BH Journalists Demand UN Reaction: Urgently Protect Journalists and Media Workers in the Gaza Strip

(Patria) - The Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association and the Free Media Help Line (FMHL) call on Ms. Irene Khan, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression and opinion, to urgently engage in the protection of journalists and media teams in the war zone of the Gaza Strip, who are daily exposed to killings, injuries, and other security risks while performing their professional journalistic duties.

The urgent protection of all journalists in Gaza is part of humanitarian law and the international obligations of the United Nations and all other international organizations and governments, and should not be subordinate to any other interests, especially not military or political ones.

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists emphasizes that the support and protection of all reporters from the Gaza Strip must be swift, comprehensive, and effective, as our colleagues, civilian journalists on duty, are suffering in that area. Without their work, it would not be possible to know what is happening, nor would the world be aware of the mass killings of civilians in the Gaza Strip, primarily Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists points out that the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has reported
on the killing of 34 journalists and the destruction of 50 media editorial offices in Gaza. This organization has called on the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to investigate these cases. RSF has also filed a complaint with the ICC for eight Palestinian journalists, whom they say were killed in Israeli bombing of civilian areas in Gaza, and one Israeli journalist, killed during Hamas's attack on southern Israel. At the same time, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports the killing of 31 journalists by the beginning of November this year, including 26 Palestinians, four Israelis, and one Lebanese.

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists reminds that three days ago (November 2nd), numerous international
organizations, committees, governments, media, and journalistic associations were united in their resounding condemnation of impunity for crimes against journalists worldwide. We expect an equally strong condemnation of crimes against journalists in the Gaza Strip today from the same organizations and international bodies, with a clear stance that the lives of journalists are equally valuable in Gaza and anywhere else in the world, and that media teams must be under international protection while performing journalistic tasks, regardless of political preferences or attitudes towards the warring parties in the Gaza Strip.

The Steering Committee of BH Journalists and FMHL once again express deep solidarity with
the families of the killed journalists and inform the public that they will file a complaint with the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion regarding the killings of media professionals in the Gaza Strip and demand more effective protection for journalists who are still reporting from this area.