Protecting journalists: A crying need

His name was MVN Shankar. He was a journalist and used to work for Andhra Prabha, a Telegu newspaper in Andhra Pradesh, India. He was beaten to death by men with iron rods in his own state. The assailants were never identified. Shankar was reporting on the local "oil mafia".
Not only Shankar, more than 800 journalists like him were killed over the past decade while bringing news and information to the public, and sadly only 8.0 per cent of the cases of these murders were resolved so far. Some 87 journalists, media workers, and social media producers of public interest journalism were killed in 2014 alone. The deadliest year for journalists in recent times was 2012 when 123 incidents of killing took place. These are official figures released by UNESCO. In Bangladesh, 20 journalists have been killed on duty since 1992. As reported by UNESCO, 680 journalists were killed between 2006 and 2014, of which 94 per cent were local and only 6 per cent were foreign correspondents. 94 per cent of them were male journalists and less than 6 per cent of the 680 cases are ever resolved. 41 per cent of killed journalists worked in print media.
Worryingly, only one out of ten cases of killing of media workers over the past decade led to a conviction. One of the main reasons thereof as cited by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), is the failure of governments to take action to bring down the high rates of targeted violence and impunity despite increased international attention on the matter.
The unchecked murder of journalists is one of the greatest threats to press freedom today. If we allow any form of violence against journalists to continue unchecked and unpunished, it will allow impunity to prevail in the society. When impunity prevails in cases of violence against journalists, as well as human rights defenders, it will facilitate the way for many more crimes to be committed. This impunity emboldens the perpetrators of crimes and leaves a chilling effect on the society. Impunity breeds impunity and forms a vicious cycle.
For all practical purposes attack on the press and attack on the journalists are synonymous. While attack on the journalists is an attempt to throttle the journalists' right to report news, attack on the press is a direct threat to the publication and propagation of the news.
The 92 per cent of unresolved cases as mentioned above tells us that free expression is not protected and that the society cannot ensure their right to information. This is why every government must act to investigate crimes against journalists. Every government has to act in time and both extensively and intensively if they are to set a precedent for other cases. All moves to harass the journalists must be rejected, including arbitrary arrests and verbal intimidation. Ending impunity on all these acts is the most important step to guarantee the safety of journalists.  
Besides the slain journalists, there are others who have disappeared while being on duty. Although some of them are feared dead, no bodies have been found. A research conducted by CPJ indicates that although some of the journalists who disappeared while performing their professional duty are feared dead, no bodies were found. Journalists disappearing after being held in government custody are therefore not classified as "Killed" but as "Imprisoned" as a way to hold the government accountable for their fate.
Journalism is what enables the right of citizens to be informed, the right to know and the right to assure accountability of those with power. We, therefore, need free expression, democracy and access to information to drive more inclusive, sustainable development. That is why, the Sustainable Development Goals, agreed last year by all states in the United Nations, recognised the need for guaranteeing their "public access to information" to ensure attainment of the 17 SDGs.
Every time a journalist is attacked, threatened, assassinated or harassed and the case is not investigated, it is an invitation for further violence. Every time there is no justice for a journalist who is victimised, it emboldens the attackers to continue. A steady rise in murder and/or injury to journalists while they are on professional duty, appears to be an ongoing process taking its toll to nearly a thousand every year.  
Continuing cruelty and brutality perpetrated on pressmen saddened the world and United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that proclaimed November 2 as the 'International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists' (IDEI). The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity. The date was chosen in commemoration of the two French journalists who were killed in Mali on November 2, 2013.
This landmark resolution condemned all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers. It also urged upon Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability, bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against journalists and media workers, and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies. It further calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference.  
Nov 2 is a day to call for justice, to fight for the safety of journalists and to end impunity. It is a day to call upon governments to respond to the cases of slain journalists, and to encourage the justice systems to conduct timely and effective investigations into the crimes committed against journalists. Eradicating impunity for attacks on journalists is fundamental for free expression, human rights and public access to information.
Media professionals are increasingly at risk of being wounded, killed, detained or kidnapped while reporting in armed-conflict situations. Robin Geiss, an ICRC legal expert, talks about the protection to which they, as civilians not taking part in the fighting, are entitled under international humanitarian law.
All journalists, media professionals and associated personnel have the right to protection from all human rights violations and abuses, including through killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of other forms of violence, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination against themselves and their family members, or any other arbitrary action that results from the exercise of the rights referred to in this Declaration, including unlawful or arbitrary surveillance or interception of communications in violation of their rights to privacy and freedom of expression.  
Protecting journalists is an essential precondition for guaranteeing a free press and development of societies. It is important for every woman and man to exercise their right to access information, their right to participate as citizens in a democracy and their right to work for the right to development. The day points to the low rate of conviction globally for violent crimes against journalists and media workers. The journalists play a critical role in informing the public about important socio-economic issues and moulding public opinion on matters of national and international significance.
Our hearts bleed as we see torture or harassment perpetrated against innocent journalists while covering an event or incident. Crime against journalists is also a crime against humanity. In upholding the need to protect journalists against frequent assault, the United Nations proclaimed November 2 as 'International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists' (IDEI). Let us join our hands with states of the world to stop recurrence of such crimes against humanity.  
The writer is Editorial Consultant at the FE. [email protected]