RPT endorses call for emergency visas for
fleeing journalists

Rory Peck Trust Chair Tira Shubart was in attendance this week at the launch of the Report On Providing Safe Refuge to Journalists At Risk, published by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute’s High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom. The discussion was chaired by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and former UK Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger.

The report, authored by Professor Can Yeginsu, found that existing pathways for journalists are “too few in number and those that do exist are too slow, burdensome, and difficult to navigate to be capable of providing practical and effective recourse.”

As an organisation, the Trust is in full support of the report’s recommendations, chiefly that countries prioritise the granting of emergency visas to journalists who are fleeing danger in their home countries. The visa would grant temporary refuge in the host country until threats have subsided.

“From our many years of supporting journalists in crisis at the Rory Peck Trust, we know that a quick and effective process to give journalists safe harbour is essential to protect them from targeted attacks,” said Shubart.