7 journalist organizations from Southeast Asia have issued a joint statement condemning the killing of journalists and other civilians in Gaza and call on the international community to demand an immediate stop to all use of force.
The statement reads:
We, the undersigned seven journalist organizations in Southeast Asia condemn the killing of journalists and other civilians with impunity and see this as fundamental violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including the Geneva Conventions. We convey our solidarity for all journalists and media workers working in the Gaza Strip that face high risk in the military operations between Israel and Hamas.
More than 5,000 people were killed and 18,000 injured in the military operations between Israel and Hamas from 7 October 2023 in the Gaza Strip, among them were journalists and media workers. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported at least 23 journalists were killed in the operation from 7 to 23 October 2023. The killed journalists comprised of 19 Palestinians, three Israelis, and one Lebanese. Meanwhile, dozens of journalists were either injured, reported missing, or detained.
We call on all those involved in the operations to stop the killings and attacks against all civilians including journalists working in the Gaza Strip. Further, we call on the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 to initiate an immediate investigation on these killings and attacks.
We believe the role of journalists in conflict areas is crucial to report on the needs of the affected communities, and to provide accurate and impartial information on what is really happening on the field to allow the international community to understand the situation, including the decades on persecution and human rights violations perpetrated against the Palestinians.
We call on journalists to uphold journalistic independence, preferring peace journalism and prioritizing the interests of civilians who become victims of the operation.
The international community must take a unified stance to demand that all use of force be stopped with immediate effect.
Signed by:
Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI) - [email protected]
Association Journalist Timor Leste (ATJL) - [email protected]
Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA) - [email protected]
Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) - [email protected]
Gerakan Media Merdeka Malaysia (GeramM) - [email protected]
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) - [email protected]
Prachatai, Thailand - [email protected]
Source: https://cpj.org/2023/10/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/
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