“I condemn the killing of Mustafa Saeed,” the Director-General declared. “Saeed’s death is a tragic reminder of the responsibility shared by all to respect the civilian status of war reporters in keeping with the Geneva Conventions. The media must be protected as it fulfils its role in facilitating the free flow of information, which takes on vital importance in times of crisis or conflict”

Mustafa Saeed was killed on 14 August while covering fighting in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

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…”