Professor of Political Journalism, Ivor Gaber, is today (Wednesday 17) representing the UK at the biennial meeting of UNESCO's General Conference in Paris today.
 
Speaking at the Communication and Information sector Professor Gaber reiterated the UK’s commitment to protecting and expanding freedom of the media at a time when it is under attack across the globe from governments and others.

He commended UNESCO on its work protecting journalists working on the frontline and reminded the conference that the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists resulted from a UK initiative at UNESCO in 2010
 
“The UK strongly supports UNESCO’s work in this area and its continued focus on the specific threats faced by women journalists.” he told the meeting

He added that UNESCO should prioritise ending impunity – as it is one of the critical initiatives that governments can take to protect journalists.
 
He continued by recommending that UNESCO “should also consider increasing, its work on discouraging governments from undermining public trust in journalism.”
 
The Conference comes at a pertinent time for media freedom and the safety of journalists with US journalist, Danny Fenster, just released from prison, having been initially sentenced to 11 years by a military court in Myanmar.
 
Professor Gaber also used his speech to highlight the spread of misinformation with importance placed on the teaching of media literacy to counteract some of its worst affects worldwide.
 
Professor Gaber, who was a political journalist before entering academia, said: “At a time when the threats to journalism and the dangers of fake news have never been greater, it’s heartening to see the UK Government’s strong commitment to supporting UNESCO’s work In this area”