Director-General condemns violence against media workers and their assistants
29-09-2009 (Paris)
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, welcomed the liberation of New York Times journalist Stephen Farrell and deplored the killing of Sultan Munadi, who had worked as his interpreter.
The two men were kidnapped by Taliban fighters in the Chardarah district of Afghanistan on 5 September. NATO staged an armed operation to secure their release four days later.
“I welcome the news of the release of Stephen Farrell from detention,” said the Director-General “but it is with a heavy heart that I pay tribute to Sultan Munadi, who was killed during the rescue operation. Sultan Munadi is one of the unsung heroes of press freedom, one of a great many brave men and women who provide indispensible assistance to reporters but whose names are only rarely mentioned. I must condemn all acts of violence against journalists and their associates in the name of the basic human right of freedom of expression.”
According to the New York Times newspaper, Sultan Munadi, 34, had worked regularly with the Times and other news organizations. He was enrolled in a master’s degree programme in Germany and was back in Afghanistan on holiday when he agreed to travel with Mr Farrell to Kunduz.
18 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan since 1998, according to the International Press Institute.
“I welcome the news of the release of Stephen Farrell from detention,” said the Director-General “but it is with a heavy heart that I pay tribute to Sultan Munadi, who was killed during the rescue operation. Sultan Munadi is one of the unsung heroes of press freedom, one of a great many brave men and women who provide indispensible assistance to reporters but whose names are only rarely mentioned. I must condemn all acts of violence against journalists and their associates in the name of the basic human right of freedom of expression.”
According to the New York Times newspaper, Sultan Munadi, 34, had worked regularly with the Times and other news organizations. He was enrolled in a master’s degree programme in Germany and was back in Afghanistan on holiday when he agreed to travel with Mr Farrell to Kunduz.
18 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan since 1998, according to the International Press Institute.
UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this the Organization is requested to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”
Related themes/countries
· Afghanistan
· Press Freedom
· UNESCO Remembers Assassinated Journalists
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