OHCHR: Protecting Journalists During Conflicts Protects The Truth

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BEIRUT, May 3 (KUNA) -- Regional Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the Middle East and North Africa, Mazen Shaqoura, said that protecting journalists, during times of armed conflict, would protect truth and human rights.
In a press statement on Saturday, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, Shaqoura said that media workers in many countries in the region face grave challenges, including intimidation, violence, arbitrary detention, and even direct targeting.
He added that the region has witnessed an alarming increase in violations against journalists in recent years, particularly in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Sudan, where many have been killed, injured, forcibly disappeared, or detained outside the law.
He stressed that the deliberate targeting of journalists is a flagrant violation of the rules of international law that guarantee their protection as civilians.
Shaqoura expressed deep concern over legal restrictions on freedom of expression in several countries in the region, noting that the criminalization of legitimate criticism, the spread of fake news, and the use of anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws to silence voices are all tools used to undermine media freedom.
He called for concrete steps to ensure the safety of journalists and strengthen the legal and institutional environment that supports media freedom.
The OHCHR Representative emphasized that freedom of expression is not a privilege, but rather an inherent right and the essence of human dignity, accountability, and the achievement of justice.
World Press Freedom Day is an occasion to renew our commitment, not just through words, but through concrete actions that safeguard media freedom and journalists, he added. (end)
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