MANILA—Frank La Rue, the United Nations (UN) rapporteur on freedom of expression called on governments to guarantee freedom of the press and secure safety of journalists at all times.
He also described culture of impunity as a state policy for cover-up brought by weak state and ineffective judicial system.
La Rue’s statements was made during the fifth Journalism Asia Forum (JAF) 2010 held at the Manila Hotel on Tuesday attended by journalists from South East Asian countries as they observed the first anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre where 58 persons including 32 journalist were killed on November 23 last year.
However, La Rue’s does not specifically refer to the Philippines which is on top on the list of countries with high impunity index, as he was not officially invited by the Philippine government.
He came as an academic visitor promoting the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression on the invitation of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) which hosted the JAF 2010.
“Governments must guarantee freedom of the press and security of journalists in times of conflict and peace,” La Rue said noting that he had said the same to the UN Security Council.
He also advised governments not to pre-judge cases of killing of journalists as it will harm the investigation.
“All investigation have to begin with that attacks on journalists is not just an attack on the profession but on informers of the society which is crucial for democracy,” he said.
He said that violence against journalists is impunity. “Impunity is not just an individual case but is fast becoming a state policy of cover up.”
La Rue stressed that impunity is “very, very harmful to society because it can multiply geometrically.”
For his part, Lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) said that impunity is the dark side of accountability that destroys the fabric of society.
However, he said eliminating impunity is not an easy task as judicial processes of the country is notoriously slow and is being exploited by some quarters.
He also cited the inadequacy of the country’s witness protection program and the lack of mechanics to perpetuate testimonies of witnesses.
“It is sad, while witnesses are in safe houses, suspects are freely roaming around and sometimes the long processes break the will of witnesses in criminal cases,” he said.
To partly address impunity, he offered three options. However, he said that such is not the actual answer to impunity.
He said that victims can file civil suit, administrative charges and civil suit for damages against crime perpetrators.
One of the advantages of filing civil suit is the fact that it moves faster than criminal charges aside from the fact that criminal charges requires proof beyond reasonable doubts, while civil suits only needs preponderance of evidences.
He also described culture of impunity as a state policy for cover-up brought by weak state and ineffective judicial system.
La Rue’s statements was made during the fifth Journalism Asia Forum (JAF) 2010 held at the Manila Hotel on Tuesday attended by journalists from South East Asian countries as they observed the first anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre where 58 persons including 32 journalist were killed on November 23 last year.
However, La Rue’s does not specifically refer to the Philippines which is on top on the list of countries with high impunity index, as he was not officially invited by the Philippine government.
He came as an academic visitor promoting the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression on the invitation of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) which hosted the JAF 2010.
“Governments must guarantee freedom of the press and security of journalists in times of conflict and peace,” La Rue said noting that he had said the same to the UN Security Council.
He also advised governments not to pre-judge cases of killing of journalists as it will harm the investigation.
“All investigation have to begin with that attacks on journalists is not just an attack on the profession but on informers of the society which is crucial for democracy,” he said.
He said that violence against journalists is impunity. “Impunity is not just an individual case but is fast becoming a state policy of cover up.”
La Rue stressed that impunity is “very, very harmful to society because it can multiply geometrically.”
For his part, Lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) said that impunity is the dark side of accountability that destroys the fabric of society.
However, he said eliminating impunity is not an easy task as judicial processes of the country is notoriously slow and is being exploited by some quarters.
He also cited the inadequacy of the country’s witness protection program and the lack of mechanics to perpetuate testimonies of witnesses.
“It is sad, while witnesses are in safe houses, suspects are freely roaming around and sometimes the long processes break the will of witnesses in criminal cases,” he said.
To partly address impunity, he offered three options. However, he said that such is not the actual answer to impunity.
He said that victims can file civil suit, administrative charges and civil suit for damages against crime perpetrators.
One of the advantages of filing civil suit is the fact that it moves faster than criminal charges aside from the fact that criminal charges requires proof beyond reasonable doubts, while civil suits only needs preponderance of evidences.
