UN Human Rights Council: EFJ denounces Israel’s crimes and censorship in Gaza

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Al Jazeera, took part in a two-day mission to Geneva on 8 and 9 October in the margins of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The six organisations involved denounced the massacre of Palestinian journalists in Gaza. They also denounced the ban on international press access to Gaza, which prevents the ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity from being documented there.

On 9 October, the Israeli Occupation Forces targeted a number of Palestinian journalists working in and around Jabalia camp in the Gaza Strip, killing photojournalist Mohammad Al Tanani, who worked for Al Aqsa TV, and seriously injuring Al Jazeera’s cameraman Fadi Al Wahidi with a bullet to his neck, causing critical injury while covering the attack on the camp. At least 130 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed during the war in Gaza, according to the IFJ monitoring.

Israel’s war on Gaza is, by far, the deadliest modern conflict for journalists. Dozens of targeted killings of journalists, which constitutes a war crime, remain totally unpunished, inciting the Israeli army to multiply its crimes. This is the message that the EFJ and other organisations shared at the meetings organised in Geneva with Irene Khan, United Nations Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression and opinion, Omar Zniber, President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, the experts of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the leaders of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and participants at the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez highlighted the unprecedented situation of total censorship of events in Gaza over the past year. “Never before in human history has an armed conflict claimed so many fatal victims in our profession. Never before has a belligerent imposed total censorship on the theatre of operations in order to conceal its war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said Gutiérrez. “The right of the world’s citizens to be informed is totally compromised, despite the admirable and courageous work of our Palestinian colleagues”.

“The culpable inaction of the international community is as criminal as it is intolerable,” added the EFJ GS. “The total impunity enjoyed by Mr Netanyahu only encourages him to multiply the war crimes and crimes against humanity that are already under way. I believe this passivity will have disastrous consequences for world order and balance. If international law can be flouted with such impunity, it is because these legal norms no longer have any value. What is happening in Gaza heralds a world where the law of the jungle, terrorism in all its forms (starting with state terrorism) and utter contempt for human beings will reign. Our discussions over the last two days in Geneva have done nothing to reassure us. They have confirmed my fears.”

The EFJ calls on the international community to take immediate action to ensure the safety of journalists and civilians in Gaza, and hold the Israeli Occupation Forces accountable for their repeated crimes against journalists. The EFJ urges again Israel to give journalists independent access to Gaza.

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)