Harlem Désir: “Journalists’ safety and media freedom are even more important during war”

Harlem Désir, former OSCE Representative on Freedom of Speech, has been at the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) central office on an unofficial visit.

He got acquainted with the work of the Kyiv Journalists’ Solidarity Center and representatives of five other centers who gathered in Kyiv for a two-day training. Harlem Désir particularly emphasized the importance of freedom of speech for Ukraine during his speech.

“The safety of journalists and media freedom are even more important in times of war… I am happy to meet again with Ukrainian journalists who inform the whole world and all corners of Ukraine about the war and crimes against civilians,” he said.

Mr. Désir thanked the representatives of the Journalists’ Solidarity Centers for their efforts to create safe conditions for the work of journalists during the war. Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the NUJU, told the guest about the work of the Kyiv Journalists’ Solidarity Center and showed the guest of honor the protective equipment, which, with the support of UNESCO, the Union provides to Ukrainian and foreign journalists who go to hot spots. Besides, Sergiy Tomilenko introduced Harlem Désir to representatives of printed publications from the de-occupied and front-line territories, whose publishing was restored thanks to the Union.

“Our priority is to restore local publications in the de-occupied territories. For example, as soon as Kherson was de-occupied, we found funds and financed the first issue of the Novyi Den newspaper there. We also found a donor who supported the publication’s further publishing,” Sergiy Tomilenko noted.

Harlem Désir, for his part, emphasized the great importance of truthful information for the territories recently liberated from the occupier.

At the same time, the guest of honor, who has long taken care of freedom of speech in Ukraine, supported the recently launched tradition and left an entry in the Book of Friends of the Union.

Journalists’ Solidarity Centers are an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is aimed at helping media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.

About UNESCO. UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the Organization.

NUJU Information Service