“I condemn the killing of Abdelqadir Fassouk and Khaled al-Zintani,” the Director-General said. “The media play an important role in ensuring informed public debate and the safety of media workers must be guaranteed, even in times of conflict.

Abdelqadir Fassouk, a photojournalist and correspondent for satellite news channel Arraed TV, was shot while covering clashes in the Libyan city of Sirte, on 21 July.

Experienced freelance journalist Khaled al-Zintani was killed while reporting on fighting in Benghazi on 23 June.

The Director-General of UNESCO issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States at the Organization’s General Conference of 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.” These statements are posted on a dedicated webpage, UNESCO condemns the killing of journalists.

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Media contact: Sylvie Coudray, s.coudray(at)unesco.org,  +33 (0)1 45 68 42 12

UNESCO is the 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…”