G7 must protect and evacuate journalists and media workers in Afghanistan

Picture credit: Shakib Rahmani / AFP.

   

23-08-2021

Civil society and journalists’ organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), call on the G7 to protect and evacuate journalists and media workers in Afghanistan.

Ahead of the G7 summit on the situation in Afghanistan, we, the undersigned organisations, call on G7 countries to make a clear and explicit commitment to taking journalists and media workers as an urgent and immediate priority, ensure their protection and evacuate them and their families.

We ask that G7 members:

1. Make an explicit commitment to evacuate all journalists, media workers and media advocates at risk, and their families
2. Ease visa restrictions for all Afghan journalists, media workers, media advocates and their families seeking asylum
3. Simplify and secure the process for visa application, and collaborate with third countries when possible
4. Provide safe passage to and at the airport and other routes
5. Remain in Kabul in order to secure the airport and the possibility to evacuate beyond the August 31 deadline
6. Create an emergency fund for Afghan journalists and media workers
7. Provide pathways for cash to enter in the country
8. Repurpose development budget lines to address the emergency situation
9. Coordinate efforts within the United Nations system for immediate support
10. At the 26 August special session of the Human Rights Council, call for the establishment of an independent monitoring and investigative mechanism that is adequately staffed and resourced.