Protection of Journalists in Situations of Armed Conflict : Enhancing Legal Protection Under International Law

The purpose of this dissertation is to highlight the specific conditions created by armed conflicts (international and internal armed conflicts), and to survey and discuss the international laws (governing both sovereign states and international intergovernmental organizations, or governing either sovereign states or international inter-governmental organizations) that can promote better protection for journalists in the circumstances of armed conflict. This dissertation also serves to reaffirm those elements of international humanitarian law that apply to the protection of civilians and journalists in situations of armed conflict; to reestablish and promote the authority of those basic rules on both international and national levels; to improve and even develop current international law on this issue for adaptation to contemporary requirements; and to clearly define and strengthen the legal power of rights of those journalists who perform their profession in situations of armed conflict for the public interest of the whole international community. With the proliferation of armed conflict around the world, journalists in the exercise of their profession in war zones have suffered hardship and even paid the ultimate price with their lives. Journalists, who are bringing information to the whole international community for the public interest, are entitled to and desire better legal protection under international law