ABSTRACT
The commentary highlights the analysis of an international organizations’ technocrat in charge of implementing multilateral policy designed to increase the safety of journalists by preventing, protecting, and prosecuting crimes against them. Being UNESCO the leading coordinating UN agency in the implementation of these policies, the lessons learnt from the first decade of the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity are the crosscutting element of this commentary, particularly aiming to suggest areas of research that could further support evidence-based policymaking.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 This document will be interchangeably referred to in this article as the UN Plan, the UN Plan of Action or the Plan.
2 The 3Ps is an acronym for a three-pronged strategy of Prevention, Protection, and Prosecution, in regard to crimes against journalists. It does not imply a linear approach, but rather a holistic and pragmatic approach that responds to specific historical, political, and cultural contexts.
3 The term “multi-stakeholder” in this context is used to mean various actors and networks with differing mandates, but with a common stake in issues of freedom of expression and safety of journalists.
4 See Declaration of Windhoek on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic Press in Africa (UNESCO Citation1991): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000090759?posInSet=3&queryId=b6860cbf-9a7d-4ef4-a464-5237d10d5772
5 These keywords are contained in UNESCO”s founding Constitution in Article I: 2(a). See https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/constitution