Safety Standards   

Following is a list of safety standards developed by a group of journalists called the News Security Group at meetings in London and Barcelona in the aftermath of the deaths of Kurt Schork and Miguel Gil Moreno in Sierra Leone in May 2000.

* The preservation of human life and safety is paramount. Staff and freelancers should be made aware that unwarranted risks in pursuit of a story are unacceptable and must be strongly discouraged. Assignments to war zones or hostile environments must be voluntary and should only involve experienced newsgathering practitioners.

* All staff and freelancers asked to work in hostile environments must have access to appropriate safety training and retraining. Employers are encouraged to make this mandatory.

* Employers must provide efficient safety equipment to all staff and freelancers assigned to hazardous locations, including personal-issue Kevlar vest/jackets, protective headgear and properly protected vehicles, if necessary.

* All staff and freelancers should be afforded personal insurance while working in hostile areas, including coverage against death and personal injury.

* Employers should provide and encourage the use of voluntary and confidential counseling for staff and freelancers returning from hostile areas, or after the coverage of distressing events. (This is likely to require some training of media managers in the recognition of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.)

* Media companies and their representatives are neutral observers. No member of the media should carry a firearm in the course of their work.

* Media companies should work together to establish a data bank of safety information, including the exchange of up-to-date safety assessments of hostile and dangerous areas.