UNESCO and partners are planning celebrations in:
Title: Strengthening partnership amongst journalists, government and international community to consolidate safety measures for journalists and media/ peace process and media situation therein.
Dates: 3 November 2019
Place: The Government Media & Information Center (GMIC), Kabul ; 7 provincial venues in Herat, Balkh, Nang Herat, Balkh, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Kundoz, Ghazni, and Khost Provinces
Description: The one-day summit, organized by the Afghan Journalist Safety Committee (AJSC) in collaboration with UNAMA and UNESCO will aim at identifying practical ways to enhance partnership amongst media community, government and international community to consolidate safety measures for journalists and media; discuss the situation of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Media during Peace Talks with Taliban; and analyze the state of impunity of crimes against journalists and ways to alleviate it.
Contacts: Doreen Gunne Wudu Loboka (Email: dg.loboka@unesco.org)
Title: Forum on Freedom of Expression and Strenghtening the Safety of Journalists
Dates: 1 November 2019
Place: International School for Security Forces, Awaé, Cameroon
Description: The event will open with speeches from the national authorities, the reading of the Director General's message and the presentation of the 2018 DG's Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity; followed by a panel discussion with representatives of each stakholder group (press, security forces, members of the judiciary, academia).
Contacts: Jean Roland Onana Nkoa (Email: jr.onana-nkoa@unesco.org)
Title: A colloquium among journalists, international organisations, media trade unions, NGOs and others who want the press to be free
Dates: 6 November 2019
Place: Rue Froissart 95 – Brussels
Description: Ossigeno per l’Informazione, in association with Press Club Brussels Europe, held a colloquium among journalists, international organisations, media trade unions, NGOs and others who want the press to be free. During the event, Ms. Hulin also reminded the audience that the overwhelming majority of the cases of killed journalists recorded by UNESCO remains unresolved: “Out of all cases of killed journalists recorded and condemned by UNESCO between 2006 and 2018, only 12% have been judicially resolved. In other words, in almost 9 out of 10 cases the perpetrator of the crime remains unpunished”. Ms. Vanderzande from the European Commission highlighted how journalists’ safety has become a pressing concern also within the European Union. She described the threefold approach adopted so far, which includes legislative commitments, the financing of projects, and a mediation exercise with Member States. MEP Bonifei stressed the European Parliament’s commitment to address the issue of journalists’ safety and suggested further actions to strengthen media freedom within the European Union. Mr. Borrometti and Mr. Spampinato shared their personal experiences about the dangers faced by journalists when reporting on sensitive issues of public interest. Despite of the negative trends shown, good practices are emerging with an increasing number of national safety mechanisms monitoring and reporting on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, together with a growing number of regional initiatives to tackle the threats faced by journalists. In that respect, strengthening media freedom and media pluralism has been defined as a priority for the next European Commission while the European Parliament foresees a plenary debate on Safety of Journalists and Issue Impunity on 13 November 2019.
Contacts: Adeline Hulin (Email: a.hulin@unesco.org)
Title: "Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon Grant" 2019 ceremony in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Dates: 2 November 2019
Place: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Description: France Media Monde and Reporter Without Borders will organize this year its sixth edition of the "Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon Grant" in honor of the two journalists who were assassinated on 2 November 2013 at Kidal, in Northern Mali. Each year, this grant is awarded to a young radio journalist and a young reporting engineer for their work, and provides them with a one-month training in Paris. http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20190902-appel-candidatures-bourse...
Contacts: Elsa Schifano, elsa.schifano@francemm.com
Title: Regional Roundtable on the Safety of Female Journalists and Self-Censorship
Dates: 28 November 2019
Place: Office of UNESCO, San Jose, Costa Rica
With whom (participants, relevant stakeholders): Shelter City Programme
Contacts: Jamion Knight (Email: j.knight@unesco.org)
Title: Regional Roundtable on the Safety of Journalists and Journalism Education
Dates: 8 November 2019
Place: Virtual
With whom (participants, relevant stakeholders etc.): Universidad Don Bosco de El Salvador, Universidad de El Salvador, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH)
Contacts: Jamion Knight (Email: j.knight@unesco.org)
Title: Ghana Journalists Association is commemorating IDEI
Dates: 4 November 2019
Place: Ghana International Press Centre, Accra
Description: Ghana has a vibrant press freedom environment but recently an investigative journalist was assassinated because of his work in exposing corruption in Ghana Football Association. There has been an upsurge of crimes against journalists reported by the Media Foundation for West Africa. The event will examine the state of the safety of journalists in the country.
Contacts: Abdul Hamid Yakub (Email: ah.yakub@unesco.org)
Title: "Prize Yaguine and Fode"
Dates: 4 November 2019
Place: Maison de la Presse de Conakry, Abattoir de coleah, Conakry, Guinea
Description: Organized by the Association of Women Journalists of Guinea, this prize recognizes the best media productions on the theme of migration.
Contacts: Kadiatou Sow (Email: k.sow@unesco.org)
Title: Veillée poétique (Poetic wake)
Dates: 2 November 2019
Place: Centre PEN Haïti/Jaden Sanba
Description: A wake was organized to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists and to call for justice for the journalists whose killings still remain unpunished. An empty chair was placed on the stage, to symbolize the absence felt with the loss of media workers. The President of the Centre PEN Haïti, Kettly P. Mars, and the General Secretary of the Association of Haitian Journalists (AJH), Jacques Desrosiers, also spoke of the situation of journalism in Haïti.
Contacts: Centre PEN Haïti (Email: centrepenhaiti@gmail.com)
Title: Celebration in Rome of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists 2019
Dates: 25 October 2019
Place: Italian Senate, Palazzo Madama, Piazza Madama, 00186 Roma (Italy)
Description: For the official celebration in Rome of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Ossigeno will organise a public conference held in a prestigious hall of the Italian Senate, with representatives from inter-governmental organizations, public institutions at the national and international level, NGOs, media organisations, academia. The conference will be an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom as milestone of democracy, assess the state of press freedom in Italy with a look at the international level; defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The conference will discuss the recent developments and pressing challenges related to press freedom and the safety of journalists.
Contacts: Alberto Spampinato, president of Ossigeno per l’Informazione; email: direzioneossigeno@gmail.com; tel.: +393357164282
Title: On ending impunity in Iraq, challenges and ambition in light of safety of journalists mechanism
Dates: 4 November 2019
Place: Baghdad-Communication and Media commission
Description: The roundtable will bring together the senior staff from security forces, local Media development NGOs, media outlets and the national committee of journalists safety of Iraq. They will discuss the violence faced by journalists at 1-10 October’s events and why the criminals are free right now! When ? How ? the authorities will end impunity? This is the main question for the roundtable. In the same time the roundtable will cover the high level of impunity for the whole unsolved cases of killed journalists since 2004, more than 498 confirmed cases by the IJS and CMC. At the end of the roundtable the participants will address media community message to Prime Minister to sign the decree of the safety of journalists mechanism which is waiting in his office since 15 April 2019.
Contacts: Dhea Subhee (Email: d.subhee@unesco.org)
Title: Day of Afghan Youth in Kazakhstan: Journalism in Afghanistan
Dates: 18 October 2019
Place: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Description: On October 18, 2019, UNESCO Almaty supported the day of Afghan Youth, organized by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, as well as a memorial evening dedicated to Said Samim Faramarzu, a graduate of the faculty of pre-university education in 2011 and the faculty of Journalism in 2015. Said Samim Faramarz, a student at KazNU al-Farabi in 2011-2015, an activist of the UN Model New Silk Road program, a talented journalist and correspondent for TOLOnews (TBC), died on September 5, 2018 in Kabul in the line of duty together with his colleague Razim Ahmadi due to explosion. Read more
Contacts:
Title: Almaty: Training on Fostering the Relationship Between Security Forces and Journalists
Dates: 9 December 2019
Place: Conference hall, UN House in Almaty, 303, Baizakov str., 050040, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Description: UNESCO Almaty jointly with UNODC and Kazakhstani Media Alliance are organizing training workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 30 participants from law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, journalists from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the International IT University, the UNESCO Chair in Journalism and Communications of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University are going to learn how to improve the relationship between security forces and journalists; how security forces play a vital role in protecting and ensuring an environment conducive to freedom of expression, access to information and other fundamental freedoms. The training is consistent with the goals and priorities defined in the UN Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists and the issue of impunity.
Contacts: Krista Pikkat (Email: k.pikkat@unesco.org)
Title: Almaty: Training on Fostering the Relationship Between Security Forces and Journalists
Dates: 9 December 2019
Place: Conference hall, UN House in Almaty, 303, Baizakov str., 050040, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Description: UNESCO Almaty jointly with UNODC and Kazakhstani Media Alliance are organizing training workshop in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 30 participants from law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, journalists from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as the International IT University, the UNESCO Chair in Journalism and Communications of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University are going to learn how to improve the relationship between security forces and journalists; how security forces play a vital role in protecting and ensuring an environment conducive to freedom of expression, access to information and other fundamental freedoms. The training is consistent with the goals and priorities defined in the UN Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists and the issue of impunity.
Contacts: Krista Pikkat (Email: k.pikkat@unesco.org)
Title: Gulf Centre for Human Rights - No to impunity for the crimes committed against journalists in the Arab region
Dates: 13 November 2019
Place: Radisson Blu Hotel, Beirut Verdun
Description: This activity aimed at drawing attention to the serious risks faced by journalists as they do their peaceful press work in these four countries and other countries in the Arab region, in addition to raising voices to demand the strengthening of protection and security for journalists, an essential requirement. The activity also aims to renew the call for all concerned institutions to take note that most of the killings and other hazardous violations committed against journalists by government agencies or extremist militias and armed groups have been carried out by unknown persons. This includes the murder of journalists and human rights defenders, to whom we pay tribute. The event will also urge an immediate and serious investigation in order to find practical and effective mechanisms that decisively end cases of impunity in crimes against journalists in all countries in our region.
Contacts: Khalid Ibrahim (Email: Khalid@gc4hr.org)
Title: International seminar "Strengthening regional cooperation to end impunity for crimes and attacks against journalists in Latin America"
Dates: 7 November 2019
Place: National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
Description: For the official celebration in Rome of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Ossigeno will organise a public conference held in a prestigious hall of the Italian Senate, with representatives from inter-governmental organizations, public institutions at the national and international level, NGOs, media organisations, academia. The conference will be an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom as milestone of democracy, assess the state of press freedom in Italy with a look at the international level; defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The conference will discuss the recent developments and pressing challenges related to press freedom and the safety of journalists.
Contacts: Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi (Email: g.godoi@unesco.org); Gabriela Velázquez Álvarez (Email: g.velazquez-alvarez@unesco.org); Mehdi Benchelah (Email: m.benchelah@unesco.org)
Title: OSCE Mission to Montenegro marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists
Dates: 30 October 2019
Place: Cetinje, Montenegro
Description: To mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (2 November), the OSCE Mission to Montenegro delivered the final package of vests and jackets with the “PRESS” insignia to the local public broadcaster in Cetinje on 30 October. Three-hundred vests, ensuring additional visibility while reporting on live events, were distributed to 13 commercial and public service media houses throughout Montenegro over the last 2 years. The Mission also launched a public awareness campaign on the importance of the safety of journalists and their right to work without fear and under safe conditions. A one-minute video will be broadcast on national television in Montenegro for several days.
Title: Free Press Live - Stand up for journalists and justice
Dates: 31 October 2019
Place: De Nieuwe Regentes, The Hague
Description: All over the world, journalists are threatened, attacked or even murdered because they want to bring their audiences reliable information. And often the perpetrators aren’t even prosecuted. That's why Free Press Unlimited hosts Free Press Live - Stand up for journalists and justice to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
Contacts: Free Press Unlimited (Email: info@freepressunlimited.org)
Title: Keeping Safe on the Journey
Dates: 7 November 2019
Place: Rockview Royal Hotel, Abuja
Description: One-day interactive symposium. The event will shed a spotlight on how should journalists and media professionals approach a complicated and diverse issue such as migration. The ethical and professional challenges journalists face as they report on the flow of refugees and migrants from Africa to Europe and its impact. A candlelight for the deceased journalists will also be held.
Contacts: Olushola Macaulay (Email: o.macaulay@unesco.org)
Title: Screening of the documentary "The City of Ghosts", Human Rights Film Festival
Dates: 5 December 2019
Place: Bahria University Islamabad (TBC)
Description: A documentary that follows the efforts of "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," a handful of anonymous activists/citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. See trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBeqGcMaC-A . The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on safety of journalists and the importance of media.
Contacts: Maliah Shah (Email: ma.shah@unesco.org)
Title: “Crimes against Journalists - Role of Government to End Impunity”
Dates: 2 November 2019
Place: Chani Goth, Pakistan
Description: The Rural Media Network of Pakistan (RMNP) celebrated the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists by organizing a seminar entitled" Crimes against Journalists - Role of Government to End Impunity", in collaboration with the daily newspaper Nawa-i-Ahmedpur Sharqia and Press Club Chanigoth. Regional leaders of major political parties, civil society activists, academics, different press clubs presidents and press freedom advocates highlighted the prevailing situation for journalists community in Pakistan and presented their ideas to end impunity for crimes against journalists. The event was chaired by President RMNP Ehsan Ahmed Sehar. The Seminar was followed by the “RMNP Sadiq Press Freedom Awards Category B & C” giving ceremony .
Contacts: Rural Media Network Pakistan (Email: rmnpak@gmail.com)
Title: Launching the National Mechanism for Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
Dates: 3 November 2019
Place: Grand Park Hotel, Ramallah
Description: The mechanism will be launched under the patronage of Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh. The participants will be the member of the mechanism, these include: - Government working group: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of justice, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Interior and the Prime Minister Office.
- CSOs: Al-Haq, Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), Mezan Center for Human Rights, Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
- Journalists to cover the event.
- UNESCO partners from UN bodies and international organizations.
Contacts: Hala Tannous (Email: h.tannous@unesco.org) ; Riham Abu Aita (Email: r.abuaita@unesco.org)
Title: Launching the National Mechanism for Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
Dates: 3 November 2019
Place: Grand Park Hotel, Ramallah
Description: The mechanism will be launched under the patronage of Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh. The participants will be the member of the mechanism, these include: - Government working group: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of justice, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Interior and the Prime Minister Office.
- CSOs: Al-Haq, Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), Mezan Center for Human Rights, Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
- Journalists to cover the event.
- UNESCO partners from UN bodies and international organizations.
Contacts: Hala Tannous (Email: h.tannous@unesco.org) ; Riham Abu Aita (Email: r.abuaita@unesco.org)
Title: Doha International Symposium on Challenges of Media Freedom
Dates: 8-9 December 2019
Place: Doha, Qatar
Contacts: Hassan Saeed Elmogummer Taha (Email: tahahass@aljazeera.net)
Title: End the Violence and Harassment against Women Journalists
Dates: 2 November 2019
Place: Mogadishu, Somalia
Description: The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) with support from UN Women and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today commemorated in Mogadishu this year’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists under the theme “End the Violence and Harassment against Women Journalists”. Over 50 journalists from the local media were joined by senior officials from the federal government and judiciary to remember murdered journalists and to challenge the impunity enjoyed by armed individuals and groups who threaten, attack, torture and murder journalists in Somalia. During different panels discussions, the participants made concrete recommendations to government to take effective measures to end the practice of violence and harassment against women journalists, ensure accountability and justice for journalists who are victims of human rights violations and abuses and comply with Somalia’s international and continental human rights obligations and commitments.
Contacts: National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) (Email: nusoj@nusoj.org)
Title: South Sudan Media Freedom Symposium, “Building Trust in Media and Countering Disinformation”
Dates: TBC
Place: Juba, South Sudan
Description: Participants will be drawn from various relevant line ministries and arms of government (like the Ministry of Information, the Media Authority, Parliament, the judiciary, the police, Human Rights Commission), academia, journalists, CSOs, a media associations etc. The conference will be made up of presentations/panel discussions by experts on issues related to impunity especially targeted at journalists, issues of journalists safety and protection, a review of the state of media and freedom of expression in South Sudan etc.
Contacts:
Title: Seminar on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists for Judges in Africa
Dates: 28-29 October 2019
Place: Speke Resort and Conference Centre, Wavamunno Road, P. O. Box 446, Kampala, Uganda
Description: A two-day regional seminar will be held in Kampala, Uganda from 28 – 29 October 2019, prior to the 4th African Union Judicial Dialogue which will gather judges and actors from African judiciaries and the AU from 30 October to 1 November 2019. The seminar is co-organized by UNESCO and GIZ, and in partnership with the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, on the occasion of the 2019 edition of the International Day to End Impunity for crimes against journalists (IDEI), taking place every year on 2 November. It will aim at fostering freedom of expression, public access to information and safety of journalists in Africa by reinforcing the capacities and knowledge of judges and other actors of judicial systems on international norms and existing jurisprudence on the continent. The event will also help to foster exchange and relations between the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court) and the regional courts in Africa - ECOWAS Court of Justice and the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) - on these issues.
Contacts: Karin Pluberg (email: karin.pluberg@giz.de) from GIZ ; John Bosco Mayiga (Email: jb.mayiga@unesco.org); Mehdi Benchelah (Email: m.benchelah@unesco.org)
Title: International Journalism week 2019 - "Seen and Unseen Barriers to Media Freedom"
Dates: 14 November 2019
Place: University of Sheffield, 9 Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 4DT, United Kingdom
Description: International Journalism Week (IJW) provides journalism students with a wide range of expertise and insights from frontline journalists and acknowledged experts concerning seen and unseen threats to free, independent journalism today. All events are open to University of Sheffield staff, undergraduate and postgraduate Journalism Studies students, and invited guests. IJW 2019 will address core issues for journalists related to impunity and a lack of access to impartial justice. Sessions include (on 11 November) the lecture ‘Guarding the Guardians: The UN’s Evolving Approach to Protecting Journalists’ by Sejal Parmar, assistant professor of law at Central European University; a film screening (on 13th) of ‘Under The Wire’, documenting the fateful 2012 mission of Paul Conroy and Marie Colvin to report on the plight of civilians trapped in the city of Homs under siege from the Syrian army; and a Panel organised by Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) on ‘Seen and Unseen Barriers to Media Freedom’ (on 14th), which will explore the practical limitations to reporting and the dangers of impunity in three contemporary environments – with presentations by Maria Ordzhonikidze of Justice for Journalists (Russia), Dr Sanae Fujita of Essex University’s Human Rights Centre (Japan) and Jon Silverman, Professor of Media and Criminal Justice at University of Bedfordshire (West Africa).
Contacts: Professor Jackie Harrison (Email: j.harrison@sheffield.ac.uk) ; William Horsley (Email: wh@williamhorsley.com)
Title: Workshop for the Operationalization of the National Mechanism for Monitoring and Reporting on Safety of Journalists in Tanzania
Dates: 4-8 November 2019
Place: Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania
Description: The commemoration of IDEI 2019 in the United Republic of Tanzania will be officiated by the Minister of Information, Culture Arts and Sports, Hon. Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, under the theme Keep Truth Alive. The commemoration will see the establishment of a joint working group for monitoring and reporting on safety of journalists in Tanzania. Importantly, a free and open source, locally developed application and dashboard for monitoring and reporting on safety of journalists will also be launched. The training and awareness raising workshop to follow will as well bring together stakeholders in a national consultation to sensitize them on issues around impunity and their impact on democracy and create a widely endorsed road map on developing a monitoring and reporting mechanism on the safety of journalists.
Participating in this meeting, will be, the UNESCO Head of Office and Representative, Tirso Dos Santos and Hon. Mrisho Gambo, the Arusha Regional Commissioner. Other participants include the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, the Directorate of Information Services (MAELEZO), Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG), Tanzania Police Force, Tanzania Editors Forum, Media Council of Tanzania (MCT), MISA Tanzania, Tanzania Media Women’s Association, Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation and Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation (public broadcasters for mainland and Zanzibar), Community Media Network of Tanzania, Uhuru Media Group, Mwananchi Communications (private media), Millard Ayo Media (leading online media agency), Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC) and regional information officers.
Title: "Dessiner pour ne pas tirer un trait" (Draw so as not to write them off)
Dates: 28 October to 8 November 2019
Place: UN Headquarters, New York
Description: The work of 17 international press cartoonists will compose the exhibition, to honor the memories of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon. The two French journalists from Radio France Internationale were murdered in Mali on 2 November 2013.
Contacts: Ricardo de Guimaraes Pinto (Email: r.de-guimaraes@unesco.org)
Title: IDEI Zimbabwe 2019 Commemorations
Dates: 1st November 2019, 8.30am-1 pm
Place: UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe
Description: Zimbabwe will join the rest of the world to commemorate the 2019 IDEI under the theme, Journalists Security: For Free, Open and Informed Societies. The event will be a half-day stakeholder engagement meeting wherein the issue of crimes against journalists with impunity will be addressed. The meeting will bring together The Ministry of Ministry of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, The Zimbabwe Republic Police, Civil Society Organisations, Zimbabwe Media Commission, the UN System, media stakeholders and organisations that work with journalists.
Contacts: Mrs Ingrid Tagwireyi, CI (Email: i.tagwireyi@unesco.org)