Press release
On the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
The International Commission (ICSPR) calls on the international community to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its crimes against Palestinian journalists inside the occupied territories
The second of November of each year marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution A / RES / 68/163, which urged the Member States to implement specific measures that would confront the culture of impunity for crimes against journalists around the world, as this historic decision condemned all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, calling on the Member States to do their utmost efforts to prevent violence against them, to ensure accountability, and to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice, including ensuring that victims obtain appropriate remedies; also calls on states to work to create a safe and empowering environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference.
This international occasion is taking place at a time of escalating violations against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in light of continuous impunity, where the occupation forces have dealt with journalists as a direct target during their journalistic work and their coverage of events, which took many patterns, murder, wounds, fractures, burns, suffocation, beating and smashing their press equipment, administrative and arbitrary detention without any specific charges being brought against them, obstructing their access to the areas of the events, or raiding press headquarters and destroying and confiscating their contents, or closing them and preventing them from reporting under penalty of responsibility, all with the aim of impeding them from their work, in an attempt to prevent their coverage of the ongoing occupation crimes against Palestinian civilians over the past 73 years, despite the clarity of their identities and the badges that distinguish them from others, which represent a grave violation of international law and human rights charters.
ICSPR reaffirms that the Israeli occupation forces’ targeting of Palestinian journalists constitutes war crimes that require accountability and ending the continued impunity of occupation leaders for these crimes, in light of the denial and complicity of the Israeli authorities, including the judiciary, in the practice of grave violations of rules of justice and law through their participation in obstructing efforts to hold Israeli criminals accountable against Palestinian journalists in order to cover up serious human rights violations, and the rules of international humanitarian law, which affirm the impermissibility of targeting journalists, media employees and individuals associated with them during armed conflicts. Therefore, ICSPR demands the following:
- ICSPR salutes the journalists around the world, and the Palestinians in particular, and calls for the concerted efforts of the international community and its various institutions to enhance the protection of Palestinian journalists from the violations of the occupation, including holding the perpetrators of these violations accountable. Pursuant to the goals of United Nations Resolution No. (A / RES / 68/163) on the principles of expeditious justice.
- ICSPR affirms that the occupation’s continued impunity for its crimes against Palestinian journalists will make them lose confidence in the global legal and judicial system, so delaying and politicizing justice is an injustice.
- ICSPR calls for activating the role of Palestinian diplomacy in various directions, including serious and organized work with the International Criminal Court, in a way that puts an end to impunity and enhances accountability opportunities for the occupation for its crimes against civilians, especially journalists and media workers.
