UN bemoans states will to protect journalists

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHR) says the goodwill of the states to protect journalists is often not there together with the implementation of human rights standards on the ground.

OHCHR Human Rights Officer Renaud Gaudin de Villaine made the sentiments during a briefing to female journalists currently on a study tour to the UN in Geneva.

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He described this lack of states will to protect journalists and the implementation of international human rights standards as the missing link.

“There is really the will of the state to protect journalists and in many contexts, such will is not really there and this is the missing link between the international human rights standards and their implementation on the ground because at the end, the states are responsible for the implementation of the human rights standards.

“That is politics most of the time and that’s why we try through our advocacy to change minds but again this is a long way”

He further called on the need to adopt laws conducive for journalists freedom and to repeal those that are restricting press freedom such as defamation, sedition laws, and espionage.

Instead, the human rights officer advocated for new kind of security laws, conducive legislative and legal frameworks, and national mechanism for the protection of members of the fourth estate.

A strong advocate for journalists’ protection, de Villaine cited legislation such as defamation, sedition, cyber security laws as a hindrance to freedom of expression.

“The misuse of corruption laws, criminal laws in order to actually put journalists in detention we see that in many parts of the world more in Latin America in Asia also but this is another trend that we can witness.

“When it comes to the specific situation of women journalists, online is a major concern because you have the harassment online but you have also the effect of that harassment offline.

“We see that violence is trending also offline based on what is online so this is another trend that we follow more specifically and the use of new technologies against journalists, spyware and those technologies to spy on the work of journalists and also affect their right to privacy”

The sentiments come against a background of 350 journalists annually around the world detained through the criminalisation of freedom of expression using the adoption of specific laws globally.