A/HRC/24/23 regarding ongoing violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, condemned in the strongest terms all attacks and violence against journalists and stressed the need to ensure greater protection for all media professionals and for journalistic sources. It also expressed its concern that attacks against journalists often occurred with impunity, and called upon States to ensure accountability, as well as to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference. 36. The safety of journalists has also been explicitly addressed by international commissions of inquiry recently mandated by the Human Rights Council and supported by OHCHR. For example, the international commission of inquiry on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic documented in a recent report the targeting of journalists, as well as specific incidents of local and international journalists being arbitrarily detained, held hostage, and killed in the context of the continuing hostilities, in violation of both parties’ obligations under international humanitarian law. 39 Similarly, in 2011, the International Commission of Inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya highlighted incidents of serious attacks on journalists and other media professionals, including arbitrary arrest, torture, ill-treatment, harassment, intimidation and enforced disappearances, as well as, in some cases, targeted attacks.40 C. Special procedures and treaty bodies 37. The issue of safety of journalists and other media professionals is also of concern to special procedures and the Human Rights Committee. Several mandate holders have paid it significant attention in their reports, awareness-raising and advocacy-related activities (such as participating in expert consultations and conferences, and issuing press statements), and direct interventions with Governments on individual cases through the communications procedure.41 The issue has been a particularly important focus of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, 42 the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions 43 and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. 44 The said mandate holders have highlighted the detrimental impact of attacks on journalists on the full realization of the human rights on which they are mandated to report and advise, and have made important recommendations aimed at ensuring greater protection for journalists and other media professionals. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 45 and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances46 have addressed, through individual or joint communications, cases concerning journalists that fall within the scope of their mandates. The issue of attacks on journalists, impunity for those attacks and the subsequent impact on 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 A/HRC/22/59, paras. 46-54, 139, annex XII, para. 2. A/HRC/17/44, paras. 117, 144-154, 248 and 254. For example, in the first 11 months of 2012, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent at least 15 communications related to attacks on the right to life of journalists and other media workers. See E/CN.4/2005/64, E/CN.4/2006/55, A/HRC/4/27, A/HRC/7/14, A/HRC/11/4, A/HRC/14/23 and Add.2, and A/HRC/20/17. See A/HRC/20/22. See A/HRC/13/22 and A/HRC/19/55. Since 2000, more than 20 opinions of the Working Group have addressed allegations of arbitrary detention of journalists. See A/HRC/16/48, para. 441; A/HRC/19/58/Rev.1, annex I, paras. 159, 160, 335, 444-448, 520 and 549; and A/HRC/22/45 and Corr.1, paras. 140-143 and 414. 11