Impunity for crimes against journalists – especially the killing of journalists – is a major threat to press freedom worldwide. Over a decade after the UN declared 2 November the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, no one has been held accountable in nearly eight out of ten cases where a journalist was killed.
At least 1,623 journalists have been killed worldwide in the 32 years since our colleagues at Committee to Protect Journalists-CPJ started tracking and documenting their deaths. That’s an average of one per week, every single year. Between October 2023 and today, 126 journalists were killed in Gaza alone, setting a grim record for the fastest pace at which journalists have been killed in recent history.
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To mark this year’s Day to End Impunity, International Media Support-IMS asked journalists in Gaza, Ukraine and Somalia to share their memories of close colleagues who were killed as a result of their work. No one has been held accountable in any of these cases.
In the video below, they talk about the importance of their colleagues’ work, the people that they were, the pain of losing them and demand accountability https://youtu.be/HQ-HVjW9u4M
UNESCO report indicates that every 4 days, a journalist is killed for uncovering the truth. Most of these murders remain unpunished, fostering a cycle of fear & silence. Find out more in the latest UNESCO Report on the Safety of Journalists & the Danger of Impunity https://x.com/RiseNewsUganda/status/1852707622400536944 https://x.com/RiseNewsUganda/status/1852707622400536944
Whenever a journalist is killed, imprisoned or forcibly disappeared, the threat reverberates out beyond the individual. Absence of accountability is absence of justice and sends a dangerous message to those out to silence journalists: don’t worry about the consequences – there is almost zero risk that you will be held accountable.
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On this 2 November, IMS calls on governments and authorities worldwide to honour their duty to protect journalists and media workers, address threats against them in both the digital and physical world and ensure and facilitate independent investigations of crimes committed against them.
Read about how IMS uses the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity as a backdrop to our work to improve the safety of journalists around the world. Jesper Højberg, Executive Director, International Media Support-IMS.
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