Most Murders Of Journalists Go Unpunished: UNESCO

An overwhelming majority of killings of journalists across the world go unpunished, a United Nations agency reported on Wednesday.

The vast majority of killings of journalists around the world go unpunished, a United Nations agency reported on Wednesday.

"Impunity for the killing of journalists remains unacceptably high, at 86 percent," said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a United Nations cultural organization whose profiles include media issues.

UNESCO called for "all necessary measures to ensure appropriate investigation of crimes against journalists, identification and conviction of perpetrators".

The organization described the global impunity for killings of journalists as "shockingly high" in a report to coincide with the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, an initiative supported by the United Nations.

UNESCO Director-

"Freedom of expression cannot be protected when there are so many unresolved cases," Major General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

She said impunity has had a "chilling effect on investigative reporting".

While UNESCO welcomed 9%-

A point drop in the rate of impunity over the past decade, she said, was not enough to stop what she called a "vicious cycle of violence".

In 2020 and 2021, the period covered by the report, of the 117 journalists killed doing their job, 91 were killed around the clock.

A number of them were killed in front of their family members.

Including their children.

UNESCO said it is working with member states to develop and implement national media laws and policies.

BY
ProBuzzFeed