Freedom of expression also under fire in Gaza war, rights expert says
New York, US (PANA) - No conflict in recent times has threatened freedom of expression so far beyond its borders as the war in Gaza, an expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Friday in New York.
“Rarely have we seen – and this is what bothers me - extensive patterns of unlawful, discriminatory and disproportionate restriction by States and private actors on freedom of expression,” said Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur mandated to promote and protect this right globally.
Ms. Khan briefed journalists at UN Headquarters on her latest report, which she had presented to the UN General Assembly the previous day.
It documents severe restrictions of violations of freedom of expression arising from the conflict, including the killing of journalists in Gaza, the crushing of protests worldwide, and the silencing of artists and scholars.
Ms. Khan drew attention to the severe attacks on media in Gaza, but also in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
She pointed to the targeted killing and arbitrary detention of journalists, extensive destruction of press facilities and equipment in Gaza, the denial of access to international media, the banning of the Al Jazeera news channel, and the tightening of censorship within Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
These actions “seem to indicate a strategy of Israeli authorities to silence critical journalism and obstruct documentation of possible international crimes”, she said.
Although the deliberate killing of a journalist is a war crime, “not a single killing of a journalist this past year or, for that matter, in previous years in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, has ever been properly investigated, prosecuted or punished”, she added, noting that “impunity is total”.
Her report also highlights discrimination and double standards restricting freedom of expression in support of Palestinian rights and suppressing protests against the carnage in Gaza.
Ms. Khan said bans, including some blanket bans, of pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been imposed in many European countries, and campus protests held earlier this year in the United States were crushed harshly.
Public display of Palestinian national symbols like the flag or the keffiyeh, as well as certain slogans, have also been prohibited and even criminalized in some countries.
She explained that such blanket discriminatory prohibitions are inherently incompatible with international human rights because they fail to meet the test of necessity, proportionality and the principle of nondiscrimination, UN News reported.
“This failure to respect international standards is an issue of global concern because it sends a message around the world that freedom of expression can be suppressed at will or with political expediency,” she said.
-0- PANA MA 19Oct2024
