UN Authority Figures

UN Committee on Information: Syria

The Doha Centre for Media Freedom has documented 110 professional or citizen journalists who have been killed by Assad's regime.
Source: Orient Net News, December 31, 2015

Mission of the Committee on Information: "...To promote the establishment of a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order intended to strengthen peace and international understanding and based on the free circulation and wider and better-balanced dissemination of information and to make recommendations thereon to the General Assembly." (Committee on Information website, "About the Committee")

Syria's Term of office: 1979 - current

Syria's Record on Freedom of Information:
"While the constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, the government severely restricted these rights, often terrorizing, abusing, or killing those who attempted to exercise these rights. Freedom of Speech: The government maintained broad discretion to determine what constituted illegal expression, and individuals could not criticize the government publicly or privately without fear of reprisal. The regime also stifled criticism by invoking penal code articles prohibiting acts or speech inciting sectarianism. It monitored political meetings and relied on informer networks. Press Freedoms: The government continued to exercise extensive control over local print and broadcast media, and the law imposes strict punishment for reporters who do not reveal their government sources in response to government requests... Violence and Harassment: Government forces detained, arrested, and harassed journalists and other writers for works deemed critical of the state. Harassment included attempts at intimidation, banning such individuals from the country, dismissing journalists from their positions, or failing to respond to requests for continued accreditation. The government systematically arrested journalists either associated with or writing in favor of the political opposition or the FSA and instigated attacks against foreign press outlets throughout the country. There were no further updates on the whereabouts of foreign journalist Austin Tice, who had been missing since August 2012. Government forces killed 211 media activists during the year, seven of whom died under torture, according to the SNHR. The regime and ISIL routinely targeted and killed both Syrian and foreign journalists systematically, according to the COI... Reporters Without Borders (RSF) estimated nearly 300 journalists had been killed by various parties since March 2011. The SNHR reported 17 journalists were killed during the year, bringing the total to 386 media activists killed since 2011. On December 8, several sources reported the deaths of three Orient News journalists covering opposition advances in Dara'a province: Rami Asmi, Yousef El-Dous, and Salem Khalil. The television station, which is associated with the opposition, believed government forces killed the journalists."
(U.S. State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2014, Syria)