NAN – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said that protecting the safety of journalists and ensuring that crimes committed against them don’t go unpunished is ever-more important in today’s changing times.
In a message on Nov. 2 to mark the first-ever International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Ban said: “No journalist anywhere should have to risk their life to report news.
“A free and open press is part of the bedrock of democracy and development.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the UN General Assembly proclaimed the Day in a resolution on safety of journalists.
The date marks the assassination of two journalists, Gislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, in Mali in 2013.
Ban said that in the past 10 years, more than 700 journalists were killed for doing their job.
The UN scribe added that in 2013 alone, some 17 Iraqi journalists were executed, while many more suffered from intimidation, death threats and violence elsewhere.
Ban noted that nine out of 10 cases go unpunished which, he said, only served to embolden criminals.
