UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur David Kaye, and his counterpart from the Organization of American States (OAS), Edison Lanza, condemned the use of force against journalists reporting on demonstrations that have rocked cities across the US over the past two weeks following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, by police in Minneapolis.
They referred to the harassment, arrest and detention of media representatives covering protests against #SystemicRacism and #PoliceBrutality in the #UnitedStates.
David Kaye was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in August 2014.
Edison Lanza, who is from Uruguay, has served as the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) since October 2014.
“We are deeply concerned that the militarisation of policing in the United States not only interferes with the right to peacefully assemble but also limits the ability of the press to cover protests”.
“It encourages law enforcement to see protesters and journalists as belligerents, and we strongly encourage demilitarisation and a reliance on international standards for the management of protests”.
“The targeting of media workers with lethal or less-lethal force for doing their work is prohibited under international human rights law and contrary to best policing standards. Those violating such rules must be subject to accountability and disciplinary processes.”
Here you can find their joint statement released on Wednesday:
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25946&LangID=E
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