UPDATE: 27 MPs are now backing the motion

The MPs, from across the political spectrum, have tabled a motion in the UK parliament calling on the government to provide full support for the Convention which seeks to combat impunity and provide greater safety and security to journalists.

The motion recognizes that “the killing of journalists is a global problem, with an average of two such deaths every week…that UNESCO has reported that just one in 10 killings of journalists results in a successful prosecution; asserts that there is an unacceptable international climate of impunity that continues to have a detrimental impact on the safety of media workers, public interest journalism and the freedom of the press”.

Thanks to pressure from other MPs, the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has agreed to meet with the IFJ to discuss the initiative.

Dozens of journalists and media workers unions and associations across the world as well as leading industry bodies including the World Association of Newspapers and the European Broadcasting Union are already backing the Convention and took the case for action against impunity to the United Nations in New York earlier this month.

• Add the name of your organisation to those supporting the IFJ's call for a UN Convention here