The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today denounced the killing of journalist Abdul Hakim Shimul in Shahjadpur, part of Bangladesh’s district of Sirajganj, on 3 February.
“I condemn the killing of Abdul Hakim Shimul,” said the Director-General. “I trust that the authorities will succeed in bringing the journalist’s killers to justice, which is particularly important to promote freedom of expression and deter violence against media workers.”
Abdul Hakim Shimul, a correspondent for the Bangladeshi daily newspaper Samakal, died from gunshot injuries sustained on 2 February.
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@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…”