IFJ welcomes UNESCO's roundtable on ethical standards in Libya and calls media to protect journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has welcomed the four-day roundtable to enhance professional and ethical standards in Libyan media management organized by UNESCO in Casa Arabe Cultural Centre in Madrid from 26 to 29 October. Following the meeting, the IFJ also called on Libyan media owners to do more to protect journalists and media workers, 6 of whom have been killed this year and tens more have been forced to flee the country. Attended by twenty managers and owners of Libyan media outlets broadcasting from inside the country as well as the region, discussions focused on the practical challenges they confront daily in their work, as well as on strategies to develop policies and practices consistent with international best practice, thus reinforcing their contribution to reconciliation and peace in the country. The IFJ shared the participants’ view that further support is needed to assist media outlets to successfully incorporate them into daily practice in Libya. According to media reports, in the last weeks two Libyan media workers were kidnapped in front of their houses. Photographer Mohammed al Naily was working for Chinese news agency Xinhua and went missing in still unclear circumstances on 29 October. Muataz Kharif, sport reporter for Libya Sport TV and Libyan al Ahrar TV, was kidnapped on 10 November. The roundtable was undertaken by UNESCO Tripoli Project Office in partnership with Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and with the support of the Embassy of the United States of America and the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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