UPDATE 2 - UN chief says journalist killings in Gaza 'unacceptable,' urging for protection of press

UPDATE WITH REMARKS OF OTHER PARTICIPANTS; ADDS RESPONSE TO ANADOLU QUESTION

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN secretary-general on Friday said the killings of journalists since the Gaza war began are "unacceptable," urging for the protection of the press.

Antonio Guterres' remarks came in a message read at the opening of the UN International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East 2024 in Geneva.

Noting that this seminar is being held under "profoundly difficult circumstances" as the war in Gaza marked one-year last month while the violation spread to Lebanon, Guterres said: "At the same time, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate with Israeli military operations, construction of settlements ... , intensification of settler attacks that progressively undermines any possibility of a two-state solution."

"Journalists in Gaza have been killed at a level unseen in any conflict," he said, and lamented: "The ongoing ban preventing international journalists from Gaza suffocates the truth even further."

He did not forget to mention several of those who have also been killed or injured, covering key stories impacting the occupied West Bank.

"This is unacceptable," he underscored. "The voices of journalists must be protected and press freedom must be safeguarded."

He reiterated his call to end the war and the occupation.

He said: "It is high time for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon with the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the effective delivery of humanitarian aid, and irreversible progress to a two-state solution."

- Lack of accountability lets Israel to continue committing 'war crimes' against journalists

Palestine's permanent representative to the UN, New York, told the seminar that the lack of accountability enables the continuation of Israeli attacks against journalists, urging states to elevate pressure against Tel Aviv.

"When journalists and press are under fire, then every human right is under threat," Riyad Mansour said, noting that this deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists and the press is against the "collective right to know the truth about its unlawful obligation of Palestine."

Mansour honored the memory of "182 Palestinian journalists" who lost their lives in the Gaza Strip and recalled this year's UNESCO World Press Freedom prize, which is given to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza, "sharing the strong message of solidarity and recognition to their courage and fearlessness."

"Accountability is a key to deterrence, and the lack of it has, of course, led Israel to continue committing such war crimes against Palestinian journalists," he said. "Let's elevate the pressure for enforcing an immediate cease-fire. Let's keep the pressure high until every civilian life in Gaza is safe and relief is delivered. Let's match their (journalists) courage with courage."

According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, 173 journalists have been killed while covering the Gaza war since Oct. 7, 2023.

All the participants took a stand and applauded the journalists' courageous work in Gaza upon the envoy's invitation.

Cheikh Niang, the permanent representative of Senegal to the UN and chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for his part, said that Israeli attacks as well as limitation on movement, checkpoints and destruction of infrastructure have made it "increasingly difficult for both local and international journalists to operate."

"Despite this, journalists in Gaza continue to report on the humanitarian crisis, often a great personal risk providing the world with an accurate picture of the unfolding tragedy," Niang said, praising their work

In addition to the physical risks, journalists today face rising challenges like disinformation, cyberattacks and increasing restrictions, he stressed.

- Not only journalism, media infrastructure 'under fire'

Tatiana Valovaya, the director-general of the UN Office at Geneva, underlined the "crucial role" of journalists in enabling dialogue, verifying facts, raising global awareness and accountability.

"Their presence ... creates a historical record, helping future generations and policymakers understand the full impact of the conflict in the Middle East," Valovaya said.

She reiterated Guterres' call for de-escalation in the Middle East, with an immediate cease-fire and two-state solution.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming, for her part, said: "It's not just the journalism that is under fire, but also media infrastructure."

Fleming underlined that media facilities are considered civilian objects under international law and, therefore, protected from military attacks. "But nonetheless, there has been large-scale destruction of press facilities," she said.

Responding Anadolu's question on unaccomplished accountability regarding journalist killings, Jodie Ginsberg, the chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said "a number of things that can be done."

Ginsberg said it is worth reviewing the rules of engagement with journalists in conflict zones.

"The second thing is credible investigations, which is why we're pushing for investigations, not necessarily conducted by the governments that have carried out the killings, but independent, external (ones)," she said.

One of the challenges, she added, is justice for journalists "often requires a change of government in a particular country for that even to be possible."

Underlining the importance of access for journalists, she said: "What you need to be able to finally get justice is evidence, and if there are no journalists able to collect and gather that evidence that justice is extraordinarily difficult to achieve.

Guilherme Canela, who holds the position of chief of the section of Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists at UNESCO, said the impunity for the killings of journalists is at 85%.

Canela said the new report of UNESCO shows that the level of impunity for the killings of journalists is still "an absurd number," but he drew attention to the slight positive as it decreased from 95% to 85% over the past 10 years.

"When we started issuing this report 10 years ago, the level of impurity was 95%, this year 85%. It is still an absurd number, but this drop of 10% of points is thanks to the work of all UNESCO, of the rest of the UN with organizations like CPJ, working with the judicial systems to reduce these levels of impurity that remain at absurd level of 85% but again, 10 years ago, it was 95%."

He called the figure "still unacceptably high" and said: "When there is willingness, it's possible to Reduce the impurity and therefore reach accountability."