A one-day experts meeting on impunity and the safety of journalists held on Wednesday by the International Press Institute (IPI) in cooperation with the Austrian Foreign Ministry ended with a resolve by Austria to carry the critical issue forward during its term on the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, to which it was elected earlier this year.

“Impunity is the number one cause of violence against journalists,” said Frank La Rue, U.N. Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression. “This is a crucial event, both for human rights and for democracy. The role of journalists is an essential one, and becoming more and more dangerous as authoritarianism grows even in elected governments. There is a trend of hardening positions around the world. I also congratulate the organisers on choosing a very symbolic date.”

The meeting was timed to coincide with the International Day to End Impunity that was announced by the free expression umbrella organization, the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX).  It marks the second anniversary of the 23 November 2009 Maguindanao massacre, when 32 journalists in the Philippines were killed while travelling with a local politician. Their assassins have yet to be brought to justice.

Threats to the safety of journalists, and the impunity that attackers often enjoy, are of growing concern around the world. As several participants at the experts’ meeting noted, because journalism upholds democracy, crimes against journalists are not ordinary crimes – they attack the pillars of democracy. And while journalists and media houses bear some responsibility for their own safety, it is the duty of governments to help ensure it.

The issue, however, is a complex one that must be tackled at all levels and with the engagement of journalists, civil society and government. Dr. Carl Eugen Eberle, Chairman of the IPI Board of Directors, said: “There are a lot of institutions and a lot of information about the matter, so this event gives us the chance to structure the questions and answers about how to make journalists’ work safer.”

Participants noted that it is time for states to shoulder the burden of responsibility for protecting journalists both inside and outside of conflict areas, and to implement the commitments that have been made through a broad regime of international treaties, covenants, resolutions and other agreements.

“We are happy that the Austrian foreign ministry has chosen to make the safety of journalists a priority during its tenure on the Human Rights Council of the United Nations,” said IPI Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie. “There is a growing consensus that this issue must be tackled hands on, not just with words and resolutions, which are of course important tools, but also with direct government action. We hope this initiative will lead to action.”

Also in attendance were government representatives, IFEX members and other concerned international organisations, including Ambassador Janis Karklins, Assistant Director General of Communication and Information of UNESCO; Frank La Rue, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Christoph Heyns; and Michael Camilleri, the senior legal advisor to the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which is an institution of the Organisation of American States (OAS).

The non-governmental organizations included IPI, IFEX, the International News Safety Institute (INSI), the World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA), Article 19, Reporters without Borders, the Media Foundation for West Africa, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (Russia), the Foundation for Freedom of Press (FLIP), in Colombia, the Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), in the Philippines, and the Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield, in the UK.

The experts’ meeting was followed by a press briefing from Secretary of State Dr. Wolfgang Waldner, hosted at the Austrian Foreign Ministry, and an IPI panel discussion, broadcast online in cooperation with IFEX. The discussion, “A Conversation on Impunity”, took the form of an online Q&A with representatives from Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines and the international community.