The organization’s letter start with a strong sentence: ‘When you kill journalists, you kill more than the information they fought to report. You kill the power of the people to know the truth, to speak up, to fight for a better world.‘
Right now RSF/RWB is leading a worldwide coalition of people organizing for the UN appointment of a Protector of Journalists—a position that would have the political weight, the capacity to act quickly, and the legitimacy to save journalists lives. At this week’s General Assembly, help us show the United Nations that the time to act is now.
Dear Friends,
Remember Omran?
The five-year-old Syrian boy placed in an ambulance, in shock and bleeding after he was rescued amid the rubble of a crumbled building?
The only reason you or I can even picture this innocent boy and know his story is because journalists risked their own lives to capture this moment and to shine a bright spotlight on the need for dramatic action in Syria to help save lives.
But there’s a frightening growing trend in the journalist community – and we need your help today to reverse the tide.
In the last 10 years alone, nearly 800 journalists have been killed in the line of duty. Many more have been kidnapped, tortured or reported missing.
And when journalists die, the information that they are struggling to get out to the world, dies with them.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is leading the effort as part of a worldwide coalition of organizations to defend journalists’ lives by calling upon the UN to appoint a politically powerful Protector of Journalists, a Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the Safety of Journalists.
In fact, on September 16th, we plan to deliver your signature along with thousands of others to Secretary Ban Ki-moon to keep pressure on the UN to take concrete action to #ProtectJournalists. Can I count on you to add your name?
Journalists endure risk after risk – and sometimes pay the ultimate price with their lives to share their stories with us. Join our campaign to #ProtectJournalists by signing our letter today.
Thank you for your support,
Delphine Halgand
Reporters Without Borders, US DirectorPS – Now is the time for change. And thanks to our partners in this effort, we have an incredible amount of momentum on our side. We cannot afford to lose journalists’ voices and their stories, especially now. Sign your name today.
