MADRID Nov. 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, and the vice-president of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourová, have condemned this Friday in unison the violence against the press on the occasion of the Day against impunity of the crimes against journalists.
In particular, Borrell and Jourová see “an unprecedented toll on journalists, who face extraordinary mortal dangers to provide news to the world,” as demonstrated by the “unprecedented number of journalists killed” in Israeli bombings during the Gaza war. .
In this sense, the head of the UN in the field of Human Rights, Volker Turk, recalls in a parallel statement that, in 2023 alone, 71 journalists and media workers were murdered and more than 300 imprisoned. Already this year, 61 journalists have lost their lives in the line of duty. “The number of victims is surprisingly high for Palestinian journalists. They should be much better protected,” Turk said.
Returning to Borrell and Jourová, both also mention that, in Ukraine, journalists “continue to be targets of violence, harassment and arbitrary arrests by Russia and pro-Russian forces.” Journalists from Lebanon, Burma and Yemen also try to “bravely report on the suffering of millions of civilians caught in the crossfire between conflicting parties.”
Once again, and there are already ten commemorations, “the EU strongly condemns attacks on journalists and calls once again for urgent and effective measures to safeguard journalists and media workers.”
“The law is clear: journalists and media workers are civilians and must be protected at all times. Deliberately attacking journalists is a war crime under International Humanitarian Law,” they add.
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