University leads call for the protection and safety of journalists across the world

The Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield yesterday led a call for the increased safety and protection of journalists across the world. The following statement was issued at the Safety of Journalists Symposium at BBC Broadcasting House in London, co-hosted by BBC Global News and CFOM in cooperation with the BBC College of Journalism. More than 50 symposium participants supported the statement and called for increased safety and protection of journalists: "We have gathered to protest at the increasing attacks on journalism around the world and the damage to free speech that can result from the rise in violence and intimidation against the media. "UNESCO has just published detailed evidence which shows that journalism has become increasingly dangerous in many parts of the world. Only last week the acclaimed Associated Press photo-journalist Anja Niedringhaus of AP was killed in Afghanistan. "In too many countries journalists are facing serious intimidation and violence, which in turns leads to disturbing patterns of censorship and self-censorship. We stand against these abuses and today we call on the governments concerned to investigate each one of those crimes promptly and effectively so as to bring those responsible to justice.