ROCHESTER -- Diane Foley of Rochester, mother of conflict journalist James Foley who was slain by ISIS in 2014, took the international stage at the Hague in the Netherlands Thursday to call for condemnation of violence against journalists.
Foley gave the key note address at the 2017 Free Press Live event at the Peace Palace in The Hague, a day that marks International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Foley, was among the few speakers there asked to discuss how to counteract the rising violence against journalists worldwide, while sharing their own personal experiences on the issue. Along with Foley, were Natashya Gutierrez, an investigative journalist and the bureau chief for South East Asia for Philippine news platform Rappler; Sasha Rubel, a UNESCO representative based in Dakar; and Nani Jansen Reventlow, a renowned advocate of free speech, with acclaimed Dutch journalist Twan Huys as the moderator.
The event was hosted by Free Press Unlimited, a foundation based in Amsterdam, whose mission is to help local journalists in war zones and conflict areas provide their communities with trustworthy news and information. Free Press says “every week a journalist is killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public.”
“I applaud UNESCO for its wisdom in recognizing that this current culture of impunity allows those wanting to silence the press to continue their brutal targeting of journalists, totally undaunted by any repercussions or justice for those victimized,” said Foley. “UNESCO’s #End Impunity campaign needs to be embraced by us all to loudly condemn all violence against journalists and to call for accountability and justice for perpetrators of these crimes against humanity,” said Foley.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 3,014 journalists and 104 media workers have been killed since 1992, with 811 of those deaths having been murders. James was one of 27 journalists murdered in 2014, with that number doubling to 50 the following year. This year’s CPJ’s annual Global Impunity Index, a ranking of countries where journalists are murdered and their killers go free, shows Somalia as the worst country for unsolved murders for the third year in a row, and Syria following as the second worst spot on the index, compared to its third place the year before.
“Depending on the country and issue, journalists are really under siege,” said Foley, noting that the numbers don’t even begin to cover the thousands of journalists who are abducted, targeted, and harassed for a multitude of reasons and even those subjected to online harassment and sexual harassment. Foley says only one in 10 of those crimes is ever prosecuted, and of those remaining and awaiting prosecution, is the crime against her son.
James Foley, known as Jim to his family, began his photojournalism career in Iraq, then Afghanistan, then Libya and finally Syria. In 2011, James was detained by Colonel Gadaffi’s Libyan regime for 44 days, but was released. Then on Nov. 22, 2012, James went missing while reporting for GlobalPost and Agence France-Presse. His family was never to hear from him again when on Aug. 19, 2014, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria posted a video online showing his murder.
“During the two years of Jim’s captivity, U.S. government officials told me to trust them, to say nothing, do nothing,” Foley said. “Now, three years later, I am told once again to trust, that something is being done to bring Jim’s sadistic captors to justice. Yet, no attorney has been named to prioritize the search for justice. Only one FBI agent continues to work this case and admits little progress.”
Foley is also president of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, the foundation she and her family founded on Sept. 12, 2014, to advocate for the safe return of those detained or kidnapped abroad, and to protect the increasing numbers of independent conflict journalists. The foundation has sought to work with the U.S. government to make the return of all Americans in captivity a national priority. They have worked with others to create A Culture of Safety alliance to protect vulnerable civilian and foreign independent conflict journalists, and are working to create an online curriculum for schools of journalism that stresses the needed core competencies of risk assessment and digital security.
Foley said “it’s important to protect our journalists, protect our free press, so justice can be heard.”
According to the Associated Press, while steps have been taken toward improving the safety of journalists, they believe there needs to be a new legal action that would make killing or taking journalists hostage a war crime. In 2016, the Pentagon revised its Law of War guidelines to clearly identify journalists as civilians and protect journalists under the law of war. The AP says, “There always will be certain risks to covering news firsthand, but there are further legal steps that can be taken to protect journalists.”
Foley said the violence to journalists is only getting worse with its lack of consequences, but their mission at The Hague on Thursday was to raise awareness. Foley said the Peace Palace, the headquarter of the U.N.’s International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, “made the perfect setting.” Foley said the event was extremely well attended and organized, and she was very honored to be there.
“I am here today to challenge you to call for an end to impunity for these deliberate crimes against journalists, and to dare to challenge those who forget the sacrifices made by so many journalists, both civilian and foreign,” said Foley. “Hatred and fear are terrorizing our world and working hard to silence the voices calling for truth and justice. Do not allow yourself to be silenced,” Foley said to her audience.
More information can be found at freepressunlimited.org and for more information about the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, or to learn how you can make an impact, visit www.jamesfoleyfoundation.org.