The Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity

A/RES/70/162View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 72b Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2016.

What other versions does this mandate have?

8 versions · 2014–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/217

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/217	The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity	4,907	75%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/215	The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity	4,279	84%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/173	The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity	3,717	83%Compare
2020	A/RES/74/157	The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity	3,312	68%Compare
2018	A/RES/72/175	The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity	2,786	65%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

7 reports · 2014–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/345	Safety of journalists and the issue of impunity report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/215
2023	A/78/270	Safety of journalists and the issue of impunity report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/76/173
2021	A/76/285	Safety of journalists and the issue of impunity report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/74/157
2019	A/74/314	The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/175
2017	A/72/290	The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/162

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Freedom of the Press Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Impunity International Days Journalists

What’s in this document?

14 operative paragraphs

Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, as well as intimidation and harassment in both conflict and non-conflict situations;

Strongly condemns the prevailing impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, and expresses grave concern that the vast majority of these crimes go unpunished, which in turn contributes to the recurrence of these crimes;

Calls upon States to implement more effectively the applicable legal framework for the protection of journalists and media workers in order to combat the pervasive impunity, including through enforcement mechanisms with the capacity to pay systematic attention to their safety;

Urges the immediate and unconditional release of journalists and media workers who have been taken as hostages or who have become victims of enforced disappearances;

Calls upon all States to pay attention to the safety of journalists covering events in which persons are exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, taking into account their specific role, exposure and vulnerability;

Encourages States to take the opportunity of the proclamation of 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists to raise awareness regarding the issue of the safety of journalists and to launch concrete initiatives in this regard;

Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in consultation with relevant entities of the United Nations system, and mindful of the provisions of the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980, to continue to facilitate the implementation of the International Day in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders;

Urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy, thorough, independent and effective investigations into all alleged violence, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction, to bring perpetrators, including those who command, conspire to commit, aid and abet or cover up such crimes to justice, and to ensure that victims and their families have access to appropriate remedies;

Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference, including by means of (a) legislative measures; (b) supporting the judiciary in considering training and awareness-raising and supporting training and awareness-raising among law enforcement officers and military personnel, as well as among journalists and civil society, regarding international human rights and humanitarian law obligations and commitments relating to the safety of journalists; (c) the regular monitoring and reporting of attacks against journalists; (d) publicly and systematically condemning violence and attacks; and (e) dedicating the resources necessary to investigate and prosecute such attacks and to develop and implement strategies for combating impunity for attacks and violence against journalists, including by using, where appropriate, good practices such as those identified in Human Rights Council resolution 27/5;9

Also calls upon States to ensure that measures to combat terrorism and preserve national security are in compliance with their obligations under international law and do not arbitrarily hinder the work and safety of journalists;

Stresses the need to ensure better cooperation and coordination at the international and regional levels, including through technical assistance and capacity-building, with regard to helping to improve the safety of journalists at the national and local levels;

Calls upon States to cooperate with relevant United Nations entities, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, and to share information on a voluntary basis on the status of investigations into attacks and violence against journalists;

Invites the relevant agencies, organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations system to actively exchange information, including through already identified focal points, about the implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, in cooperation with Member States and under the overall coordination of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session and to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents