Journalist killings decline in 2021, threats still alarming
FIFTY- FIVE journalists and media workers were killed around the world in 2021, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO) has reported. This is the lowest death toll in over a decade. However, impunity for these crimes remains widespread and journalists still face a huge number of risks.
“Once again in 2021, far too many journalists paid the ultimate price to bring truth to light. Right now, the world needs independent, factual information more than ever. We must do more to ensure that those who work tirelessly to provide this can do so without fear,” Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director- General, said.
The UNESCO Observatory of Killed Journalists collected 55 journalist killings in 2021. Two- third of these killings were in countries not experiencing armed conflict, “showing the continued risks faced by journalists in their daily reporting to expose wrongdoing,”
UNESCO said in a statement.
“This marks a complete reversal of the situation just a few years ago, in 2013, when two- thirds of killings took place in countries in conflict.”
The majority of deaths in 2021 were in just two regions – the Asia- Pacific, with 23 killings, and Latin America and the Caribbean, with 14.
If the number of journalist killings is at its lowest in over a decade, impunity for these crimes remains alarmingly widespread: UNESCO’S data showed that 87 per cent of all journalist killings since 2006 are still unresolved.
Journalists worldwide also continue to be subject to high rates of imprisonment, physical attack, intimidation and harassment, including when covering protests. Women journalists especially face a shocking prevalence of harassment online – a report released by UNESCO in April showed nearly three quarters of surveyed women journalists had experienced online violence linked to their work.
UNESCO is the United Nations agency with a global mandate to ensure freedom of expression and the safety of journalists worldwide and coordinates the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which is marking its 10th anniversary this year.
The International Federation of Journalists ( IFJ), in its earlier report, noted that 45 journalists were killed worldwide. However, IFJ agreed with UNESCO that it was “one of the lowest death tolls” it had recorded for any year.
“While this decrease is welcome news, it is small comfort in the face of continued violence,” IFJ said in a statement.
Reporters Without Borders ( RSF) gave a similar toll of 46 killings of journalists two weeks ago, also noting it as its lowest- ever since starting its tallies in 1995.
The IFJ added that media workers “more often than not are killed for exposing corruption, crime and abuse of power in their communities, cities and countries”.
IFJ said, “the risks associated with armed conflict have reduced in recent years” due to less journalists being able to report on the ground.
It added, however, “the threats of crime gang and drug cartels’ rule from the slums in Mexico to the streets of European cities in Greece and the Netherlands continue to increase”.
IFJ Secretary- General Anthony Bellanger reiterated the organisation’s support for a United Nations convention for the protection of journalists to “ensure accountability for journalists’ killings”.
The year 2021 also saw a crackdown on journalists.
According to a new report from the non- profit Committee to Protect Journalists ( CPJ), the number of journalists behind bars reached a global high in 2021. CPJ said 293 reporters were imprisoned worldwide as of December 1, 2021.