United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has pledged his commitment to ensuring the safety and protection of journalists as well as a free and independent press. The UN Secretary General, according to the release, made the commitment over the weekend in a meeting with the Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Christophe Deloire and the Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Joel Simon. The statement said the meeting was aimed at discussing the “Protect Journalists” campaign to appoint a UN Special Representative for the safety of journalists. “Statistics show that despite various UN resolutions related to the safety of journalists and combating impunity, there have been few concrete results on the ground,” the statement said. It states that the past five years have been the deadliest on record for journalists, with hundreds of journalists killed and many more attacked simply for doing their job.

Source: GNN Liberia February 28, 2017 15:52 UTC