The Director-General of UNESCO, Khaled Al-Anani, expressed his strong condemnation of the killing of journalists Ali Shuaib, Fatima Fattouni, and Mohamed Fattouni, who were martyred on the twenty-eighth of last March in southern Lebanon. The three journalists were field covering the events. Al-Anani called for “an independent and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the incident.”
Al-Anani also reiterated his call for respect for Security Council Resolution No. 2222, issued in 2015, which emphasizes the need to protect journalists and media workers as civilians in times of conflict. He pointed out that this principle has been reaffirmed in the “Charter for the Future.”
In a statement, he stated that Ali Shuaib was working as a journalist on the “Al-Manar” channel, while Fatima Fattouni was working on the “Al-Mayadeen” channel, and Muhammad Fattouni, her brother, was working as a freelance photojournalist.
He added that reports indicate that the three journalists were killed while on a work mission, when their car was attacked on the Jezzine highway in southern Lebanon.
He also stressed the important role played by UNESCO in promoting the safety of journalists, through awareness-raising and capacity-building programs, within the framework of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and Combating Impunity.
This position comes in light of the increasing dangers facing journalists in conflict areas, especially in southern Lebanon, where recent months have witnessed targeting incidents and injuries among media professionals while they were covering events on the ground. This highlights once again the challenges associated with protecting journalists and the need to adhere to international laws that guarantee their safety.
