A Global Campaign to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists

In the last 12 years, a total of 1,010 journalists have been killed for their work.

In the last 12 years, a total of 1,010 journalists have been killed because of their work.

(Photo: WAN INFRA/altered by The Quint)

The brazen killing of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, and the Maltese government’s continued opposition to a public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, highlight once again how dangerous life for journalists has become, and how rarely the perpetrators of the crimes committed against them are brought to justice.

This year alone, at least 45 journalists have been killed around the world as a result of their work, a number which doesn’t include 17 other deaths in which the motive hasn’t been confirmed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In light of this frightening statistic, WAN-IFRA has lended its full support to UNESCO’s #TruthNeverDies campaign, which will be launched on the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November 2018, urging news publishers around the globe to raise awareness of journalist killings, and the many cases where those responsible went unpunished.

The global campaign encourages editors to publish stories and investigations on journalists that have been killed, and to spread their work to perpetuate their legacy.

Here are some facts about killings of journalists from 2006 to 2017:

• 1,010 killings of journalists have been condemned by UNESCO's DG from 2006-2017 (last 12 years).
• Nine in ten cases of killed journalists remain unresolved.
• 93 percent of killed journalists are local and only seven percent are foreign correspondents.
• 93 percent of the killed journalists are male while seven percent are female journalists.

On average, this constitutes one death every four days. In nine out of ten cases, the killers go unpunished. 

Impunity leads to more killings and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems.

UNESCO is concerned that impunity damages whole societies by covering up serious human rights abuses, corruption, and crime.

Governments, civil society, the media, and everyone concerned to uphold the rule of law are being asked to join in the global efforts to end impunity.

It is in recognition of the far-reaching consequences of impunity, especially of crimes against journalists, that the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/68/163 at its 68th session in 2013 which proclaimed 2 November as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ (IDEI).

The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity.

The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013.

(This is a republished version of a WAN INFRA press release that commemorates 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.)