Elisabeth Witchel/CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant

Elisabeth Witchel, a CPJ consultant, served for many years as the organization’s journalist assistance coordinator. She also launched CPJ’s Global Campaign Against Impunity.

Brazil restates commitment to press freedom, UN plan

CPJ has received an encouraging letter from Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazil’s permanent representative to the United Nations, affirming the country’s support for the UNESCO-led U.N. Plan of Action for Security of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. 

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Mission tells Nepal: No excuse for deferring press freedom

As Nepal’s constituent assembly failed to meet Sunday’s deadline for the passage of a new constitution, a new report released this week on the risks to Nepal’s media should remind political parties that peace and stability are not prerequisites to media freedom but rather that a strong, independent press operating without fear is a requirement…

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CPJ
At a protest against the murder of a journalist in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a sign reads: "Enough of violence, exclusion and impunity." (AP/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Brazil, Pakistan, India fail test on journalist murders

Brazil, Pakistan, and India–three nations with high numbers of unsolved journalist murders–failed an important test last month in fighting the scourge of impunity. Delegates from the three countries took the lead in raising objections to a U.N. plan that would strengthen international efforts to combat deadly anti-press violence.

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CPJ

UN plan on journalist security could bring improvement

Representatives from U.N. agencies, member states, and nongovernmental organizations convened on Tuesday at the United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity to plan how to address journalist security. Participants of the meeting, which was convened by UNESCO at its Paris headquarters, also discussed how the United Nations could promote…

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(AP)

Family, friends celebrate life of journalist killed in Libya

Photojournalist Anton Hammerl’s body has not been returned to his family five months after his death on assignment in Libya, but his family and friends celebrated his remarkable life and career at a memorial service Thursday at St. Bride’s Church in London. Hammerl, 41, was shot and killed by government forces near Brega in eastern…

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Pierre Elisem was shot by Aristide supporters in Port-au-Prince in February 2004. (AP/Walter Astrada)

Left for dead in Haiti: How CPJ helped one journalist

Ten years ago I joined the staff of the Committee to Protect Journalists to launch the Journalist Assistance program, an initiative, as CPJ board member Gene Roberts describes, developed to establish a standing direct response mechanism for journalists facing threats and attacks. When I left the position in 2009, many people asked me what case…

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A promotional image for "On the Record," which opens this week at London's Arcola Theatre.

Journalists take stage: Q&A with ‘Record’ playwright

The true stories of journalists from Mexico, Sri Lanka, Russia, the United States, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories will hit the stage July 20 at London’s Arcola Theatre. “On the Record,” which runs through August 13, examines the careers of six journalists, the risks they face, and their determination to make an impact through their…

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Tim Hetherington at the World Press Photo Award exhibition in Zurich in 2008. He won for his photo "American Soldier." (AP/Keystone/Eddy Risch)

After the prelude: Remembering Tim Hetherington

On Friday, May 13, some 500 people gathered at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, London, to remember, celebrate, and lay to rest photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington.  

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(Lucie Umukundwa)

Out of Africa: Lucie Umukundwa five years later

Five years after helping her leave her region due to threats, CPJ catches up with Rwandan journalist Lucie Umukundwa to learn more about her struggles to resettle in another continent, regain a foothold in journalism and continue to make an impact in Africa.

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Diplomats divert from issues at UNESCO symposium

UNESCO’s International Symposium on Freedom of Expression at the world culture organization’s Paris headquarters January 26 brought together a wide range of experts to construct a full picture of the state of freedom of expression in the world today. Not everyone in the audience liked what they heard. 

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