The Guidelines on protection of journalists in armed conflicts, integrated in the Human Rights Council agenda of their sixty-second session, are reported by Irene Khan, and this workshop serves as one of the final checks before their presentation to the HRC. 

On June 29th and 30th, the event welcomed a few dozen attendees representing various international organizations, academia, journalism, as well as state representatives. 

The first afternoon, Irene Khan hosted a preparatory session, reviewing the document’s paragraphs from a legal and policy perspective, discussing eventual remaining issues. Definitions, scopes, and enforcement issues were mainly brought up during this session, and worked through with valuable inputs from all parties involved.  

The preparatory session was followed by a reception at the Terrasse de la Paix restaurant in the evening, gathering a larger group of invitees, including delegates to the HRC. During this reception, the guidelines were broadly presented and contextualized. 

The following day was dedicated to the actual workshop around the guidelines. Thematically divided into four sessions, the workshop discussed best practices for strengthening the protection of journalists in armed conflicts, identifying room for improvement, touch base on the already implemented efforts, and identify potential gaps to be addressed. 

Every session involved inputs by participants from all fields, where they were allowed to share their initiatives and perspectives. The first morning session identified best practices areas for improvement pertaining to harm protection, and the second one focused on the impunity and overall lack of accountability related to crimes against journalists. 

The afternoon was then dedicated to how the guidelines should be brought into action with concrete implementation ideas and enforcement mechanisms. This session invited various stakeholders such as States, international organizations, civil society, journalism companies and journalists themselves, to state their current actions and future efforts. 

The final concluding session called for pledges for action, and defined the next steps to take. Pledges were made by stakeholders, including ensuring the promotion and dissemination of the guidelines over the course of the next few months. Finally, the attendees manifested a strong interest in reuniting for potential follow-up meetings at the Geneva Graduate Institute.