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Jakarta Declaration on the Safety of Journalists in Asia-Pacific
Written by: Andrew Stroehlein
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
Media and news organisations from across the Asia-Pacific region meeting here in Jakarta for the International News Safety Institute’s (INSI) conference, “Killing the Messenger”, have just agreed the text of a statement covering the security of journalists working in the region.
As I write this, INSI Director Rodney Pinder is on his way to the office of Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, where he will present him with a copy of the Declaration and ask Indonesia to take up this issue with other members of ASEAN.
The full text of the Declaration reads:
Jakarta Declaration on the Safety of Journalists in Asia-Pacific
Jakarta, Indonesia
16 December 2008
The first safety conference for the news media in the Asia-Pacific region, convened by the International News Safety Institute in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 15-16 December 2008,
Asserts
* On this 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression is a basic right for all
* Freedom of expression and a free press are critical to the sustained development of nations, to the end of corruption and to the alleviation of poverty
Noting
The deaths of more than 1,400 journalists and other news media personnel at work around the world between 1996 and 2008, at least 125 of them in countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Deplores
The casualties and all physical attacks on and unwarranted detentions of journalists and other news professionals in the region
And Declares
*Governments are primarily responsible for the safety of all of their citizens, including the news media. They must act to end the culture of impunity where journalists are murdered and observe in letter and in spirit United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 of 2006 on the safety of journalists in conflict.
*News organisations should observe their Duty of Care for all news personnel they engage and provide appropriate safety and trauma training, equipment and insurance or other financial provision for death or disability when they cover dangerous stories such as wars and other conflicts, crime and corruption, natural and man-made disasters and health emergencies. Such provisions must be non-discriminatory and cover staff and freelancers, males and females.
*News organisations must not allow the world economic downturn to affect adversely the standard of safety protection they offer their news personnel. They must set the cost of safety care against the incalculable costs to their societies and economies when journalists are forcibly silenced.
*Safety must be an essential component of all international media development programmes, as one cannot progress without the other. International aid must be made available to smaller news organisations that lack the resources to provide adequate protection for their staff and stringers.
*Journalists, professional organisations and media owners should discuss and agree together appropriate operational procedures governing safety and trauma. They should consider setting aside normal competitive issues where the lives of news staff are in danger.
*Journalists and other news media staff and freelancers must help and assist one another in hostile environments.
*Journalists must work to the highest standards of their craft to provide to the best of their ability ethically balanced and accurate news coverage for the societies they serve.
Concludes
This conference agrees to monitor the safety situation in Asia-Pacific throughout 2009 and report back to the International News Safety Institute in December 2009. INSI will include the information in its annual world review of the safety of journalists provided to the Secretary-General of the United Nations who reports back to the Security Council under terms of Resolution 1738.
Signed
(full list of media organisations and news outlets to come)
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Journalist Andrew Stroehlein is Communications Director for the International Crisis Group, the conflict resolution organisation, where he promotes responsible coverage of current and potential conflicts and helps draw attention to forgotten wars around the world.
