November 2: International Day to End Impunity

New York – Just days following the culmination of this year’s International Day to End Impunity campaign, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly has passed by consensus a resolution on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity. The resolution includes a call to make the International Day to End Impunity an official UN day, to be commemorated each year on 2 November.

The resolution unequivocally condemns all attacks, intimidation and violence against journalists and media workers, and calls on all Member States to protect them, to ensure that all crimes against them are investigated and brought to justice, and to promote an environment in which journalists and media workers can work independently and without interference. It also expresses support for the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, an unprecedented step in the promotion of freedom of expression.

This is a crucial step toward guaranteeing that individual journalists can continue to work in the public interest without fear of reprisal, and that those who seek to silence them with violence are brought to justice.

The UN resolution can be accessed here.

Source: IFEX.