UNESCO and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand to host joint event on the safety of journalists

To commemorate the 2023 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on 2 November, UNESCO in cooperation with the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) will organize a panel discussion to highlight the importance of ensuring the safety of journalists while covering political events and elections in Thailand, and what needs to be done to end impunity for violence against journalists. 

Every year since 2013, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI) is commemorated on 2 November to pay tribute to journalists killed because of their work, and to raise awareness of the danger of impunity for crimes committed against journalists.

Putting an end to impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most important and complex   challenges of recent times and constitutes a fundamental issue in guaranteeing the full exercise of the right to freedom of expression and the open, free, and dynamic exchange of ideas and information for all people. 

According to UNESCO’s ‘Knowing the Truth is Protecting the Truth: Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity’ (2022), journalists have become less safe in countries not experiencing armed conflict than those in conflict countries, and there has been a notable upward trend in recent years in the number of journalists killed while covering protests.^[1]

Violence against journalists and the stigmatizing of discourse on the part of public officials intensifies particularly during election cycles. In these cases, States are called upon to recognize the critically important role played by the press, since they are independent observers and vehicles for the exercise of the societal dimension of freedom of expression. 

Looking at this situation locally, and against this backdrop, there have been more than 400 public assemblies throughout Thailand since the beginning of 2023 to date.^[2] As the political situation became intense after the general election in mid May, there were more than 120 public assemblies from June through July. The number of protests significantly decreased after the parliamentary vote for Thailand’s new prime minister in August; however, the demonstration activities have continued, with most popular demands concerning the right to bail for political activists and environmental matters. Meanwhile, statistics from Press Freedom Monitoring in Southeast Asia (pfmsea.org)^[3] show that since the beginning of this year, there have been 33 incidents attacks and threats against journalists in Thailand. Concerningly, more than a third of these incidents were caused by state actors. 

This panel discussion aims to raise awareness of the importance of press freedom and how freedom of expression functions as a driver for all other human rights, recognized as a target in Sustainable Development Goal 16, Target 10, of the UN 2030 Agenda.

_{[1] https://www.unesco.org/reports/safety-journalists/2022/en}

_{[2] https://blog.mobdatathailand.org/en}

_{[3]  A platform to monitor attacks against journalists and media workers as well as the press freedom situation, established in early 2023 by an alliance of independent media organizations in six countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Timor Leste).}

• How safe is a journalist when covering political events and elections in Thailand? 
• What are the lessons learned from past and existing mechanisms to protect journalists?
• How can we share best practices of foreign correspondents while they are covering political events and demonstrations? 
• How can we end impunity for attacks and threats against journalists? What needs to be done? 

Date: 2 November 2023

Time: 19.00 – 21.00 (GMT+7); light buffet provided 

Venue:  The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT)

P floor, 518/5 Phloenchit Rd, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok, 10330

Format: On-site panel discussion with live streaming on social media (FCCT's Facebook page and UNESCO Bangkok's Facebook page)

Languages: English and Thai with simultaneous interpretation 
 

This event is open to the public; everyone is welcome. To book in advance, please call +66 02 652 0581, use the FCCT's Facebook page or email info(at)fccthai.com.

#SafetyOfJournalists