Jack Crossan
In early January, two journalists traveling in Rafah were killed by an IDF airstrike. One of these journalists was Hamza al-Dahdouh, son of Al Jazeera’s bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh, who had tragically lost other family members in Gaza. Wael himself had been wounded in an unrelated strike, highlighting the danger that accompanies the dissemination of information in armed conflict zones.
Current international armed conflicts like those in Gaza and Ukraine have contributed to ‘alarming increases in journalists killed in conflict zones’. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), more than 1650 journalists have been killed since 1993, with nine out of 10 instances occurring without any legal accountability.
In November 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights addressed the world on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists highlighting that journalists’ rights ‘need to be better protected’. The current international legal framework does not adequately protect journalists in the line of duty. Meaningful reform in the enforcement of the existing legal protections is necessary to defend ‘journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict’, an essential pillar of international humanitarian law surrounding journalist protections.
Existing protections under international humanitarian law
The accessible and transparent flow of information, specifically in global armed conflict, acts as both an informative and preventative tool regarding human rights concerns. For that reason, international humanitarian law seeks to defend the rights of journalists working in armed conflict zones. Beyond freedom of expression rights enshrined in article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, journalists have categories of protection specific to conflict zones.
The first of these protections is awarded to all civilians caught within zones of armed conflict. These protections, arising from customary international human rights civilian protections, were later codified and assented to by more than 150 countries under Protocol I relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts of the 1977 Additional Protocols of the Geneva Convention. Protocol I mainly surrounded the rights and protections of civilian groups within conflict zones. According to article 51(2) of the protocol, ‘individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence… are prohibited’. Under article 79 of the Additional Protocols, journalists fall within this class of civilian and are therefore legally entitled to protections against acts of violence. Journalists should not engage in harmful activity, that is, take a ‘direct part in hostilities’, to remain under the protection of the protocol.
Recommendations
While the law sets out relevant protection for journalists, enforcement is lacking. Some experts have called for improved accountability and enforcement to address impunity. A 2022 report by the UNESCO Director-General noted the need for more UN member states to increase their engagement with self-reporting and transparency mechanisms like UNESCO’s reporting mechanism on the safety of journalists. Additionally, multiple special rapporteurs have stressed the need for accountability among belligerents, calling for the creation of a ‘standing investigatory mechanism to be set up by the United Nations’. Finally, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for the most ambitious solution, proposing to enshrine the prioritisation of action via the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to investigate journalist deaths in conflict through convention.
Implications
Despite the legal protections and recommendations for stronger accountability and enforcement mechanisms, at present violence against journalists with impunity continues, leading to several adverse impacts. One is the creation of zones of silence, areas of conflict wherein the risk of harm is so large that access to information is barred. Because of the risk of violence, journalists flee, leaving belligerent parties to control the narrative surrounding the conflict. Al-Dahdouh alluded to this during an interview with NBC News, underscoring the importance of returning to report after being treated for his wounds in Egypt. Another implication is the minimisation of the rule of law that occurs due to impunity. Access to justice is an important pillar in the upholding of the rule of law, as alluded to in article 14 of the ICCPR, and without equal legal protection and enforcement, public trust in the international human rights legal framework and international peace and security may be diminished.
Conclusion
Calls for the strengthening and creation of new accountability mechanisms to enforce law in ‘lawless’ regions of international armed conflict from both interested organisations and community advocates are necessary to end violence against journalists with impunity. Through modified adoptions of the recommendations provided, coupled with public and organisational pressures for accountability among governments and perpetrators, journalists in dangerous situations could find their lives and rights better protected.
Jack Crossan is a Juris Doctorate student and was an intern with the Australian Journal of Human Rights in Term 1, 2024.