A/HRC/20/17 journalists have been murdered with impunity since 1992.7 The root causes of impunity may vary from context to context, but can mainly be attributed to lack of political will to pursue investigations, including for fear of reprisal at the hands of powerful criminal networks, inadequate legal framework and a weak judicial system, ineffectiveness of police forces and judicial bodies and lack of expertise, lack of resources allocated to law enforcement and the justice system, as well as negligence and corruption. Against these obstacles, many journalists choose not to report threats or incidents of physical attack, further fuelling the cycle of impunity. 67. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the efforts by various organizations to combat impunity, as well as the declaration by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) network in 2011 of 23 November as the International Day to End Impunity. This date has been chosen by the network to mark the second anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines, during which over 30 journalists were killed. As mentioned in Chapter II, the Special Rapporteur attended the Inter-Agency meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, and welcomes efforts to adopt a United Nations joint Plan of Action on the Protection of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which is being coordinated by UNESCO. He hopes that such a joint plan of action will strengthen the protection of journalists on the ground through the presence of various United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in the field. He calls on all States to support the plan. Initiatives to combat impunity 68. In the case of Guatemala, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which began operations in September 2007, has an unprecedented mandate among United Nations and other international efforts to promote accountability and strengthen the rule of law. The Commission aims to investigate and dismantle violent criminal organizations in Guatemala, which are believed to be among the cornerstones of impunity in the country, threatening the justice system and democratic institutions. The Commission carries out independent investigations in accordance with international human rights standards under Guatemalan law and following Guatemalan procedure. It fortifies Guatemala’s public policy framework and justice sector institutions, making proposals for legal reforms, providing technical assistance to justice sector institutions, and working closely with the Attorney General’s Office on the prosecution of symbolic cases. Although the CICIG is not specifically directed towards journalists, it draws attention to issues at the heart of the problem of impunity. 69. With regard to initiatives that address journalists in particular, efforts made to provide protection to journalists in Colombia have been welcomed, primarily as it recognizes that it is an important issue within the country and that measures must be taken to address the phenomenon. The Protection Programme for Journalists and Social Communicators, together with the Programme for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, was created by the Government of Colombia in 2000, with the approval of Decree No.1592. The aim of the programme is to protect journalists and media workers in situations of risk or threat because of their work. Civil society organizations have contributed to the programme by presenting, investigating and following up on threats against journalists; and the Risk Evaluation and Regulation Committee (CRER) an interinstitutional committee determines and implements the necessary protection measures in each case. 70. Various protection programmes in Colombia, including the programme for the protection of journalists, were subsequently merged into one programme, which was 7 12 See CPJ, Global Campaign Against Impuntiy, at http://www.cpj.org/campaigns/impunity/.