The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for an investigation into the murder of journalist Elvis Ordaniza in the town of Poblacion, in Mindanao, the Philippines.
“I condemn the killing of Elvis Ordaniza,” the Director-General said. “Journalists must be able to carry out their work in reasonably safe conditions, which is why I urge the authorities to spare no effort in bringing its perpetrators to justice.”
Elvis Ordaniza, a crime reporter for dxWO Power99 FM radio, was shot on 16 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(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…”