In the recently published Freedom of Expression Report 2021-2022, UNESCO noted the deaths of 86 journalists last year, the equivalent of one every four days, up from 55 murders in 2021.
The findings underscore the serious risks and vulnerabilities that journalists continue to face in the course of their work, the agency said.
“The authorities must step up their efforts to stop these crimes and ensure their perpetrators are punished, because indifference is a key factor in this climate of violence,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, describing the results as “alarming”.
No safe rooms
UNESCO found that almost half of the journalists killed were assaulted off-duty; Some were attacked while traveling, in parking lots or other public places where they were not on duty, while others were in their homes at the time of their killing.
The report warned that this implied that “there are no safe places for journalists, even in their free time”.
Despite progress over the past five years, the impunity rate for the killing of journalists remains “staggeringly high” at 86 percent. Tackling impunity remains an urgent commitment for which international cooperation needs to be further mobilized, the organization said.
In addition to killings, journalists were also victims of other forms of violence in 2022. These included enforced disappearances, kidnapping, arbitrary detention, legal harassment and digital violence, with women being particularly hard hit.
The UNESCO study highlighted the challenges facing journalists, pointing out that the weaponization of defamation laws, cyber laws and anti-fake news laws are being used as a means of restricting freedom of expression and creating a toxic environment for journalists.
Mexico deadliest country for journalists
UNESCO found that Latin America and the Caribbean was the deadliest for journalists in 2022 with 44 homicides, more than half of all those killed worldwide.
Globally, the deadliest individual countries were Mexico with 19 deaths, Ukraine with 10 and Haiti with nine. Asia and the Pacific registered 16 homicides, while 11 were killed in Eastern Europe.
While the number of journalists killed in conflict countries rose to 23 in 2022, compared to 20 the previous year, the global increase was mainly due to killings in non-conflict countries. That number has nearly doubled from 35 cases in 2021 to 61 in 2022, accounting for three quarters of all killings over the past year.
Some of the reasons why the journalists were killed were reprisals for their reporting on organized crime, armed conflicts or the rise of extremism. Others have been killed for covering sensitive issues such as corruption, environmental crime, abuse of power and protests.
