The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today deplored the killing of journalist Almigdad Mojalli in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, on 17 January.
“I condemn the death of Almigdad Mojalli,” the Director-General said. “I call on all parties to make sure that journalists are able to carry out their work in the safest possible conditions, in keeping with the Genevan Conventions and UN Security Council Resolution 2222, which was adopted last year to improve the safety of journalists in conflict situations.”
Shrapnel from an airstrike caused the death of Almigdad Mojalli, who freelanced for the Voice of America, the international humanitarian news agency IRIN and other media outlets, while he was on assignment in Jaref, in the south of Sana’a.
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…”