An International Conference on Freedom of Expression and Media Development in Iraq was held from 8 to 10 January at UNESCO in Paris. The approximately 200 participants included Iraqi media professionals, Iraqi government officials and representatives of international NGOs and other organizations. The conference was organized by the Communications and Media Commission of Iraq (CMC) in cooperation with UNESCO and UNDP. A session was devoted to journalists who have risked – and in all too many cases lost – their lives to cover events in Iraq. The CMC, founded in 2002 to regulate telecommunications and audiovisual broadcasting in Iraq, has already organized meetings in Cairo, Athens and London.