UNESCO will provide a first batch of 125 helmets and bulletproof vests labeled “Press” as part of emergency measures to protect journalists covering the conflict in Ukraine, the United Nations organization announced Thursday.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, five journalists – three Ukrainians, a French-Irish and an American – have been killed.
“Thousands of journalists work on the ground in Ukraine, often without the necessary protective equipment or training. This is especially true in the case of Ukrainian journalists, who were previously dedicated to local issues and who are launched as war correspondents without being prepared for the risks they run, “says the United Nations Educational, Scientific Organization. and Culture (Unesco), in a statement.
UNESCO announces that “it will supply a first batch of 125 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits, made up of bulletproof vests with the word ‘Press’ and helmets”.
“Previous experiences of journalism in war zones have shown that having quality PPE can save lives. For this reason, UNESCO will work with its partners so that the greatest possible number of journalists on the ground in Ukraine have this vital equipment”, explains Audrey Azoulay, director general of UNESCO.
They will be distributed through Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), “starting next week.”
Another measure adopted by UNESCO is training to operate in a war zone.
“Unesco translates into Ukrainian and makes available in several other languages its training manuals for journalists in ‘hostile environments,’ developed jointly with RSF,” according to the statement.
The organization will also launch “online workshops” on hostile environments and psychological trauma, in collaboration with the IFJ and RSF.
UNESCO is currently working with the IFJ “to relocate the two Ukrainian journalist federations to offices in Poland, near the Ukrainian border,” the statement added. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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