Human Rights Day 2022
'Dignity, freedom and justice for all' is the 2022 theme for the United Nations Human Rights Day on 10 December.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet there remains a long way to go to ensure journalists around the word can work without fear of arrest, abuse and wrongful imprisonment.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports 67 journalists have been killed this year, with several perpetrators shielded by impunity for the crimes they commit.
In Yemen, Brazil, Afghanistan, Ukraine and several other countries, journalists face hostility and danger in the course of their work.
In Afghanistan, Taliban militants frequently place restrictions on the press and arbitrarily attack journalists who report on the regime, while in Hong Kong, enforcement of National Security Law has led to an exodus of journalists in fear of their safety following rights violations by authorities.
In June, an NUJ delegation attended the IFJ's congress in Oman. Seamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, made clear the union's stance by expressing solidairty with the LGBTQ community and calling for equality in the country that criminalises homosexuality under its penal code.
The NUJ has been vocal in its support for the IFJ’s convention on the safety and independence of journalists launched at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this year. It calls in part, for efforts to end violations and abuses committed against journalists and media professionals, and for condemnation of violence at the highest levels of governments following crimes against journalists.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said:
“This year, the NUJ has fought off threats to members in the form of dangerous government bills placing restrictions on the protections afforded to journalists. Through the NUJ parliamentary group, we continue to exert pressure on ill-thought policies causing harm and threatening media freedom.
“Whether backing members and their right to protect sources or working with the IFJ on the release of journalists imprisoned the world over, defending human rights remains at the core of the union's work."
Journalists’ safety
The NUJ’s safety campaign has highlighted threats to journalists comprising both physical and online abuse through the launch of a short safety film, with first-hand accounts of member experiences. Violent threats, sexism and racism all feature in exposing the realities for journalists in the UK and Ireland.
NUJ members can access a free Journalists’ Safety Toolkit launched by Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, on the UN Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists. It includes advice on health and safety at work, looking after mental health, and practical support on reporting online abuse.
The union has also continued to campaign against the targeted threats of journalists at Iran International and BBC Persian Service. Death threats emanating from the Iranian state alongside unacceptable abuse has been condemned by the NUJ, and in November, BBC Persian Service journalist Behrang Tajdin addressed a special session of the UNHRC to discuss “the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Government legislation
Government’s Bill of Rights, National Security Bill and Online Safety Bill all pose threats to the safety and rights of journalists. The NUJ has been actively campaigning to raise member concerns and has responded to planned reforms through submissions to government.
In February, the union hosted two webinars with the British Institute of Human Rights exploring the impact proposed changes to the Human Rights Act will have on journalists’ protections and wider society.
This year, after continued pressure from the NUJ and campaign groups, the UK government announced it would implement measures to prevent the abusive use of lawsuits to intimidate journalists and stymie their reporting. Through our seat on the UK anti-SLAPP coalition, the NUJ has pressured government to adopt a model law and put an end to delays for legislative reform.
The union has co-signed a letter by the British Institute of Human Rights to Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister, calling on him to commit to defending rights and protecting the Human Rights Act.
The letter reads:
This Human Rights Day, as the global community celebrates the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), we write with heavy hearts that the UK Government's approach to our domestic law risks taking us further and further away from the legal protection of human rights here at home.
This Human Rights Day, the United Nations is calling for action to counter scepticism of, and rollbacks against, human rights, by establishing that human rights are never relative and must always be upheld as what unites all of humanity. Our Human Rights Act is built on the foundations of the UDHR.
Our Human Rights Act sets out each person’s protections, and the responsibilities of those with governmental power to make real the vision of the UDHR; for us all to live in equal dignity. As we face a cost of living crisis forcing millions of people into vulnerability and further discrimination, many having to choose between heating or eating, the last thing anyone needs is for a government to strip away our fundamental legal protections. Human rights laws are, necessarily, uncomfortable for governments because they set limits on the exercise of power, limits which are for the benefit of people.
No UK Government need fear this; and rather than harking back to Magna Carta and rose-tinted history, should embrace the fact that our Human Rights Act provides universal protections for everyone and ensures those with public power are accountable.
As civil society groups working hard to protect people’s human rights, and to support people through the cost of living crisis, we want a world in which our political leaders commit to our universal protections, not simply those it finds acceptable. We call on the UK Government, and all political leaders, to share our commitment to everyone's human rights, and ensure our Human Rights Act is here to stay.
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