By: Jalal Abu Saleh

Between 2006 and 2024, more than 1,700 journalists were killed around the world, with nearly 9 out of 10 cases remaining unresolved, according to UNESCO, amid escalating conflicts and crises in the Arab world and the world at large, and exacerbating concerns about the prevention, protection and prosecution of journalists.

On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which falls on the 2nd of November each year, and with this year’s theme being “Safety of Journalists in Crises and Emergencies”, UNESCO’s latest data on journalist killings shows that the global rate of impunity for journalist killings remains alarmingly high at 86%, which requires taking all necessary measures to ensure that crimes against journalists are properly investigated, and that the perpetrators are identified and convicted.

Despite  the UN Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, adopted in 2012 and aimed at creating a “free and secure environment for journalists and media workers”, little effort has been made to bring the killers of journalists to justice, conduct independent investigations into attacks against media workers, and provide the safe environment necessary for journalists to carry out their duties.

Journalists working in crisis and conflict zones face severe threats while performing their work, and while  UNESCO from 2017 onwards documented a gradual decline in the number of media workers killed in conflict zones, monitoring processes in 2023 recorded that more than 50% of journalist killings occurred in crisis and conflict zones, with numbers rising continuously in the first half of 2024.

Countless threats

While killings are the most frequently cited form of media censorship, journalists are also subjected to countless threats, ranging from kidnappings, torture and other forms of physical attacks to harassment, particularly in cyberspace.

Threats of violence and attacks against journalists in particular instill fear among media workers, which impedes the free flow of information, opinions, and ideas for all citizens.  Women journalists are particularly affected by threats and attacks, particularly those that happen online.

According to UNESCO’s discussion paper on global trends in violence against women journalists online, 73 % of women journalists surveyed said they had been threatened, intimidated and insulted online in matters related to their work.

In many cases, threats of violence and attacks against journalists are not properly verified. This impunity encourages more crimes and violations, as well as having a chilling impact on society, including journalists themselves. The relevant parties at UNESCO are concerned about the damage to entire societies caused by the cover-up of gross human rights violations, corruption and crime.

Journalists in the Arab world: paying a steep price! 

Data and figures confirm the magnitude of the challenges facing press freedom in the Arab world, as well as the extent of their negative impact on society, as in 2023, 201 Arab journalists were killed, according to Reporters Without Borders, and more than 300 Arab journalists are currently detained.

Furthermore, more than 50% of Arab journalists practice self-censorship for fear of prosecution or arrest, and 70% of Arab websites are blocked in some Arab countries.

The restrictions are not limited to the legal aspect but extend to political interference, where governments exert political pressure on the media and websites, forcing them to adhere to the official narrative and avoid publishing any information that criticizes or embarrasses them. Arab journalists face additional challenges that limit their freedom of expression and movement, hindering the free exercise of their profession.

Journalists face serious challenges on the job, such as physical attacks and killings in the course of their work, especially in conflict zones, which constitute a message of fear that threatens their safety and hinders the performance of their duties. They are also subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention without trial, which restrict their freedom and impedes their ability to work freely, as well as harassment and intimidation by the authorities and armed groups, forcing them to exercise self-censorship and avoid publishing any information that would antagonize those parties.

“A Deadly Year”

Saleh al-Masri, head of the Committee to Support Journalists, described this year as “deadly” for Palestinian journalists due to the magnitude of the crimes committed by the occupation against them, explaining that the occupation’s crimes against journalists peaked during May 2022 with the assassination of Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, and then the assassination of journalist Ghufran Warsana, on the 1st of June of the same year.

Al-Masri stressed that the main message of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is to prosecute all those who committed crimes against journalists before international courts, to ensure that they do not go unpunished, adding that the Committee to Support Journalists has documented more than 600 violations against journalists since the beginning of this year.

According to the Journalists Support Committee, 21 journalists are currently held in Israeli prisons, 7 of whom are in held without charge in administrative detention, and 4 others are imprisoned without trial. Since 2000, the Israeli occupation has killed about 55 journalists while performing their journalistic duties.

According to a detailed study published by the organization “Countercurrents” in the US last June, the occupation ranked first in the world in killing, violating and prosecuting journalists, far ahead of other countries witnessing continuous wars or where active drug and criminal gangs operate.

The organization elaborated that the killing of journalists by the Israeli apartheid regime in Palestine tops the list worldwide, being 73.4 times greater than in the rest of the world.

A Serious and Fair Path to Accountability is Required!

According to these indicators, the international community is required to prevent impunity for those responsible for killing and threatening journalists wherever they are, and to strengthen the path of accountability against them by activating  the mechanism of the International Criminal Court. This requires concerted efforts from governments, civil society, the media and all those concerned with strengthening the rule of law, with the need to develop a national strategy, specifically in the Arab world, to ensure a serious and fair path to accountability for anyone who threatens journalists or takes their lives.

It is also imperative  to protect journalists and enable them to carry out their journalistic duty while preserving their lives, so that they can communicate the correct information to the public, in addition to the need to coordinate efforts between all parties to take steps and measures to address  the  phenomenon of impunity for crimes and attacks committed against journalists around the world.

In conclusion, press freedom is one of the pillars of democracy and human rights, as it promotes transparency, accountability and development. Hence, it is necessary for the international community and Arab countries to work to promote press freedom, protect journalists, and overcome obstacles that prevent them from practicing their work safely and freely.