A/RES/70/162
The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity
Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 21/12 of 27 September 2012 8 and
27/5 of 25 September 2014 9 on the safety of journalists, 26/13 of 14 July 2014 on
the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet 10 and 27/12
of 25 September 2014 on the World Programme for Human Rights Education, 9 as
well as Security Council resolutions 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and
2222 (2015) of 27 May 2015,
Taking note with appreciation of the summary report on the panel discussion
of the Human Rights Council on the issue of the safety of journalists, held on
11 June 2014, submitted to the Council at its twenty-seventh session, 11 as well as the
2015 publication of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization entitled World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media
Development,
Taking note of all relevant reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights
Council with regard to the safety of journalists, as well as the reports of the Special
Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and
expression12 and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, 13 submitted to the
Council at its twenty-ninth session, and the interactive dialogue thereon,
Commending the role and the activities of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization with regard to the safety of journalists and the
issue of impunity, and their facilitation of the commemoration of the International
Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, in consultation with relevant
entities within the United Nations system, Governments and relevant stakeholders,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the High
Commissioner on good practices concerning the safety of journalists, s ubmitted to the
Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth session, 14 as well as its report on the right
to privacy in the digital age, submitted to the Council at its twenty-seventh session, 15
Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right
guaranteed to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and
that it constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of
the basic conditions for its progress and development,
Acknowledging that journalism is continuously evolving to include input from
media institutions, private individuals and a range of organizations that seek,
receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, online as well as offline, in
the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression, in accordance with article 19 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby contributing to the
shaping of public debate,
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9
10
11
12
13
14
15
2/5
See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/67/53/Add.1),
chap. III.
Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53A and corrigenda (A/69/53/Add.1 and Corr.1 and 2), chap. IV,
sect. A.
Ibid., Supplement No. 53 (A/69/53), chap. V, sect. A.
A/HRC/27/35.
A/HRC/29/32.
A/HRC/29/37 and Add.1–7.
A/HRC/24/23.
A/HRC/27/37.