213 Chema Suárez Serrano Journalism in the armed conflict of the 21st century:... A similar position is adopted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the organisation that acts as depositary of the Geneva Conventions, when it recognises that the formal distinction between both types of conflicts is debatable, given the reasonable doubt as to its suitability when addressing all the different forms in which conflict presents itself.5 Neither does it come up with a prediction regarding the evolution of warfare in the 21st century in its Strategy 2015-2018: «The ICRC is working in conflict environments that are increasingly fragmented and volatile, where unexpected emergencies unfold alongside protracted and complex armed conflicts; where violence and instability are both causes and consequences of recurring conflict and suffering; and where natural disasters, environmental problems, urbanization, migration, and socio-economic crises exacerbate situations of chronic hardship.»6 The same applies to the profession of journalism as it obliged to re-adapt to a new scenario that is immersed in the digital revolution, which has also changed the conventional means of communicating. Just like war itself, journalism is in constant evolution, according to the expression used by the UN General Assembly7, which testifies to the to the impossibility of providing an appropriate definition for this profession at this moment in time. Professional associations share this standpoint, such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ),8 which has warned about the risks of reporting in a dangerous and changing world, or the International Conferen-ce on the Safety of Journalists,9 which saw governments, international organisations and NGOs meet in Warsaw and whose conclusions expressly supported the UN Se-cretary- General – and insist on examining in greater detail the issue of defining this concept, which is currently subject to vagaries that render this extremely difficult. In sum, the 21st century has thrown off kilter any forecasting of the short-term evolution of this complex trend that encompasses communications on armed conflict because it is now not only the conflicts themselves or journalism that is changing, but the world itself is more unpredictable in the view of NATO: «Our Alliance remains an essential source of stability in this unpredictable world.»10 5 International Committee of the Red Cross, Feb. 2013. http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/contemporary-challenges- for-ihl/overview-contemporary-challenges-for-ihl.htm. 6 ICRC Strategy 2015-2018. (18 June 2014) p.7. https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-4203.pdf. 7 A/RES/68/163, (21 February 2014) http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/ RES/68/163&referer=http://www.un.org/en/events/journalists/&Lang=E. 8 Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalist Security Guide: Covering the news in a dangerous and changing world. http://cpj.org/reports/2012/04/journalist-security-guide.php. 9 S/2013/422, Recommendations of the international conference «The safety of journalists: current challen-ges » held in Warsaw, 23 and 24 April 2013. How to improve the safety of journalists (16 July 2013), para. 6. http:// dag.un.org/handle/11176/24086. 10 Final NATO declaration, issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting in Wa-les, 4-5 September 2014, p.1. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_112964.htm?selectedLocale=en. http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee
REVISTA IEEE 8
To see the actual publication please follow the link above