‘News organizations standing up for the safety of media’ (http://en.unesco.org/node/253833), is being organised by UNESCO in partnership with the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the International Press Institute (IPI), the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), and The World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC).

The conference is a unique opportunity for media leaders and decision makers to share good practice on the safety of journalists and to proactively highlight the issue of journalist safety. Along with civil society and United Nation Member States, media will lead discussions aimed at finding solutions to providing better protection for those professionals most at risk.

UNESCO coordinates implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, a global reference point on the safety of journalists. There are also a number of initiatives to increase safety proposed by news organisations – one example being a coalition of major news companies and journalism organisations (amongst them WAN-IFRA) that agreed in 2015 on a set of global safety principles and practices for freelancers.

On discussion Friday will be ideas surrounding the creation of safety protocols for newsrooms, promoting physical, psychological and digital safety for individuals, forging stronger partnerships between international and local media, civil society and inter-governmental agencies, and expanding available training and resources for media professionals reporting in dangerous environments.

It is also hoped the meeting will help foster a collaborative environment for greater cooperation in the on-going fight to end impunity for crimes against journalists. Since 1992, nearly 1200 journalists have been killed for doing their jobs; in over half of these cases there is complete impunity for the murderers.

For more information about the conference, visit http://en.unesco.org/node/253833

For more information about the safety of journalists and WAN-IFRA’s global press freedom work, visit http://www.wan-ifra.org/pressfreedom

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Frankfurt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore and India, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. Its core mission is to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity and the development of prosperous businesses.

Inquiries to: Andrew Heslop, Director, Press Freedom, WAN-IFRA, 96 bis, rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 29. Fax: +33 1 42 78 92 33. Email: andrew.heslop@wan-ifra.org