Who ordered the killing of Anna Politkovskaya, Jamal Khashoggi, Arshad Sharif, Javier Valdez, Martinez Zogo and all other journalists whose murders remain unpunished?
Since the adoption of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity in 2012, that aimed to create “a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers”, very little has been done to bring journalists’ killers to justice, carry out independent investigations into attacks against media workers and provide journalists with the necessary safe environments in which to carry out their duties.
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October, at least 30 journalists and media workers have been killed. Such a death toll raises questions about whether journalists in Gaza are being deliberately targeted. “Wearing professional safety equipment is not enough to stay alive when journalists and sometimes their families appear to have become targets in a war” says the IFJ.
The federation is also deeply concerned with the state of impunity in Cameroon, India, Kosovo and Mexico where the targeting of media professionals and /or the lack of reaction from public authorities in bringing killers and harassers of journalists to justice conveys the message that it is normal practice to get away with it.
The cases of only one in ten murdered journalists are properly investigated, according to the UN. Behind every statistic there is a human tragedy – a death, a kidnapping, a family left without a mother, father, a brother or sister.
This year again, the IFJ demands a complete, independent investigation into all killings, attacking or intimidating of journalists and the adoption of a binding instrument that will force world governments to act.
IFJ President Dominique Pradalié said: “Targeted – aimed directly at – hunted down like wild game – journalists are victims of the enemies of press freedom. Who is going to investigate, who is going to bring the guilty parties to justice? It's time to put an end to this slaughter, which affects not only war zones but also newsrooms in Mexico, India, Peru and Serbia. The United Nations must adopt a convention for the active protection of journalists.”
The IFJ urges the UN and world governments to support its proposal for a UN binding Convention on the safety and independence of journalists and other media professionals.