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| Al-Marri and Al-Kuwari at the opening of an international conference on protection of journalists in dangerous situations in Doha on Sunday |
“Their job becomes even more risky in times of disasters and armed conflicts. Oppressors as the case with the Arab Spring and occupiers as the case in Palestine want to block truth from reaching the world by terrorising journalists and jeopardising their lives,” he said.
“The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) is watching, with concern, the clear and serious abuses against journalists that affect their rights to live and be safe that are happening around the world in hazardous areas and areas of conflicts,” said Dr Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, president, NHRC.
“The practice of persecution of journalists is not limited to political systems as it was in the past. Gangs and organised crime groups are now engaged in terrorism and persecution of journalists,” he added.
He pointed out that the inability of state institutions to pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice is increasing. “This has led to significant increase in assassination crimes against journalists.”
He said that this issue is gaining more importance, especially as political, economic and social conditions escalate in various spots around the world. Therefore, the conference should focus its efforts on building “stronger mechanism to act as a shield against any targeting of journalists.”
Al-Marri said that the required protection from the perspective of NHRC could be achieved through international co-operation to criminalise practices that jeopardise the life of journalists especially in conflict and disaster areas. “The perpetrators of crimes against journalists should be prosecuted as committing crimes against
humanity,” he said.
The conference has an immense duty to attain justice for hundreds of journalists who lost their lives while doing their job and others who were forced to be out of the job because of the severe injuries sustained during work, pointed out Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani, Director General, Al Jazeera Media Network.
He said that criminals escape punishment due to lack of shared legal foundations between the international law and human rights.
He called on all parties of the United Nation to issue a binding international agreement to protect journalists. He expressed readiness of Al jazeera network to co-operate in the field.
The two-day conference, is organised by NHRC. Representatives of around 100 international and regional organisations alongside UN, GCC, the Arab League, the International Red Cross and Unesco are taking part in the conference as well as various media officials and entities.
The conference is expected to put a mechanism to unify all efforts in the field of the protection of journalists to be adopted by the UN General Assembly.
Award in memory of lensman
The Qatar National Human Rights Committee (QNHRC) has announced the institution of an yearly international award in the name of late Ali Hasan al-Jaber, head of the photography division in Al Jazeera news channel, who was killed in an ambush in Libya last year while covering the popular revolt against the then Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi, says a report in the local daily Arrayah. The announcement was made by QNHRC’s chairman Ali bin Simmeikh al-Merri on Sunday.
The award may be granted to any mediaperson or human right activist from any Arab or non-Arab country.
