Concerns over the continuing intimidation and killing of journalists going about their daily work have reached the House of Commons in the shape of an early day motion (EDM) which calls for the government to support a new United Nations Convention on the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals.
The primary sponsor of the EDM is Rebecca Long Bailey, Labour MP for Salford, who also chairs the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) parliamentary group. The cross-party group, which meets in parliament, campaigns for press freedom, journalists’ safety and tackles issues regarding the surveillance and intimidation of media workers.
The wording of the motion before parliament says that the House is gravely concerned at the apparent impunity enjoyed by state forces and paramilitary operatives across the globe engaging in the targeted killing of journalists and media workers, with 128 killings globally recorded by the International Federation of Journalists in 2025 alone. It also recognises the significant harm to press freedom where perpetrators are not held to account and particularly highlights the unprecedented targeting and killing of journalists during the war on Gaza by Israeli forces, with at least 235 Palestinian journalists and media workers killed there since 7 October 2023, with killings continuing despite the October 2025 ceasefire.
This courageous dedication to reporting the truth has ultimately cost these journalists and media professionals their lives and the targeted slaughter is continuing in Gaza and other hotspots around the globe. MPs are calling on all states to uphold international law and desist from attacks on journalists and want the UK government to support the draft UN Convention on the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals. This new, binding international instrument dedicated to the safety of journalists has been proposed by the International Federation of Journalists and endorsed by the National Union of Journalists.
MPs are calling for the government to work through the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), a global partnership of 51 countries working together to promote press freedom at home and abroad, and bilateral structures to advance the case for the new convention that would force states to protect journalists in all circumstances, investigate every crime and prosecute the perpetrators. Only last month, the United Kingdom was announced as the new co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, so really the government has no excuse not to back the new UN convention.
As Chris Elmore, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office minister, said last month when the UK assumed the co-chair of the MFC: “Journalists and the media are vital to our democracy. In an increasingly dangerous and turbulent world, holding power to account is more important than ever. Each day, journalists around the world are risking their lives in defence of these values and it is vital that we stand up to protect them. As co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, the UK with Finland and its partners will continue to support and defend strong independent journalism around the world.”
The National Union of Journalists encourages Labour movement activists and campaigners across the country to get their MP to support the EDM on this vital issue.
