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Journalists are being “deliberately targeted to cover up stories and restrict the public’s right to know”, it is claimed.
The allegation was made by the respected International Federation of Journalists.
It has just published its annual list of journalists killed which records the highest number of deaths in recent years.
Is says 2023 marked a deadly year for journalists including those reporting from war zones.
Some 68 per cent of recorded killings arose from the Israel-Gaza conflict with 75 Palestinian, four Israeli and three Lebanese journalists killed. In Europe, Russia’s war on Ukraine resulted in the killing of three journalists.
Two journalists’ murders in Afghanistan occurred this year under Taliban rule, and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, 10 journalists were killed across India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan and China.
Eight murders in Africa included an accidental killing in Rwanda, and 10 journalists were killed in North and South America.
Anthony Bellanger, IFJ general secretary, said: “Today our thoughts go out to journalists’ families and our colleagues in world newsrooms who are mourning the deaths of colleagues killed for simply doing their jobs. While we always remind journalists that no story is worth their life, there are too many situations where they are deliberately targeted to cover up stories and restrict the public’s right to know.”
“It is a democratic right of citizens to be duly informed; it is governments’ responsibility to ensure journalists are protected to report independently. The deadly figures from this year illustrate how badly we need an international binding instrument forcing states to adopt key mechanisms to protect journalists’ safety and independence.”
The NUJ has joined the IFJ in calling for an end to the targeting of journalists and says it “mourns the loss of colleagues killed around the world.”
IFJ records reveal 11 women are among killings this year; the union is supporting the Federation’s call urging world governments to swiftly adopt an international binding Convention to protect journalists’ safety and independence.
