1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2016-2017, a journalist was killed every four days. One witness silenced every four days. The total number of victims reached 182, with killings taking place in every region. These deaths shine a light on the extreme risks that can be faced by the individuals in this profession.
Some of these fatal attacks occurred in countries previously unaffected by such extreme acts of vio- lence against journalists. However, not all regions In 2016-2017, were affected to the same degree. In 2017, the a journalist was killed largest number of killings took place in the Asia and the Pacific region (34% of all killings), while in every four days. 2016, the largest number of killings occurred in the Arab States (31%).
An increase in the number of journalists killed outside of armed conflict zones can be noted in the last few years, with a majority of journalists (55%) in 2017 killed in countries not experiencing armed conflict. Many of these journalists were reporting on topics related to corruption, traffick- ing, and political wrongdoing. In line with observations of previous years, local journalists remain the vast majority among victims.
A rise in the percentage of women journalists among those killed in 2017 (14%) marks the contin- uation of a trend that has become apparent over the last years. However, while the proportion of women among fatalities has risen, a clear majority of killed journalists are men.
Impunity for these crimes remains a key challenge. Out of the 1010 killings recorded by UNESCO in the last 12 years, only 115 were followed by a judicial procedure that led to the conviction of one or multiple perpetrators. This means that 89% of cases remain unresolved. Impunity for crimes against journalists emboldens attackers and leads to self-censorship in the profession and among the public.
The overall effect is to impede progress towards “public access to information and fundamental freedoms” which is an agreed target for the world in Sustainable Development Goal 16.10.
This report focuses on the killing of journalists, the ultimate form of censorship. But it is just the tip of an iceberg of attacks against journalists, which range from non-lethal physical attacks, kidnap- ping, illegal detention, threats, harassment offline and online, to retaliations on family members.
Increasing the safety of journalists worldwide and combating impunity for crimes committed against them requires a concerted effort of all stakeholders.
For more information, please visit UNESCO’s new, interactive observatory of killed journalists: https://en.unesco.org/themes/safety-journalists/observatory
1 2.JOURNALISTS’ KILLINGS IN 2016 AND 2017: KEY FINDINGS
In 2016 and 2017, UNESCO recorded 182 kill- ings of journalists worldwide. In 2016, 102 kill- ings were recorded, while 2017 showed a de- crease with the number of fatalities falling to 80, the lowest number since 2011. Overall, the number of killings in 2016-2017 is lower than that in the previous two-year period, when 213 killings were recorded. However, this trend does not appear to be confirmed in 2018, with 80 killings already condemned by the Direc- tor-General of UNESCO as of 09 October 2018.
FIGURE 1: NUMBERFigure 1: Number OF JOURNALISTS of journalists killed worldwide in 2006-2017 KILLED WORLDWIDE IN 2006-2017 124 116
98 102 90 84 77 80 66 65 62
46
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
2 2.1 MOST DANGEROUS REGIONS
FIGURE 2: FIGURE 3: NUMBER OF JOURNALISTS NUMBER OF JOURNALISTS KILLEDFigure 2: Number BY REGION of journalists IN 2017 killed by regionKILLED in 2016-2017 BY REGION IN 2016
2016
Arab states 2017 32
27 Asia and the Paci c
Latin America 28 and the Caribbean
Latin America 22 and the Caribbean
27 Asia and the Paci c 18 Arab states
6 Africa 7 Africa Western Europe Western Europe 5 and North America 6 and North America 2 Central and Eastern Europe 2 Central and Eastern Europe Total: 80 Total: 102
In 2017, the largest number of fatal attacks (27 In 2016, the same three regions recorded the killings) took place in the Asia and the Pacific highest numbers of killings; however the high- region, representing 34% of the total, followed est number of fatalities, namely 31% of the by Latin America and the Caribbean with 28% cases documented by UNESCO, was then re- of killings (22 killings). In the Arab States re- corded in the Arab States (32 killings). The sec- gion, UNESCO documented 18 killings, repre- ond deadliest region in 2016 was Latin Ameri- senting 22% of killings of journalists registered ca and the Caribbean with 27% of the total (28 worldwide. killings) followed by the Asia and the Pacific re- gion with 27 killings.
In both years, less than 10% of overall killings took place in Africa, Western Europe and North America, and Central and Eastern Europe, respectively.
3 THE COUNTRIES WHERE THE COUNTRIES WHERE KILLINGS OCCURED IN KILLINGS OCCURED IN 2017 WERE: 2016 WERE: