On November 23 each year, the IFJ
takes part in the International Day to End Impunity for crime targeting
journalists.
The date was chosen to mark the
second anniversary of the Ampatuan Town Massacre in the Philippines,
which claimed the lives of 58 people, including 32 journalists, on November 23,
2009.
The IFJ is committed to making this
anniversary a day to remember all journalists killed because they believed in
the purpose and mission of journalism, to raise awareness about the scandal of
impunity and the failure of governments to bring the killers to justice and to
pledge to do
more to find ways of making journalism safer. This global event
provides us all with an opportunity to denounce the prevailing culture of impunity
for crime committed against journalists in many countries of the world and call
for its end.
In 2011, IFJ affiliates in
Asia-Pacific wrote to government authorities in the Philippines, Pakistan and SriLanka to highlight concerns about impunity,
and demand justice for victims of attacks on journalists and media workers. In
the Philippines, local
activists, relatives and colleagues of the victims of the massacre attended a
memorial service at the massacre site on November 22, and staged protest
marches nationally on November 23, including to the Malacañang presidential
palace in Manila, to demand an end to impunity in the Philippines.
As part of IFJ Asia-Pacific’s commitment to
reminding governments of their responsibilities to protect and prevent attacks
on journalists, an online map has been commissioned recording recent deaths of
those journalists who have died while working.
This map, produced in partnership with geographic information system (GIS) technology specialist Esri Australia, is a sobering reminder of the great risks undertaken by journalists in the region.
The map is available here, and will continue to be
updated.