A/HRC/14/23 94. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the perpetrators of these offences have enjoyed total impunity in 94 per cent of all cases, while the percentage of cases in which even some partial measure of justice has been obtained is minimal; in only 2 per cent of cases have the offences been tried before the competent authorities and the perpetrators and instigators prosecuted. Although the majority of the victims were male journalists, 11 per cent were women, which is also a matter for concern. 95. The States concerned maintain that violence against journalists has varied causes, which may be true. However, the Special Rapporteur believes that States have a duty to carry out exhaustive investigations into each case and to bring criminal charges against those responsible. Failure to perform this duty creates a culture of impunity which perpetuates the violence. Systematically allowing those responsible for killing journalists or social communicators to go unpunished could be interpreted as tolerance or acquiescence on the part of the State. 96. Furthermore, kidnappings of journalists and other persons with links to the media are a continuing practice which, in 2009, forced around 157 journalists to seek exile in other countries.9 97. The Special Rapporteur must also draw attention to the serious risk that exercising freedom of the press in a professional, objective and pluralistic manner constitutes in areas of conflict, where journalists have come to be seen by the parties to the conflict as just another target. 98. On this point, it should be noted that Security Council resolution 1738 (2006) condemns intentional attacks against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of armed conflict and calls upon all parties to put an end to such practices. It also urges all States to comply with the relevant obligations under international law to end impunity and to prosecute those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law. 99. In the aforementioned resolution, the Security Council also urges all parties involved in situations of conflict to respect the professional independence and rights of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel as civilians. 100. The Special Rapporteur considers it necessary to remind States of their obligation to ensure that both the national and the international press have access to all the facts and to all conflict zones and to provide members of the press with the protection due them in accordance with the aforementioned resolution. 101. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the alarming and growing tendency to criminalize and institute legal proceedings against community-based communicators, who should also be considered journalists and media personnel, and should thus benefit from the same safeguards as all journalists, since a person’s status as a journalist is determined by the work that he or she performs and is not subject to any job title or form of registration. 102. The Special Rapporteur also believes that, if a community-based medium has violated an administrative provision, it is within the administrative framework that a solution should be found; criminal law should not be applied, and community-based communicators should not be criminalized, since this severely limits freedom of expression. 103. The Special Rapporteur urges States to take steps to prevent violence against journalists and to improve the protection afforded to them. Drafting and implementing handbooks, guides and protocols on protection would constitute a good practice to this end. 9 GE.10-13049 Ibid. 17