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The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today voiced concern for the safety of media workers in Iraq following the killing of two Iraqi cameramen, Muthanna Abdul Hussein and Khaled Abed Thamer, on 09 March.

“I condemn the killing of Muthanna Abdul Hussein and Khaled Abed Thamer,” the Director-General said. “The number of media workers killed in Iraq is a source of grave concern. I call on the authorities once again to ensure that those responsible for the death of journalists be brought to justice. Decisive action is needed to ensure that the media can carry out their work and the public can remain informed.”

Muthanna Abdul Hussein and Khaled Abed Thamer, cameramen for Al-Iraqia TV were killed in a suicide bomb blast in a checkpoint at the city of Hilla.

The Director-General has condemned the killing of 18 journalists in Iraq since January 1, 2013.

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Media contact: Sylvie Coudray, s.coudray(at)unesco.org,  +33 (0)1 45 68 42 12

UNESCO is the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this the Organization is requested to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”