsf.org/en/our-supporters. See A/HRC/24/23, paras. 11–13; A/69/268, paras. 10–12; A/70/290, para. 17; and A/72/290, paras. 13–16. See http://www2.ohchr.org/english/planaction.pdf, para. 34. See resolution 35/35, paras. 6 and 8 (o).

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