International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists | November 2

The 2023 observance seeks to raise awareness of the main challenges faced by journalists and communicators in the exercise of their profession, and to warn of the escalation of violence and repression against them. These include attacks and restrictions on the press in the context of coverage of social protests; the use of judicial mechanisms against journalists for reasons related to their journalistic work on matters of public interest; and the increase of forced exile of journalists in some countries.

This year’s theme also seeks to give visibility to the role of a safe and free press in ensuring the integrity of elections and our democratic systems. It reaffirms the obligation of States to adopt effective measures to protect the  independent  press and strengthen institutional  frameworks that combat violence and impunity, and promote media independence, sustainability and diversity.

Find out more HERE.

According to the UN, since 1993 more than 1,600 journalists have been killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public. When attacks on journalists remain unpunished, the public's confidence in society can be eroded. Ending impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information for all citizens. In nine out of ten cases the killers go unpunished.

Intro

In 2002,  Daniel Pearl, an American journalist, made the headlines, not for a news-breaking story, but for his abduction and murder at the hands of terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan. He was a South Asia correspondent for the Wall Street Journal who was researching an article on terrorism when he was kidnapped.

Pearl was not the first, and certainly not the last, foreign reporter to be victimized. Journalists all over the globe are being targeted and terrorized for writing what they believe are the facts and for publishing truthful articles and insightful interviews.