(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 29 May 2002 RSF press release: 8 June 2002: 25th anniversary of the Additional Protocols of the Geneva Conventions Reporters Without Borders stresses to governments and the media the importance of ensuring the safety of journalists in war zones or dangerous areas Reporters Without Borders urges all countries which […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 29 May 2002 RSF press release:
8 June 2002: 25th anniversary of the Additional Protocols of the Geneva Conventions
Reporters Without Borders stresses to governments and the media the importance of ensuring the safety of journalists in war zones or dangerous areas
Reporters Without Borders urges all countries which 25 years ago signed the Additional Protocols of the Geneva Conventions to implement Article 79 of Protocol I, which guarantees the safety of journalists on dangerous missions.
The press freedom defence organisation asks editors and journalists to adopt and observe the principles of the Charter for the Safety of Journalists Working in War Zones or Dangerous Areas, published by Reporters Without Borders in March this year.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions govern international humanitarian law, or the law of war. The Additional Protocols were drawn up in 1977 to expand and strengthen the protection of civilians in international armed conflicts (Protocol I) and internal conflicts (Protocol II).
Article 79 of Protocol I provides for the protection of journalists working in war zones:
“Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians… They shall be protected as such under the Conventions and this Protocol, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians… They may obtain an identity card, …which shall be issued by the government of the state of which the journalist is a national or in whose territory he resides or in which the news medium employing him is located, (and) shall attest to his status as a journalist.”
The first article of the Geneva Conventions says that “the High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect” for international humanitarian law.
So far, 189 countries have become parties to the conventions, 159 to Protocol I and 152 to Protocol II, which obliges them to respect the rules for protecting journalists on dangerous missions, just as they have a duty to protect any other civilians involved in a war.
International law offers adequate protection on paper, but these rules are less and less observed by some warring parties, so in practice the safety of journalists is not always assured. With every war, the price paid by journalists gets heavier. Eight special correspondents were killed in Afghanistan last November.
A total of 522 journalists have been killed in the past 10 years, nearly half of them in war zones, mainly Algeria, Rwanda, the Balkans and Colombia. As many as 72% of those killed on dangerous missions were deliberately targeted.
Sixty-one per cent of those killed worked for news agencies or the print media. Local journalists accounted for 87% of the dead.
After paying tribute to their bravery, it is time we took steps to try to reduce the risks they run. The Charter for the Safety of Journalists Working in War Zones or Dangerous Areas was drawn up by Reporters Without Borders with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), representatives of the French foreign and defence ministries, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), UNESCO, French journalists’ trade unions (CFDT and SNJ) and the World Press Freedom Committee, along with doctors and the IPS Bellini-Gutenberg insurance group.
Although no war zone is absolutely safe, the Charter makes a number of useful proposals in the form of eight principles. These are a commitment by the media, public authorities and journalists to systematically seek ways to assess and reduce the risks involved, not forcing journalists to cover wars against their will, using only experienced journalists and providing adequate training and equipment, insurance against illness, repatriation and death, post-mission psychological treatment if needed and legal protection.
The Charter’s eighth principle, drafted with the ICRC’s advice, notes how international humanitarian law (Article 79 in Additional Protocol I) helps journalists.
The Charter is being distributed to editors and journalists all over the world by Reporters Without Borders and its partners who have helped compile it through their international network of representatives and correspondents.
The text of the attached charter can be consulted at www.rsf.org.
