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Research Report

Model United Nations Alfrink 2016


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General Assembly 2
Protection of journalists, whistle-blowers and human rights
defenders in order to defend freedom of speech.
Robin Kautz

Introduction
One of the most fundamental human rights is freedom of speech. It was established in 1948 in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it is actually believed to have been around for
much longer, from around the late 6th or early 5th century BC. Freedom of speech is defined as
the right to communicate ones opinions and ideas without fear of government retaliation or
censorship. It is essential in our society, but we cannot guarantee this basic human right nor any
other rights if we keep prosecuting the human right defenders, journalists and whistle-blowers
for their work.
Statistics have shown that since 1992 more than eleven hundred journalists have been killed
worldwide. Many more have been jailed, exiled, or have simply gone missing. More recently,
whistle-blower Edward Snowden has been forced to seek temporary asylum in Russia after
leaking classified information from the United States National Security Agency in 2013 and
fleeing the United States. Snowden is living in Russia with no long-term security, and the US
government has prohibited him from entering other countries, resulting in him not being able to
seek asylum elsewhere.
GA2 would like to issue their appeal to all delegates to find solutions establishing legislation
concerning the protection of journalists, whistle-blowers and human rights defenders. We would
also like them to ensure their commitment to guaranteeing the safety of journalists, whistleblowers and human rights defenders so that crimes against them do not go unpunished.

Definition of Key Terms


Whistle-blower

Human rights defender

Retaliation

Anyone who has and reports insider knowledge


of illegal activities occurring in an organization
that is either private or public.
a person who acts individually or in association
with others, to promote and to strive for the
protection and realization of human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
To hurt someone or do something harmful to
someone because they have done or said
something harmful to you; revenge.

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Censorship

Exile

The suppression or prohibition of any parts of


books, films, news, etc. that are considered
obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to
security.
The state of being barred from ones native country,
typically for political or punitive reasons.

General Overview
As said in the introduction, freedom of speech is the right to communicate ones opinions and
ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship. Freedom of speech is not an absolute
right however. Governments can restrict speech with varying limitations, particularly when
freedom of speech conflicts with other values or rights. Limitations to freedom of speech are only
permitted when used to protect the right or reputations of others, national security, public order,
public health, and morals. Limitations can follow the harm principle or the offensive principle.
The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should only be limited to prevent harm
to other individuals. The offensive principle is similar to the harm principle but creates a
distinction between offences that cause discomfort and offences which create harm. Sadly, there
are numerous cases all over the world where outside of these limitations; the right of freedom of
speech is violated. Journalists, human rights defenders and whistle-blowers play a vital role in
democratic societies to ensure full respect of human rights. Lately there has been a worldwide
call and need for the protection of journalists, human rights defenders and whistle-blowers at
local, national and international level. Organizations such as WikiLeaks aim to protect journalists
and whistle-blowers such as Edward Snowden from being put into jail, but their means are
limited.
Statistics have shown that imprisonment is the most effective form of intimidation and
harassment used against journalists. More than half of the journalists imprisoned globally are
charged with anti-state crimes. This can be used to crush critical voices against the government.
Of the 44 journalists imprisoned in China, the worlds worst jailer of journalists, 29 were held on
anti-state charges. In many countries, journalists and human rights defenders are also threatened
because crimes against them do not go unpunished. The Impunity Index created by the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a
percentage of each countrys population. In Somalia, the country with the highest impunity
index rating, there are 2,857 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants. As of 2014, 221
journalists are in jail worldwide, and many more exiled.

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Timeline of Events
December 10th 1948
1989

2006

2006
2007
2007

2008

2011
2012
2014
2015
2015
2015

Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the General


Assembly of the United Nations
The Whistleblower Protection Act, amended by the United States of America to
protect federal whistleblowers who work for the government and report
misconduct.
American journalist James Risen writes book State of War: The Secret History of
the CIA and the Bush Administration and is persecuted by the American
government for protecting his whistle-blower source.
Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist and Chechnya reporter is murdered in her
flat in Moskou.
Hrant Dink, Armenian editor in chief of the Armenian-Turkish newspaper
Agos is killed in Instanbul by a Turkish nationalist.
Official launch of WikiLeaks, a non-profit media organisation that provides
important news and information to the public in order to defend freedom of speech
and media publishing. Publishing improves transparency, and this transparency
creates a better society for all people.
Launch of Reporters Without Borders (RWB) a non-profit, non-governmental
organization that promotes and defends freedom of information and freedom of
press.
A list of 105 journalists that are killed in Iraq is published.
Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist, becomes a victim of a Taliban attack on a
school bus.
Palwasha Tokhi, an Afghan female journalist is murdered in Mazar-i-Sharif
30 journalists are killed in the Philippines since 2010 (Aquino took office), ranks
3rd on CPJs Impunity index
Oles Buzyna, a Ukrainian journalist with pro-Russian views is killed in Kiev.
8 Journalists are killed in Paris during a terrorist attack on satirical newspaper
Charlie Hebdo.

Major Parties Involved


Afghanistan
Afghanistan failed to provide updated information on investigations into journalist killings for
the 2014 biannual impunity report of the Director General of UNESCO (U.N. agency mandated
to promote freedom of expression), demonstrating a lack of international accountability.
Belarus
Heavily censored, little to no independent media. The existing media is so censored that it can be
difficult to get information about the condition of jailed journalists, for example.

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Brazil
A lot of deadly violence against journalists, and little justice. In 2010 the country with most
requests from its government to take down content off of Google.
China
The worlds worst jailer of journalists as well as the 8th most censored country. Maintains the
Great Firewall, a censor to block critical websites and control social media. China bans specific
news items that are considered a threat to political stability, including controversial photos and
search terms.
Columbia
Dropped on the CPJs Global Impunity Index. Improvement due to decrease in political violence
and a government protection program for journalists. Journalists do continue to receive threats
however.
Mexico
Introduced legislation in 2013 to authorize federal authorities to prosecute crimes against
journalists but failed, obtaining number 8 on the Global Impunity Index.
Pakistan
Threats to journalists coming from military and intelligence agencies, political parties, criminal
groups and corrupt local leaders. Fails to prosecute the murderers. High on the list of the
Impunity Index.
Russian Federation
90% of all murder cases against journalists remain unresolved. Russian government accused by
Human Rights Watch of exerting control over civil society through selective implementation of
the law, restriction and censure.
South Sudan
Number 5 on the CPJs 2015 Global Impunity Index, meaning that journalists get killed without
the murderers being convicted. The government has been known to confiscate newspapers and
threaten radio stations with closure. In 2014 the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
accused the National Security Service of harassing and detaining journalists.
United States
US authorities are wanting to prosecute whistle-blower Edward Snowden for leaking thousands
of classified documents detailing Western espionage programmes.

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Previous Attempts to Solve the Issue
The protection of sources or the confidentiality of sources is a right accorded to journalists
under the laws of many countries, including international law that prohibits authorities,
including the courts, from enforcing journalists to reveal the identity of an anonymous source for
a story. This is to ensure that if needed, people can come forward and share information of
public interest with journalists, without fear of retaliation. Unfortunately governments are
sometimes able to discover the origin of an anonymous source because of their ability to track
electronic communications between journalists and their sources.
Whistleblower protection requirements have been introduced in The United Nations Convention
Against Corruption (UNCAC), however many countries that ratified the Convention still lack
legislative measures for protection, or the means to use them.

Possible Solutions
Human rights defenders can be seen as a treat for governments and because of this they form a
target for different sorts of attacks and intimidations. International human rights organizations
are trying to help by promoting a worldwide movement to combat crimes against journalists and
human rights defenders, lobbying, training of whistle-blowers, and so on. However, to make a
difference, an independent international intergovernmental organisation is needed, which can
operate when local legal systems fail. Such an organisation could take an example of the
International Criminal Court in The Hague. A multilateral treaty to which different countries are
party can regulate the procedures concerning the protection of this vulnerable group.
International character is essential to facilitate international research, but also to overcome the
limitations of local laws.

Useful documents
http://www.osce.org/odihr/119633?download=true
https://www.cpj.org
http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/03utslr.html
https://www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=protection+of+journalists

Bibliography
Cambridge Dictionary
Oxford Dictionary
https://www.article19.org/pages/en/limitations.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/05/religion.news
https://wikileaks.org/About.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders
http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/strengthening_whistleblower_protection_an_int
ernational_imperative

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