MOSCOW, June 19. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Union of Journalists has called for tougher media law to protect reporters that work in armed conflict zones, the organization’s press service said on Thursday.
It wants additional life and health insurance for journalists sent to war zones, personal equipment fit for conditions and identity cards for those on dangerous missions.
“The recent tragic killing of Russian journalists in Ukraine requires immediate and decisive action aimed at protecting media workers,” the union said.
“An employer should be obliged to organize special training for correspondents working in dangerous areas, ensure their genetic registration and provide psychological support to them and their family members on their return,” the organization said. “Employers should be subject to administrative liability for failing to perform these duties.”
The union has also called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to negotiate additional protocols to the Geneva Convention of 1949 on protection of victims of international armed conflicts. The organization wants the Council of Europe to put into action its own 1996 recommendations aiming for similar safeguards.
Issues of journalists’ security have been raised at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).