Former Qatari law and justice minister and prominent lawayer Najeeb al-Nuaimi receiving a memento from DCMF's Exceutive Committee chairman Abdel Jaleel al-Alami yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma.
Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter
Speakers at a meeting hosted by the Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) yesterday sought harsh punishment to the perpetrators of violence against journalists across the world.
The gathering was held to mark the "International Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists" which is observed on November 2.
The speakers also expressed solidarity with the relatives of those journalists killed in 2014 while working.
Addressing the gathering via video conference from New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon lamented that records show that not even 2% of those involved in criminal actions against journalists have been punished.
He said more than 70 journalists have been killed so far this year, including 17 in the 51-day war in Gaza. However, those who were responsible for such heinous crimes have not been booked yet, Ban said and called on governments to initiate strict punishment for those indulging in such criminal acts.
The recorded addresses of Director General of the Unesco, Irene Bokova, and Advocacy Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Courtney Redsch, were also shown. Both officials highlighted the necessity of facilitating an environment for protecting journalists working in conflict zones.
Chairman of the Executive Committee of the DCMF Abdel Jalil el-Alami said the centre has always deplored assaults and attacks on journalists, regardless of their nationalities. He reminded the gathering that the DCMF had condemned in harsh terms the brutal killing of two US journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotioff in Syria.
"We had also extended an invitation to their family members to attend the meeting today. However, they could not arrive," said el-Alami, while lamenting the loss of lives of many journalists in Gaza.
The DCMF official also remembered the deaths of Italian photojournalist Simone Carnilli and the centre's own staffer Ali Abu Afash during the Gaza war.
Numerous deaths of journalists during the Gaza war highlighted that impunity could not be defeated through decisions on paper, he said while calling for concrete mechanisms and persistent efforts.
El-Alami also noted that most of these deaths which were reported in the turbulent areas of the Arab world were not properly highlighted by the international media and as a result the perpetrators have gone unpunished so far.
Earlier the centre honoured some of the region's senior journalists and guests from abroad for what it described as "their generous support to the cause of free press in the region."
Later in two different sessions, both moderated by Khalid al-Hroub a number of the region's media personalities spoke.
They included former Qatar law minister Najeeb al-Nuaimi, Head of Supreme Institute of Journalism (Morocco) Aarab Isaali, Dean of Barcelona University Jose Tomero, Executive Director of International Press Institute Alison Bethel, Head of National Syndicate of the Moroccan Press and Member of Moroccan Parliament Abdellah el-Bakkali, Deputy Head of the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South West Asia and Arab Region Alaa Oaoud and Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network Mostefa Souag.
