Opening statement

I am grateful for the time that you are taking to consider this issue. It is one that has been rendered vivid and immediate by the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and the terrible score of journalists’ deaths there – but the wider issue of journalists’ safety is pervasive and worsening.

Democracy is among the defining ideals of modern life. Imperfect, infuriating and contrary as it can be, it is the agency connecting individuals to society. And democracy without swift, accurate reporting is impossible. It is the means by which citizens understand what is being done in our name, can scrutinise those who lead us, and hold institutions to account when actions fall short of the ideal.

For journalism to happen, journalists have to be able to undertake their work in safety and security. Alas, all over the world, this is not the case. For the past 30 years the International Federation of Journalists has tracked the number of journalists killed each year. It has averaged around 88, with some terrible peak years, such as 2023 when nearly 130 lost their lives. 

To put this in context, journalism is a tiny profession. There are around 600,000 journalists in world, there are 35 million school teachers. 

To make matters worse, when journalists do lose their lives, it is rare that anyone is brought to justice for the crime. According to UNESCO, only one in ten murders of journalists result in prosecution let alone justice. It is easy to think of examples of this – Jamal Khashoggi who was murdered in Turkey, Dom Phillips, murdered in Brasil, or closer to home Martin O’Hagan and Lyra McKee, in the north. None of their killers have been brought to justice.

There are already international plans in place to address this issue – both at UN and Council of Europe level. The IFJ, however, believes that these do not go far enough. We are promoting a draft UN Convention of the Safety and Security of Journalists that would make existing legal remedies far easier to access when journalists suffer harm. We have been grateful for the interest of the Republic of Ireland in this initiative and look forward to continuing to work with your diplomatic representatives to achieve this end.

We also need more intense national action to promote the safety and security of journalists – something to which I encourage the industry and national governments to devote greater resources.

Social media has broadened the sphere in which journalists can suffer abuse, and it is clear that some groups of journalists suffer disproportionately from ‘trolling’. Studies show that women journalists and those from ethnic minorities are far more likely to be the victims of this kind of abuse. 

I have seen in cases that my own union has dealt with, young women reporters who have been effectively bullied out of the industry by prolific online abusers. For such abuse to go unchecked risks undermining diversity within the news media, and thereby reduce its ability to accurately reflect all of society.

Whether abuse and harassment happens online or in person, we know from multiple studies and research that operating in such a climate has an impact on journalists that goes beyond the individual. Self-censorship and the wider chilling impact of the targeting of journalists matters to all who care about media freedom and its crucial role in underpinning democracies and society.

In saying this, I realise that I am probably extending the range of conflict zone from the imagined flak jackets and bomb blasts to what at first glance might appear to be the parochial reporting of courts of local authorities. For those reporters who find themselves being pelted with online abuse, the impact can be devastating. The way that we deal with harassment in the digital space may not be quite the same as traditional conflict-zone training, but the need is no less great.

Let me just end by saying this. I worked as a journalist for 30- years and I have many former colleagues who would be deeply concerned to think of my becoming too cosy with politicians. They would refer me to an old metaphor that posits dogs and lampposts for the appropriate starting point for approach that journalists should take to elected representatives.

I don’t think that this helpful. However robust and questioning might be the relationship of journalists with politicians, we are all part of the same democratic eco-system. We need each other for either of us to be able to work effectively – particularly at a time when there are swirling forces and challenges to democracy, and civilised life that we must all stand against. 

For that reason, I thank you again for your serious-minded interest and this issue, and will be happy to render whatever the International Federation of Journalists can provide to the effectiveness of your work.

Tim Dawson is the Deputy General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).