Baghdad / Nina / Report…Youssef Salman: UNESCO in Iraq commemorated the International Day to End Impunity for Killers of Journalists, today, Thursday, in the center of the capital, Baghdad, through joint dialogue sessions between Iraqi journalists and representatives of the Judicial Council, the Ministry of Interior, and the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, in cooperation with the “AIN” Foundation for Indicators. Media development.
The Supreme Judicial Council affirmed its keenness and full commitment to protecting all freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, especially the freedom of the press, opinion and expression.
The representative of the Judicial Council, President of the Publishing and Information Court, Judge Amer Hassan, said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency: Nina /, “The Supreme Judicial Council is keen and committed to protecting all rights and freedoms in the field of journalism and media so that it can perform roles that contribute to the development of society, combating corruption, and pointing out deficiencies in state administration.”
He added: “The Judicial Council worked to establish and form publishing and media courts throughout the appellate areas of the various governorates, which deal with the lawsuits raised against journalists and media professionals, which are often cases of opinion, in a way that is commensurate with the specificity of these lawsuits.”
He explained: “In order to preserve that privacy, the Supreme Judicial Council opened the horizons of cooperation with a group of stakeholders with a common interest in protecting the rights of expression, journalism, and the media, most notably the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, by seeking the assistance of experts from the Syndicate to delegate them in cases that are brought before the competent court.” Pointing out that “cooperation with the Communications and Media Commission is still limited, and we hope that its scope will be greater to contribute to strengthening and consolidating that cooperation.”
He continued to say, “We are working to train publishing and media judges in various governorates on international standards that respect freedom of the press and media and freedom of expression of opinion, by entering into long-term training programs with UNESCO, to ensure unification of standards and procedures that are resorted to in the cases that are raised.” To journalists in various governorates.
The President of the Publishing and Information Court confirmed, “The Supreme Judicial Council has opened horizons for cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and various security services to pursue murderers of journalists and crimes committed against journalists in order to reach the perpetrators as quickly as possible.”
In turn, the Ministry of Interior affirmed the interest of all presidencies in freedom of opinion, journalists, and freedom of expression, and indicated its full commitment and continuation to protect press institutions and journalists and create all appropriate climates for this segment in the media coverage process and the performance of its journalistic work.
Major General Saad Maan, the security advisor to the Minister of Interior, said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency: Nina /: “We have ongoing joint work with the Supreme Judicial Council, and the Ministry of Interior is a supportive and supportive body for journalistic work. Also, our relationship with UNESCO is a long relationship, based on absolute belief in the issue of protecting male and female journalists, because without protection, this group will not enjoy the appropriate atmosphere to work in freedom and democracy, which is Gains that are cherished by the Iraqi citizen who made great sacrifices for freedom of opinion and expression, so preserving them is a national responsibility that falls on everyone.”
He added: “Years ago, a special investigation unit and hotline were formed, in coordination with the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and judicial authorities, because journalists, like other societal groups, were exposed to many hardships that led to the loss of their lives.”
He continued: “We have had five murder cases since 2019, the perpetrators were arrested in four of them, and this is clear evidence of the work of the three state institutions.”
For his part, Director of the Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO, Diaa Al-Saray, said, “UNESCO Iraq discussed a number of important topics with Iraqi journalists and with representatives of the Supreme Judicial Council, the Ministry of Interior, and civil society organizations, related to aspects of ending impunity for murderers of journalists, and violations and violations that affect workers.” In the press and media, as well as developing a road map that we will adopt for the coming year and evaluating the level of achievement of the security authorities, judicial authorities, and the Human Rights Commission, with regard to ending impunity, judicial prosecution, and the security of journalists from digital, electronic, and information crimes.”
He went on to say: “We agreed on a number of recommendations, including the formation of an Iraqi national team that will follow up on the cases of journalists who were subjected to problems, attacks, harassment, and legal prosecution and did not receive support and support, nor did they even receive flexibility from the judicial authorities. Therefore, we are seeking to reach results regarding The path of the national team that will be formed soon with the “Ayn” Foundation to measure media development indicators.
The representative of UNESCO Iraq called on the media to commit to protecting the journalists who work for them, especially some media institutions that often shirk protecting journalists who are exposed to assault. A direct invitation was also sent to the Prime Minister’s Office to issue a decree to form the Iraqi National Committee for the Protection of Journalists. And the fight against impunity so that it has the powers through which it can carry out its work, as it has been working since 2018 until now without authorization from the Prime Minister’s Office.”
In turn, Hussein Zamil, head of the “Ayn” Foundation for Media Development Indicators, said, “The joint dialogue sessions resulted in qualitative proposals and recommendations coinciding with the International Day to End Impunity for Killers of Journalists, especially since Iraq suffers from the lack of a body that follows up on the violations against journalists.” We also called for the revival of the National Committee to Protect Journalists and to end impunity by calling on the government to return the committee to work or to identify a body concerned with monitoring private violations against journalists or holding accountable the perpetrators of the killings to which journalists were previously subjected.”
UNESCO reviewed the latest reports that address indicators of impunity in countries of the world, including Iraq, and recalled the collective responsibility of the government and relevant authorities to end impunity on the one hand, and on the other hand the role of journalists, civil society organizations and the media in strengthening advocacy patterns to break the silence and end impunity. From punishment./End 5
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