UN / HUMAN RIGHTS KHASHOGGI

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye called for an “independent investigative body” to examine the case of the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and stressed the need for a “credible statement about what actually happened.” UNIFEED

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:06
• Production Date: 23 October 2018
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - UNHRC
• Subject Topical: HUMAN RIGHTS; JOURNALISM; SUMMARY EXECUTIONS
• Geographic Subject: SAUDI ARABIA
• MAMS Id: 2280971
• Parent Id: 2280971
• Alternate Title: unifeed181023f

Description

STORY: UN / HUMAN RIGHTS KHASHOGGI
TRT: 2:06
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 22 OCTOBER 2018, NEW YORK CITY

Shotlist

FILE – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
2. Wide shots, people walking in hallways at UNHQ

22 OCTOBER 2018, NEW YORK CITY

3. SOUNDBITE (English) David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, United Nations:
“I and my colleague Anges Callamard, who's the Special Rapporteur on summary executions, and the UN working group on enforced disappearances, we've called for an international investigation into Jamal's disappearance and his evident murder. And I've been very disappointed frankly to see that that call has not been taken up by states yet, and I would really urge all governments to respond not just in the context of the November 2nd Day To End Impunity For Crimes Against Journalists, but also in the context of this moment when journalists are under such attack that they should step up; and whether it's through the Security Council, or the Human Rights Council, or persuading the Secretary General to do this. They should form an independent investigative body. It can be, you know, five people maximum who could evaluate the information that the Turkish authorities have been sharing with the press surreptitiously over the last couple of weeks. They can investigate potential witnesses. They could talk to people. They can do all that kind of evaluation and provide the international community with a credible report of what happened. It may not answer every question, but it would hopefully identify who's responsible and what exactly happened. And then it would be up to the international community to decide what to do with that information. But I think in the absence of that, we're going to be in this situation where we’ll be under kind of constant disputation about what the facts are, and we need a credible statement about what actually happened.”

FILE – NEW YORK CITY

4. Wide shot, people walking in hall at UNHQ

Storyline

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye called for an “independent investigative body” to examine the case of the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and stressed the need for a “credible statement about what actually happened.”

In an interview at UN Headquarters on Monday (22 Oct), Kaye said he was disappointed that his calls for an international investigation - along with those of Special Rapporteur on summary executions Anges Callamard and the UN working group on enforced disappearances - have not been taken up by States. He added, “I would really urge all governments to respond not just in the context of the November 2nd Day To End Impunity For Crimes Against Journalists, but also in the context of this moment when journalists are under such attack that they should step up; and whether it's through the Security Council, or the Human Rights Council, or persuading the Secretary General to do this.”

The Special Rapporteur said the investigative body could evaluate the data and provide the international community with a credible report of what happened. He said, “It may not answer every question, but it would hopefully identify who's responsible and what exactly happened.”

Kaye said it would be up to the international community to decide what to do with the investigation outcome, but underscored that in the absence of that, “we're going to be in this situation where we’ll be under kind of constant disputation about what the facts are, and we need a credible statement about what actually happened.”

Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and work on a voluntary basis. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

The interview at UN headquarters in New York took place a week before the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on 2 November, when UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, will launch a new campaign, Truth Never Dies to raise awareness of the dangers they face: every four days, a journalist somewhere around the world is killed.