UNESCO will give helmets and bulletproof vests to journalists in Ukraine

UNESCO will provide the first batch of 125 helmets and bulletproof vests labeled “press” as part of emergency measures to protect journalists dealing with the Ukrainian conflict, the UN agency announced Thursday.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, five journalists (three Ukrainians, one French-Irish and one American) have died.

“Thousands of journalists work on the ground in Ukraine, often without the necessary protective equipment or training. In a statement, the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) focuses on local issues and is not prepared for the risks they face, and this is especially true for Ukrainian journalists who launched themselves as war correspondents.

UNESCO announced that it will “supply the first batch of 125 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits consisting of a bulletproof vest with the word 'press' and a helmet.”

“According to the previous experience of journalism in war zones, having quality PPE can save lives. For this reason, UNESCO will work with its partners to ensure that as many journalists as possible in Ukraine have this important equipment.” “, explains Audrey Azoulay, Secretary-General of UNESCO.

It will be distributed “from next week” through Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Another measure adopted by UNESCO is training to operate in war zones.

The statement said: “UNESCO provides training manuals for journalists in a 'hostile environment' in several different languages, translated into Ukrainian and developed jointly with the RSF.

The organization will also work with IFJ and RSF to launch “online workshops” on hostile environments and psychological trauma.

UNESCO is currently working with IFJ to “transfer two federations of Ukrainian journalists to the Polish office near the Ukrainian border,” the statement added.