Paris, January 12 (No.2001-2) - UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura today expressed his grave concern about the murder of Ukrainian Journalist Gueorgui Gongadze whose decapitated corpse, found in November, was officially identified this week.

Mr Matsuura declared: “I am shocked by this murder. The international community cannot but be concerned about such acts of violence against journalists around the world, particularly as all too often they go unpunished. As most professional media organisations have done over the last few years, and in line with the resolution voted unanimously by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1997, I call on our Member States to take all necessary measures urgently to prevent the recurrence of such crimes and investigate them without delay with a view to bringing them to justice.”

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