Conflict & Communication Online (Apr 2019)
Getting from the global to the local: Norms and systems for protecting journalists in the times of the sustainable development goals
Abstract
In the wake of progress in underlining international norms for protection of journalists, UNESCO in 2017 initiated a global consultation on how to strengthen implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. The results of this consultation are relevant to the context of securing progress in terms of Sustainable Development Goal indicator 16.10.1, which is a measure for both a global and a national assessment of the state of safety of journalists. Against this backdrop, this article analyses the potential at country level to develop norms about monitoring, as well as creating practical monitoring mechanisms for systematically tracking threats against journalists. A positive scenario would see these contribute to an elaborated normative climate as well as the existence of effective institutions and systems to ensure the protection of journalists on the ground.
