GENEVA The General Secretary of the IFJ Anthony Bellanger met with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra\u2019ad Al\u00a0Hussein (HCHR) yesterday to present the IFJ\u2019s work and its role in defending human rights and freedom of expression around the world. The IJF has 170 affiliates. \u00a0It supports the work of the HCHR in promoting human rights, freedom of expression and combating violent extremism and hate speech. On the agenda was the worsening crises facing journalists including violence, imprisonment and impunity for the killers of journalists.<\/p>\n
Anthony Bellanger spoke of Monir Zaarour, IFJ coordinator in the Middle East and the Arab World, who presented the Declaration on Media Freedom in the Arab World (signed by Palestine,\u00a0 Tunisia and Jordan), and the campaign for a special regional mechanism to support media freedom across the region.<\/p>\n
Anthony Bellanger said, “We thank the High Commissioner for his solidarity with the global community of journalists and his support for their right for secure working conditions.\u00a0 We also appreciate his support for the establishment of a regional mechanism for media freedom and the Declaration on Media Freedom in the Arab World. This will undoubtedly strengthen the work of tens of thousands of journalists across the region.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"