UN renames Palestine media programme after slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

The United Nations has renamed the annual training programme for Palestinian broadcasters and journalists after al-Jazeera veteran slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed by the Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on 11 May

The announcement was made by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric who said that Abu Akleh “had a distinguished career in journalism for a quarter of a century.”

“She was a trailblazer for Arab women, and a role model for journalists in the Middle East and around the world,” Dujarric said. “Her legacy and bravery must be cherished, said our colleagues at the Department of Global Communications.”

Riyad Mansour, Palestinian envoy to the UN, had appealed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to rename the training programme after Abu Akleh.

“As a staunch supporter of the freedom of the press, and fundamental freedoms worldwide, to honour this brave and iconic woman journalist,” Mansour said in a letter.

Abu Akleh, 51, a 25-year veteran journalist for Al Jazeera, was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces while covering an Israeli raid into the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)