Nepal journalists to receive safety boost

Pushing for a safer working environment for journalists, International Media Support, UNESCO and a range of national groups are working to set up a common platform for media, civil society actors, security forces and Nepal’s judiciary to combat impunity and safeguard the rights of the country’s journalists.

Anchored with Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission, the special safety mechanism seeks to improve the safety of journalists and address the issue of impunity in a coordinated manner.

The mechanism, when fully established, will include a special task force to ensure a quick response to rights violations through assessments of threats to individual journalists and by providing the necessary response.

The mechanism is a result of years of lobbying for the improved safety of media in Nepal by IMS and its partners under the umbrella of the Nepal International Media Partnership, a group of international media and freedom of expression groups including UNESCO.

Nepal’s decade-long civil war ended in 2006. The country’s peace process continues to be fragile and journalists have over the years experienced continuous threats and violence. The majority of these violations has gone unpunished, resulting in self-censorship and undermining the information flow in the country.