Share a common interest in creating conditions conducive to journalistic safety.
The UN’s action in the area of the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity is based on the premise that its component institutions share a common interest in creating conditions conducive to journalistic safety. The rationale is that this safety is an important prerequisite for achieving freedom of expression, democracy, social development and peace – which are all central to UN bodies fulfilling their mandates. Multiple factors determine whether citizens can exercise the right to freedom of expression without fear of harassment, intimidation or physical danger. It is in this context that the derivative right to press freedom has special relevance. The safe exercise of press freedom impacts on how other sectors of society can enjoy and benefit from free expression. Journalists1 play a particularly prominent role in society: when they are threatened, attacked or killed, information flows shrink and entire communities are cowed. Citizens are deprived of the necessary inform...