The increasingly dangerous quest for news

From Deutche Welle (Germany):

"More journalists are being targeted or caught in the crossfire of war zones and need greater protection, a group of experts said. Some are pushing for an international emblem to distinguish the media.

At least 1,200 reporters have been killed worldwide over the past 12 years and no one has been brought to justice in about 95 percent of the cases, said Aidan White, secretary general of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

In Iraq alone, more than 50 reporters and media staff have been killed since the US-led invasion in March 2003, according to figures from the IFJ, which represents half a million correspondents globally.

Desperate to combat the problem, 14 media associations signed a declaration after a two-day meeting in Geneva to make journalism safer, primarily by pressing governments to comply with international laws that safeguard reporters, namely the Geneva Conventions on the rules of war.

"If governments today honored the obligations they already have under international law we would not be facing the crisis we have," White told a news conference at the end of the meeting, which was also attended by non-governmental organizations and human rights groups.

At present, he said, countries failed to investigate media deaths or provide journalists with adequate protection and at times were even responsible for the murders. "This declaration is a good step forward. We have started a process, which we now know we will continue," said White. "