Impact case study database

The underpinning research had immediate impact with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the leading mouthpiece on the matter of safeguarding journalists, sustaining pressure on governments and non-governmental organisations to condemn acts of violence against them since 1997. The June 2011 paper immediately impelled a renewed effort by UNESCO to clarify their policy position on the protection of journalists. In a September 2011 press release, UNESCO cited City’s Initiative on Impunity as the “first step” towards three annual inter-agency meetings entitled UN-Inter-Agency Meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. These meetings produced a full report entitled UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Immunity, which details implementation objectives for 2013-14. These recommendations were officially adopted by the UN Chief Executives Board in March 2012. The impact can be seen in the final product of this effort, which was a revised procedure (2015) to determine how vulnerable journalists are in any particular jurisdiction [5.1]. This report, which has since been used to quantify journalist safety in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan [5.2], specifically lists the Legal Instruments Study as a key piece of underpinning research.

The IFJ reports that, as initially set out in the Legal Instruments Study, Dr Draghici’s focus was on creating a binding convention: “Dr Carmen Draghici, a legal expert who reviewed the existing international legal framework on the protection of journalists, recommended a comprehensive codification of all provisions relevant to their protection [...]. The new instrument, in the form of a binding convention, or declaration, on the safety of journalist would [...] help national governments understand their obligations.” [5.3] The impact of Dr Draghici’s work was such that not only did IFJ adopt the issue as a key policy advocacy objective, they also used the text of her keynote speech to produce the 2018 Briefing paper accompanying the text of the Draft Convention [5.4]. The then IFJ President described the impact of her presentation: “ Her detailed presentation and fresh ideas [had] a momentous impact [...] and convinced [the IFJ] to seek an immediate partnership to develop her arguments into a fully-fledged Convention.” [5.5].

Based on Dr Draghici’s research, the IFJ commissioned her to write the Draft Convention for the Protection of Journalists – a trans-national instrument to be made available to all states. It prompted a key change in international lobbying, galvanised around the Draft Convention, which was endorsed by the IFJ and then gathered support from further national/international NGOs. The ability to present the text of the treaty envisaged gave a tangible and credible expression to IFJ’s claim for legal codification and secured support from other stakeholders [5.4]. When this draft was published in late 2017 there was a cascade of responses from journalism organisations: both in the UK (e.g. the London-based News Media Association) and internationally (e.g. Australia’s MEAA trade union, South Africa’s 190 member SANEF collective and Germany’s 18,000 publisher strong WAN-IFRA). The progress of the draft as it gained endorsement from key stakeholders was widely reported in media across the world (from Pakistan’s newspaper of record to the USA’s longest running weekly) [5.6].

The IFJ, having adopted the Convention as its official policy, launched in January 2018 a global campaign for its adoption; it also translated it into French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. In October 2018 the Draft Convention was brought to the attention of the UK Parliament by an Early Day Motion tabled by Plaid Cymru’s MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd. Following a 32-signature tally, which comprised MPs from all parties and corners of the United Kingdom [5.7], the Convention was discussed at a Westminster Hall Debate on 9 January 2019, attracting detailed comments from over 20 MPs including the now Home Secretary [5.8]. This debate brought the matter to the attention of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which quickly requested written submissions from four experts: the Minister of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), representatives of Reporters Without Borders and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), and two academics (including Dr Draghici). The conclusions of the select committee were published on 4 September of the same year. They oblige the FCO both to tighten the UK’s stance on prosecuting violence against journalists and consider supporting an international mechanism for protecting them [5.9]. NUJ, on behalf of whom Dr Draghici provided expert testimony, has been very complimentary of the research and the impact the Convention has had in advancing the issue, not just in policy circles but also in the public’s eye: “ The impact of a better-informed public, which the Convention seeks to ensure, cannot be discounted, especially in the context of combating global issues, such as corruption, misinformation and humanitarian or health crises” [5.10]. The Convention and its promotion campaign at UN level gained significant state support. By September 2020 it had the support of Argentina, Austria, Canada, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Russia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay.

In October 2018, Dr Draghici joined the IFJ delegation at a meeting held at the UN headquarters in New York with State representatives from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, Asia and North America, where she made the case for its adoption, highlighting the advantages of a category-specific human rights treaty [5.11]. In March 2019, Dr Draghici as part of an IFJ delegation presented the Convention at a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva [5.11]. Several States have expressed interest in enshrining the Convention into law: Austria, Italy, Mexico, Morocco (which, as chair of the African group at the UN, raised the Convention at a recent meeting, gaining the group’s agreement to support it, and has committed to keeping the issue on the agenda and seeking formal support when appropriate), Pakistan, Palestine (which has the presidency of the Group of 77 and expressed its commitment to motivating the 134 governments affiliated to the coalition), Peru, Russia, and Tunisia. A group of willing States can place the adoption of the Convention on the agenda of the UN General Assembly/Human Rights Council.