“We owe them a lot.” UNESCO awards Gaza journalists the 2024 Press Freedom Award

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has awarded Gaza journalists the Press Freedom Award for 2024, who cover the Israeli war on the Strip.

On their behalf, the head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Nasser Abu Bakr, received the award at a ceremony held by UNESCO in the Chilean capital, Santiago, on Friday, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, corresponding to May 3 of each year.

Abu Bakr described granting the Gaza journalists the award as a “great historical event.”

In his speech after receiving the award, he expressed his feeling of “joy and pride, but it is joy mixed with sadness over the loss of the martyrs of the Palestinian press, and with determination and will to hold the (Israeli) killers accountable and tried.”

He stressed that his union, along with the International Federation of Journalists and all journalist unions in the world, are continuing with the procedures to prosecute those who commit crimes against journalists.

Abu Bakr called on the Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, to quickly begin investigation procedures into these crimes.

For its part, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate on Friday praised UNESCO’s decision to award Gaza journalists its Press Freedom Award this year, considering it “justice to the sacrifices of journalists in Gaza and all of Palestine.”

She considered that this important award comes in recognition and honor of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, who have continued their work and media mission with all professionalism and ability, since the beginning of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

The union pointed out the martyrdom of 135 male and female journalists and workers in the media sector, the injury, arrest, and loss of dozens of journalists, the destruction of the headquarters of more than 80 media institutions, and the bombing of journalists’ homes over the heads of their residents during the war on Gaza.

For his part, Chairman of the International Jury for Journalists, Mauricio Weibel, said: “In these difficult and desperate times, we want to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition of Palestinian journalists who are covering this crisis in such tragic circumstances.”

He added: "We are greatly indebted to the courage of these journalists and their commitment to freedom of expression, as they faced difficult and dangerous circumstances," according to what was quoted in the same statement.

He added, according to what was quoted in the statement: “Once again this year, the award reminds us of the importance of teamwork to ensure that journalists around the world continue their essential work of informing and investigating people.”

The UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize was established in 1997, and is the only one of its kind awarded to journalists within the United Nations system. It is named after Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano Isaza, who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá, Colombia, on December 17. 1986 in memory of him.

Regarding the justifications for granting the award this year, UNESCO said in a statement published on Friday, “The Palestinian journalists covering Gaza were selected as winners of the (Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Award) for the year 2024, based on the recommendation of an international jury composed of media professionals.” ".

According to the International Committee to Protect Journalists, based in New York, at least 97 journalists have been martyred in Gaza since the start of the Israeli war on October 7, including 92 Palestinian journalists.

This comes as Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, leaving tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to comprehensive and massive destruction of infrastructure and buildings, causing disasters and humanitarian crises.

Israel continues its war despite the Security Council issuing an immediate ceasefire resolution, and despite the International Court of Justice requesting that it take immediate measures to prevent “genocide” and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.