Afghanistan: Civil society group calls on G7 leaders to support Afghan media workers

UPDATED 25.08.21 As G7 leaders convene today, 24 August, to discuss evacuation efforts in Afghanistan over 50 civil society organisations, including the IFJ, have called on G7 countries to commit and take immediate action to support Afghan media workers to ensure their protection and evacuation.

Credit: IFJ

The signatories ask that G7 members:
1. Make an explicit commitment to evacuate all journalists, media workers and media
advocates at risk, and their families
2. Ease visa restrictions for all Afghan journalists, media workers, media advocates and
their families seeking asylum
3. Simplify and secure the process for visa application, and collaborate with third
countries when possible
4. Provide safe passage to and at the airport and other routes
5. Remain in Kabul in order to secure the airport and the possibility to evacuate beyond
the August 31 deadline
6. Create an emergency fund for Afghan journalists and media workers
7. Provide pathways for cash to enter in the country
8. Repurpose development budget lines to address the emergency situation
9. Coordinate efforts within the United Nations system for immediate support
10. At the 26 August special session of the Human Rights Council, call for the
establishment of an independent monitoring and investigative mechanism that is
adequately staffed and resourced

Read full statement here

Signatories

  • ACOS Alliance
  • ARTICLE 19
  • Association of European Journalists (AEJ)
  • Association for International Broadcasting
  • Association of Freelance Journalists (Kenya)
  • Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma
  • Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)
  • Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM)
  • Committee to Protect Journalists
  • Dart Centre Asia Pacific
  • Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
  • DW Akademie, Deutsche Welle
  • English PEN
  • Ethnovision
  • European Broadcasting Union
  • European Centre for Press Media Freedom
  • European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
  • Freedom House
  • Free Press Unlimited
  • The Frontline Club
  • The Frontline Freelance Register
  • Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
  • The GroundTruth Project
  • Guardian News and Media
  • IFEX
  • International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)
  • International Media Support
  • International News Safety Institute (INSI)
  • International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)
  • International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
  • International Press Institute (IPI)
  • Internews
  • James W. Foley Legacy Foundation
  • Maharat Foundation
  • Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
  • Overseas Press Club of America
  • Overseas Press Club Foundation
  • Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
  • PEN America
  • PEN Canada
  • PEN Germany
  • PEN Japan
  • PEN International
  • Public Media Alliance
  • Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
  • Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
  • Rory Peck Trust
  • Samir Kassir Foundation
  • The Signals Network
  • Storyhunter
  • VII Agency
  • VII Foundation
  • Women Photograph
  • World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)

Following their meeting, the G7 leaders issued a joint statement. G7 leaders said their immediate priority was "to ensure the safe evacuation of our citizens and those Afghans who have partnered with us and assisted our efforts over the past twenty years, and to ensure continuing safe passage out of Afghanistan".

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries

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