Multi-Stakeholder Consultation on Strengthening the Implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity

Opening and session 1 - Strengthening and harmonizing UN coordination mechanisms

Video message by the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Irina Bokova

Moderator: Ms. Nathalie Prouvez, Chief of the Rule of Law and Democracy Section, OHCHR

Presentation: Mr. Frank La Rue, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO

Initial discussion and sharing of views on the draft recommendations by:

• Mr. David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression
• Ms. Agnès Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions 
• Mr. Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
• Ms. Annalisa Ciampi, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
• Ms. Dubravka Šimonović, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences 
• Mr. Gianni Magazzeni, Chief of the Universal Periodic Review Branch, OHCHR 

Open discussion on the draft recommendations

Session 2 - Sharing good practices by Member States and regional intergovernmental organizations

Moderator: Ms. Sylvie Coudray, Chief of Section for Freedom of Expression, UNESCO

Presentation: Mr. Karl Prummer, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Austria to the UN in Geneva and Representative of the Member States’ Group of Friends for Safety of Journalists 

Initial discussion and sharing of views on the draft recommendations by:

• Mr. Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States
• Ms. Lucy Freeman, Executive Director, Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) 
• Ms. Urska Umek, Secretary to the Committee of experts on Media Pluralism and Transparency of Media Ownership, Council of Europe

         Member States:

• Mr. Ranga Kalansooriya, Director-General, Department of Government Information in Sri Lanka
• Mr. Darius Skusevičius, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania
• Mr. Lionel Veer, Ambassador of the Netherlands to UNESCO
• Mr. Rauno Merisaari, Ambassador for Human Rights and Democracy of Finland

Open discussion on the draft recommendations 

Session 3 - Reinforcing the work of professional associations, media, academia and other key actors outside of the UN

Moderator: Mr. Leon Willems, Director, Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

Presentation: Mr. Jesper Højberg, Executive Director of International Media Support (IMS)

Initial discussion and sharing of views on the draft recommendations by:

• Ms. Barbara Trionfi, Executive Director of the International Press Institute (IPI)
• Mr. Ernest Sagaga, Head of Human Rights and Safety, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
• Ms. Jackie Harrison, Professor of Public Communication, University of Sheffield and Chair of the Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM)

Open discussion on the draft recommendations

Session 4 - Increasing awareness amongst State institutions, governments, media houses and other stakeholders

Moderator: Ms. Deborah Seward, Director, United Nations Regional Information Centre

Presentation: Ms. Silvia Chocarro, IFEX Advocacy Strategist

Initial discussion and sharing of views on the draft recommendations by:

• Mr. Matthias Lüfkens, Founder of Twiplomacy 
• Ms. Courtney Radsch, Advocacy Director, Committee to Protect Journalists
• Mr. Christophe Deloire, Reporters Without Borders
• Mr. Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19 

Open discussion on the draft recommendations

Launch by Albana Shala, Chair of the UNESCO International Programme for the Development of Communication, of the UNESCO book “An Attack on One Is An Attack on All: Successful initiatives to protect journalists and combat impunity”