A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE DISPARATE PROTECTION REGIMES FOR WAR JOURNALISTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

This paper examines the different categories of journalists engaged in war reporting. They are categorized as war correspondents, embedded journalists and independent journalists with disparate protection regimes. Journalists are naturally exposed to the same level of risks in the war zones as they strive to update the public on the goings on at the war zone irrespective of nomenclature. Being civilians, they are not to be targeted so long as they did not engage in acts that jeopardize their civilian status. However, the paper found that war correspondents and embedded journalists enjoy additional protections under humanitarian law regime. It is argued that the protection disparity in favour of war correspondents is quite unnecessary for the fact that they all are first civilians and equally exposed to the same level of danger in the course of their job. Although the paper did not advocate a collapse of the classifications, it however, criticizes the special protection afforded war correspondents for the reason only that they have the authorization of the armed forces they accompany and took the view that journalists’ protection under customary international law and international human rights law is preferable to that under international humanitarian law.