UNESCO criminally silent on journalist deaths in Middle East — MFA – Russian Politics and Diplomacy

MOSCOW, October 9th. /TASS/. The spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, highlighted the criminal silence of UNESCO and its Director General, Audrey Azoulay, on the deaths of journalists in the Middle East.

“As for the Middle East, this is an unprecedented drama in terms of the number of journalists killed in the exercise of their professional duties. Not only that, all of this occurs without any comment. I’m not just talking about measures or steps, but even comments of specialized bodies”, said the diplomat in a briefing. “UNESCO is criminally silent, as if its director general, Audrey Azoulay, had her mouth full of water,” he added.

“This is a shameful phenomenon against which the international community should protest and express its distrust,” said Zakharova. “One of UNESCO’s core mandates relates to the safety and security of journalists, as well as the protection of freedom of expression.”