Transparency International joins campaign to protect journalists

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 26 September 2017

Transparency International supports the #ProtectJournalists campaign initiated by Reporters Without Borders. The campaign aims to establish a UN Special Representative for journalist safety.

Summary

Transparency International, the global anti-corruption movement, has joined the #ProtectJournalists campaign initiated by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and supported by a coalition of more than 130 NGOs and media outlets.

According to a TI press release, the campaign calls for the creation of a Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for the Safety of Journalists.

"Investigative journalism is the strongest ally corruption fighters have because journalists expose the corrupt. But it is dangerous work and journalists need more protection," said José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 252 journalists have been killed in the past 25 years because they reported on corruption.

For this to change, only a Special Representative to the UN Secretary General for the Safety of Journalists, working closely with the UN Secretary General, will significantly empower the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists, the Issue of Impunity and all efforts led by UNESCO. Only a Special Representative will have the political weight, the capacity to act quickly, and the legitimacy to coordinate with all UN bodies to implement change.

Transparency International is mobilizing its global movement to advocate for this position, and push to establish a concrete mechanism that enforces international law and thereby finally reduces the number of journalists killed every year in the course of their work.