AFP in the news
Media groups, including AFP, set safety standards for freelancers
Press freedom groups and international news organizations, including AFP, unveiled on Thursday, February 12, 2015, new safety guidelines to protect freelance journalists following a series of high-profile kidnappings and murders in conflict zones.
The document, titled "A Call for Global Safety Principles and Practices," lays out seven basic standards for journalists on dangerous assignments.
The guidelines call for training in first aid and hostile environments, securing medical insurance for conflict zones or areas of infectious disease, and obtaining protective gear such as bulletproof vests and helmets.
News organizations should ensure that freelancers have adequate training and equipment.
The document assigns a "moral responsibility" for media outlets to "support journalists to whom they give assignments in dangerous areas, as long as the freelancer complies with the rules and instructions of the news organization."