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Combating impunity

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The number of journalists killed around the world spiked by nearly 50 percent in 2022, marking “a dramatic reversal of the positive trend seen in recent years,” the United Nations agency UNESCO recently reported.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay last week said 86 journalists and media workers were slain globally last year. This is a drastic increase from the average of 58 per year from 2019 to 2021, when the figures had dropped from the 99 deaths in 2018.

“These numbers are a reminder of the growing fissure in rule of law systems worldwide, and highlight states’ failure to fulfill their obligations to protect journalists and prevent and prosecute crimes against them,” Azoulay said in a statement.

The agency noted the deadliest region to be in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 44 killings, over half the total, were recorded. Sixteen killings were registered in Asia and the Pacific, while there were 11 in Eastern Europe.

Its data for the Philippines showed four media killings were reported, namely Jaynard Angeles, Federico “Ding” Gempesaw, Renato Blanco and Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa, whose murder case has been particularly high profile due to the alleged involvement of the country’s suspended prisons chief.

In November 2022, the New York City-based Committee to Protect Journalists released a report stating that the Philippines retained its ranking as the seventh worst country when it comes to prosecuting killers of journalists

The UNESCO added that the rate of impunity for journalist killings remains high at 86 percent, “creating a chilling effect for the work of journalists and risking the freedom of expression worldwide.”

“This proves that combating impunity remains a pressing commitment on which international cooperation must be further mobilized,” Azoulay said.

On top of the killings, she said media workers continue to be threatened with multiple forms of violence, such as enforced disappearance, kidnapping and arbitrary detention, legal harassment, and digital violence, particularly against women journalists.

The international community must do more to protect journalists and the freedom of expression, which are now in grave danger, as exemplified by the increased attacks in 2022, which could lead to even more violence and deaths if governments fail strengthen their commitments towards the fourth estate by increasing protections and ensuring the delivery of justice.*

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