As West Africa is faced with increasingly complex political and transitional challenges, journalists and media professionals play a critical role in this process of transformation. It’s therefore important to engage in a dialogue to increase awareness of existing international instruments on the protection of journalists in conflict situations, says Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta, Director of UNESCO’s Regional Office in Dakar.

The figures speak for themselves: In the past 10 years, nearly 350 journalists have been killed in conflict zones, with the majority of journalists dying not in crossfire, but rather by being hunted down and murdered, often in direct reprisal for their reporting.

Learning about existing instruments

The conference was attended by around 70 senior officials from the military and representatives of civil society organizations, as well as international partners such as Article 19. In his opening address, Abdourahamane Ousmane, the Chair of the CSC reiterated the importance of protection mechanism to ensure journalists can perform their duties in conflict zones.

Participants and in particular military and security officials had a chance to learn more about Geneva Convention with its protocols, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international humanitarian laws, African charter on human rights and other texts on the safety of journalists.

This conference enabled participants to discuss the evolution of the texts protecting the journalists in times of conflict, to check their understanding of these legal instruments and enrich their knowledge on their roles and responsibilities in respect of the texts for the protection of journalists during armed conflict.

Training workshop for journalists

The conference was followed by a two-day training workshop attended by 25 journalists. The opening ceremony of the workshop was performed by Issa Namata, Secretary-General of the UNESCO National Commission to Niger and Ali Ousseini, Vice President of the Supreme Council of the Communication.

A message delivered on behalf of the Director of UNESCO Dakar Ann-Therese Ndong-Jatta, recalled the critical role media play in life of all human societies, providing them with the information necessary to help societies exist and function. She also quoted Nelson Mandela saying that “a critical, independent and investigative press in the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of governments officials, It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favor. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens”.

The discussions focused on the role of journalists in conflicts, their safety and highlighted the need to develop more opportunities for dialogue between security actors, political and media professionals. This is particularly important to address some of the challenges associated with covering conflicts especially in polarized contexts.

UNESCO promotes freedom of expression and freedom of the press and fosters media independence and pluralism by providing advisory services on media legislation and by making governments, parliamentarians and other decision-makers aware of the need to guarantee free expression.