Committee : United Nations Human Rights Council

Country : Kingdom of the Netherlands

Delegate : Ida Ayu Putu Sharira Kirana
Topic : Protect or Attack: The Fate of Journalist

The worlds are devastated, hearts are broken recalling that ever since the year 1992
to the very least this exact moment, according to the Committee to Protect Journalist
(CPJ). It has been stated that 1365 journalists have been killed in every corner of the
world and numbers keep rising now and then by the course of time.1 Taking into account
that moreover than (60%) of these journalists have been murdered with impunity; which
is that, no killer was ever brought to a justice of their deaths.2 With recorded analysis
stated that CPJ found at least 1773 journalists imprisoned worldwide and accumulated
about 250 journalists imprisoned within each year, many for doing what would be
considered routine reporting to continue its duty as a journalist of the people and as the
voice of the world.3 There are growing threats to digital safety with cyber-attacks, hacking,
online harassment, especially of women journalists, all creating a safety crisis for news
professionals.4
By tradition, press freedom is highly valued in The Netherlands. Our government
supports a free press inside and outside the country. Journalists are generally protected
by a robust legal framework that extends to the confidentiality of sources. Most Dutch
journalists are members of the Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten (NVJ), an active
union with a legal department and educational programs.5.1
The objectives of the NVJ are to safeguard the freedom of the press, to stand up for
good working conditions and rates and to promote basic conditions for conducting pure
journalism. This is pursued by, among other things, participating in consultations on
central employment contracts, assisting in the drafting of independent editorial statutes,
providing legal assistance to members and issuing press cards.6
A 2017 NVJ report 'A Threatening Climate' stated that over half of all journalists
have faced physical, judicial, or online threats in the course of their career. Holland is not
immune to the deteriorating political and social tendencies throughout Europe. Several
disturbing international trends are visible in the Netherlands, albeit on a smaller scale.
The rise of populist parties on the right and left is a growing challenge to press freedom.
These parties question the legitimacy of traditional media, call for the resignation of
individual journalists and sometimes restrict press access to their meetings. In this
atmosphere, journalists who address issues of national identity or immigration often find
themselves facing intimidation on social media platforms. Yet the large majority of voters
still support press freedom. In this time of powerful online internet platforms, journalists
are more visible than ever. This has resulted in worrying violent online attacks, including
death threats against journalists and their families.5.2
Aggression against female journalists and reporters with a minority background is
particularly vitriolic. In recent years several people were prosecuted and found guilty of
threatening reporters online. New government policy has taken effect in 2018: every
police complaint filed by a journalist now has to be investigated thoroughly. Particularly
worrying are planned by organized crime for murderous attacks on journalists. In 2018
two crime reporters were granted full-time police protection. Last summer an anti-tank
missile was fired at the Amsterdam office of two magazines that often report on organized
crime. The building of a national newspaper was attacked by a van that was driven
deliberately through its facade. Despite these disquieting developments, the Dutch media
remain confident and independent, firmly embedded into Dutch society and by
international standards free from governmental or other interference.5.3
The Journalists’ Association of the Netherlands (NVJ) has signed an important
agreement to improve the safety of journalists. The Agreement of the Steering Group on
Aggression and violence against journalists was negotiated by the NVJ with The Dutch
Minister of justice, the GP-office and the National Police. Cooperation and commitment
from the public authorities and states to protect journalists.7.1
This Agreement comes after an increasing number of threats towards journalists in
the Netherlands, including several attacks targeting renowned crime reporters and the
recent incidents at the editorial offices of De Telegraaf and Panorama. The Steering
Group set up within the framework of the Agreement developed some key measures to
protect the safety of journalists. They include.
a) Increasing awareness among journalists thorough safety plan that will include a
practical approach in the areas of prevention and training, but also clear
procedures about which measures must be taken after an event, including the
reporting of an incident or a crime, and the aftercare. Freelancers must be
included in these plans, but the NVJ will also act separately as a contact
point/coordinator for freelancers.
b) A collective norm-setting out which types of aggressive behavior are considered
unacceptable and always lead to action by the employer/journalists. In such cases,
the journalist concerned will report the incident to the employer/NVJ and, if
appropriate, a criminal complaint will be made.
c) Violence against the media (VAM) application will be developed as a practical
tool or extension of the safety plan.
d) Public support and training programmers to teach to journalists how to defend
themselves against different forms of aggression and intimidation.7.2
We are very alarmed and deeply concerned regarding this issue of violence against
journalists. Thus to prevent the issue of violence against journalists, nations must work
together to build a culture of press freedom, support in the protection, and legal
framework of its journalists. As such, the Kingdom of Netherlands expresses its hope to
end violence against journalists and to further conduct a safer world for the truth. We are
looking forward to offering its support, in whatever form possible, to every nation firmly
committed to fulfilling its ambition for the protection of journalists.
References:
1
Committee to Protect Journalist. 2020. “CPJ data of killed journalist”. New York, USA.
Accessed from
https://cpj.org/data/reports.php?status=Imprisoned&start_year=1992&end_year=2020&
group_by=location (Accessed on February, 10th 2020, 10.20 am.)
2
Center for International Media Assistance. 2013. “A Guide to Journalism Safety
Organizations”. Global Investigate Journalism Network. Accessed from
https://gijn.org/2013/04/15/a-guide-to-journalism-safety-organizations/ (Accessed on
February, 9th 2020 17.45 pm.)
3
Committee to Protect Journalist. 2020. “CPJ data of imprisoned journalist”. New York,
USA. Accessed from
https://cpj.org/data/reports.php?status=Imprisoned&start_year=1992&end_year=2020&
group_by=location (Accessed on February, 10th 2020, 10.26 am.)
4
International Federation of Journalists. 2019. “End Impunity - for a UN Convention to
protect journalists”. IFJ Campaigns. Accessed from https://www.ifj.org/actions/ifj-
campaigns/end-impunity-for-a-un-convention-to-protect-journalists.html (Accessed on
February, 12th 2020, 12.53 am)
Reporters without Borders. 2019. “The rise of online threats”. Netherlands.
5(1.2.3)

Accessed from https://rsf.org/en/netherlands (Accessed on February, 10th 2020, 10.34 am.)

6
Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten. 2020. “About The NVJ”. Netherlands
Accessed from https://www.nvj.nl/nvj-0 (Accessed on February, 14th 2020 15.45 pm)
European Federation of Journalist. 2018. “Dutch journalists sign agreement to
7(1.2)

improve safety of journalists” Europe. Accessed from

https://europeanjournalists.org/blog/2018/12/05/dutch-journalists-sign-agreement-to-
improve-safety-of-journalists/ (Accessed on February, 15th 2020, 9.02 am)