UN Secretary-General reaffirms support for Press Freedom and safety of Journalists

November 2, 2024, was observed as International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, and the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres has reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to press freedom and the safety of journalists worldwide. A release issued by the Office of the Secretary-General states:

“A free press is fundamental to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Yet journalists around the world are prevented from doing their job and often face threats, violence, and even death in their mission to bring truth to light and hold the powerful to account.

“Recent years have seen an alarming rate of fatalities in conflict zones – in particular in Gaza, which has seen the highest number of killings of journalists and media workers in any war in decades.

“Worldwide, an estimated 9 out of 10 journalist murders go unpunished. Impunity breeds further violence. This must change.

“The Pact for the Future adopted last month calls for respecting and protecting journalists, media professionals and associated personnel working in situations of armed conflict.

“I call on governments to bring these commitments to life by taking urgent steps to protect journalists, investigate crimes against them,

and prosecute perpetrators – everywhere.

“Together, let’s end the cycle of violence, uphold freedom of expression, and ensure that journalists can carry out their essential work safely and without fear – everywhere”.

A December,19, 2023 UNESCO article states that in 2023, 65 journalists were killed in the line of duty compared with 88 the previous year. However, the UN Agency’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay said that overall drop “conceals a very alarming phenomenon: the sharp increase in the number killed in conflict zones…”.

At least 38 journalists and media workers were killed in the line of work in counties in conflict in 2023, compared to 28 in 2022, and 20 in 2021, the UNESCO article relates, giving individual listings of journalists killed in conflict areas of Lebanon, Palestine and Israel since October 7, 2023.

“The figures do not include deaths of journalists and media workers in circumstances unrelated to their profession, which have also been reported in significant numbers,” and the article notes that UNESCO regards these “tragedies” as “only the tip of the iceberg”.

It goes on as well to list widespread damage and destruction of media infrastructure and offices, other kinds of threats such as physical attacks and detentions, the confiscation of equipment and denial of access to reporting sites among these circumstances. Such a climate contributes to what UNESCO terms “zones of silence” that have severe consequences for access to information for local populations and the world at large.

“The worrying trend comes despite a noticeable decrease in overall journalist killings worldwide,” the UNESCO article continues.

“This global trend can be explained by a significant decline in killings outside of conflict zones, which have reached their lowest total for at least fifteen years – especially in Latin America and the Caribbean where 15 killings were reported compared with 43 in 2022.”