Assistance for journalists on dangerous assignments
Media outlets with journalists on dangerous assignments who need urgent humanitarian assistance -- media members who have been detained, are missing or who have been injured, for example -- can call the ICRC press office in Geneva at +41 22 730 34 43 or contact the nearest ICRC office. We can also be reached via e-mail at press@icrc.org.
How can the ICRC help journalists in need?
When reporting from war zones or other areas associated with armed violence, journalists can often be exposed to serious danger. The ICRC's media office can answer questions or calls for assistance from media professionals, their families, co-workers, or the media organizations they work for, when a media professional is detained, missing, wounded or killed.
When you contact the ICRC, please try to have the concerned media professional’s name, date of birth, a short description of events, and, if possible, the location of the incident.
For more information, check out our FAQs and our broader IHL resources for media professionals.
How can the ICRC help?
If the circumstances allow, the ICRC may be able to seek confirmation of an individual’s detention, capture or other deprivation of liberty (as well as related information); trace the whereabouts of missing journalists; help them restore or maintain contact with family members; organize evacuations; and in the worst-case scenarios, transferring mortal remains.
