Nov. 2, 2021

Between 2006 and 2020, over 1,200 journalists have been killed around the world, with close to 9 out of 10 cases of these killings remaining judicially unresolved, according to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

In a statement to mark International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on Tuesday, the UN agency said, 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 noted that it is in recognition of the far-reaching consequences of impunity, especially of crimes against journalists, that the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 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”.

For UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, “crimes against journalists have an enormous impact on society as a whole, because they prevent people from making informed decisions.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic, and the shadow pandemic of misinformation, has demonstrated that access to facts and science is literally a matter of life and death,” he said.

“When access to information is threatened, it sends a disturbing message that undermines democracy and the rule of law.”

Guterres also noted that women journalists are at particular risk.