Senators call for establishment of new UN Special Envoy to protect journalists
Nearly 1,000 journalists have been killed in the last decade across the world
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator and former investigative journalist Jon Ossoff is leading a bipartisan push to protect journalists and press freedom around the world.
Sens. Ossoff, Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Roy Blunt (R-MO) are calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the United States’ UN Delegation to push for the creation a new Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Safety of Journalists.
“Every day, around the world, courageous journalists regularly put themselves in harm’s way in pursuit of truth and accountability. They accept risks to their lives in service to the public. They are a check on the powerful and those that abuse their authority,”the Senators wrote to Sec. Blinken. “Protecting the freedom and safety of the press to carry on this vital work is a fundamental American value and worthy of promotion on the international stage.”
According to Reporters Without Borders, at least 910 journalists have been killed over the last decade.
Before his election to the Senate, Sen. Ossoff produced internationally broadcast investigations of war crimes, official corruption, and organized crime.
Since his election, Sen. Ossoff has championed press freedom at home and abroad. Sen. Ossoff pushed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearings to reiterate her commitments to freedoms of speech and of the press, and he has frequently spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party’s targeting of journalists.
Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s letter.
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