Accra, Feb.28, GNA— The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on Madam Audrey Azoulay, Director General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to ensure the safety of journalists in Ukraine, both national and foreign.
The Federation has also called on all news organisations to take steps to protect their reporters in the field.
A statement from IFJ said the battle against disinformation was one of the pillars of the IFJ Global Ethics Charter for Journalists and must remain the backbone of journalists’ work in both Ukraine and Russia.
It noted that IFJ affiliates in Ukraine, IMTUU (Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine), NUJU (National Union of Journalists of Ukraine) and RUJ in Russia (Russian Union of Journalists) had urged their members to respect those professional principles.
“Since the outbreak of Russia’s armed conflict against Ukraine, the International Federation of Journalists has been in constant contact with its Ukrainian affiliates, NUJU and IMTUU, and has echoed warnings against journalists being seduced by disinformation. The IFJ and its affiliates around the world call on UNESCO to do everything possible to protect Journalists,” the statement said.
It said in the space of a few days, hundreds of Ukrainian civilians had already been killed by Russian bombs, which had earned Putin’s regime the ire of the international community.
“This is a war in violation of a country’s sovereignty, in violation of international law and the founding principles of the United Nations Charter,” it said.
The statement said the IFJ and the International Trade Union Confederation, representing more than 200 million workers worldwide, were, therefore, calling on their members to express solidarity with workers and citizens of Ukraine through a solidarity fund for ITUC affiliated organisations in Ukraine.
It also called on the governments of countries in the region to provide a safe place for refugees fleeing the conflict.
The statement said to increase pressure on Russia, the Global Federations were asking their affiliates to call on their respective governments, and regional international institutions, in Europe, Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, to put in place sanctions against the Putin government.
GNA