Iran webinar pays tribute to journalists killed by terrorists in West Asia

A webinar has been held by an Iranian NGO to pay tribute to journalists who fell victim to terrorist acts in the Western Asia region.

The International Association of Peace Reporters (APR) organized the event, which featured several speakers, including Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, Yemeni Information Minister Zeifollah al-Shami, Iraqi Deputy Culture Minister Jaber al-Jaberi and Afghan Minister-Designate for Information and Cultural Affairs Tahir Zaheer.

In a statement issued at the closing session of the Webinar, the APR urged all governments across the world to view journalists as “the sincere promoters of civil society,” protect them against terror outfits and support their families. 

“Many journalists have already sacrificed their lives in the battle against terrorists who seek to destroy people's culture, religion and ethics. It is not a high expectation to urge the international community and governments to lend solid and wholehearted support to the martyred reporters and their families,” the statement read.

“By organizing this webinar, we seek to indicate that we stand and will stand by our colleagues and their honorable families. We hope that other people follow the suit. We also propose that the UN Secretary General appoint a special representative to ensure the safety of journalists and supporting their families and present an annual report on measures taken in this regard to the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.”

The APR also described terrorism as one of the biggest problems facing governments and nations, underlining the need to step up the fight against the complex scourge.

It further highlighted the role of journalists in combating terrorism by reporting and shedding light on terror activities.

“The correspondents and journalists not only face the direct threats posed by these terrorist groups, but also sometimes need to confront governments that covertly and even overtly support these terrorist groups and use them as an instrument to realize their evil goals,” read the statement.

Additionally, it complained that the enormous risks threatening the lives and careers of reporters are usually ignored and underestimated.

“More than 109 reporters and media workers have been killed in Afghanistan over the past two decades. Over 700 reporters were slain during Syria's battle against terrorist groups. 350 Yemeni journalists have been killed in the Saudi war on Yemen over the 5 past years. 485 Iraqi reporters have been killed since US invasion in 2003, including 50 journalists who lost their lives during the battle against Daesh terrorists. These figures reflect only a small part of the ordeal the media workers have gone through during these bloody days in West Asia,” the statement added.

It also referred to UN efforts to safeguard the lives of reporters and terminate impunity for those killing them, including Security Council Resolution 2222 (2015) which condemned any act of violence against journalists during armed clashes.   

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