Journalists are essential to democratic societies. They hold power to account, expose corruption and abuse, inform citizens during crises, and help safeguard other human rights. Yet around the world they face threats, harassment, arbitrary detention, and murder—often without justice. When crimes against journalists go unpunished, public trust erodes and democracy itself is weakened.

In response to this global challenge, the United Nations, under the leadership of Greece, adopted the landmark General Assembly resolution “The Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity”, for the first time, in 2013. The resolution established international commitments to protect journalists and ensure accountability for crimes committed against them, proclaiming 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

Since the adoption of the resolution, Greece has played an active diplomatic and normative role in promoting UN attention to the safety of journalists and the fight against impunity. Beyond supporting the original 2013 resolution (UNGA Resolution A/RES/68/163), Greece has tabled and championed subsequent biennial resolutions at the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, ensuring that the issue remains high on the international agenda.

Through consensus-building and collaboration with partners across regions, Greece has helped secure broad co-sponsorship and adoption of these resolutions. Its public statements at UN forums have consistently emphasized the importance of accountability, the rule of law, and the protection of journalists in both physical and digital spaces, including attention to gender-based threats faced by women journalists.

Greece also co-chairs, together with France and Lithuania, the Group of Friends on the Protection of Journalists, a cross-regional initiative aimed at advancing practical solutions and political momentum. During Greece’s May 2025 Presidency of the UN Security Council, journalist safety was highlighted within discussions on the Protection of Civilians, underscoring the link between freedom of the press and broader human-rights and security concerns.

More recently, Greece has taken a leading role in advancing protection for journalists reporting on climate change and environmental issues. Led by Greece alongside a core group including Austria, Argentina, Costa Rica, France, and Tunisia, the most recent resolution (18.11.2025) focuses on the heightened risks faced by journalists covering environmental destruction and climate policy.

The resolution unequivocally condemns all online and offline attacks, reprisals, and violence against journalists and media workers reporting on these issues and calls for impartial, speedy, thorough, and independent investigations to ensure accountability. It recognizes that environmental journalists play a crucial role in informing the public and holding governments and corporations accountable, yet are increasingly targeted through violence, arbitrary detention, legal harassment, and intimidation.

Beyond journalists’ safety, Greece has also contributed to discussions on freedom of expression online. It has engaged with the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, supporting findings that highlight the risks posed by inadequate content moderation, engagement-driven business models, and overreliance on automated systems by major social media platforms. These issues disproportionately affect journalists and vulnerable voices, particularly in times of crisis and polarization.

Since 2012, the United Nations has adopted multiple resolutions across the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the Security Council, and UNESCO addressing journalist safety and impunity. Together, they form a global framework for action. The challenge now is implementation—turning agreed principles into protection, justice, and prevention.

As Greece continues to play a bridging, solutions-oriented role at the United Nations, the effectiveness of these efforts will ultimately be measured not by resolutions alone, but by whether journalists can do their work safely, freely, and without fear. Journalist safety is not an abstract UN issue. It is a public issue—one that shapes how societies understand truth, accountability, and democracy itself.

TAGS: MEDIA