Journalists continue to be killed at an alarming rate: UNESCO
The latest annual report by UNESCO on the safety of journalists—covering 2020 and 2021—published on November 2, to coincide with the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, says in 2021, the fewest journalists were killed in the world since 2008. The report is titled ‘Knowing the Truth is Protecting the Truth’.
The number for last year was 55, the second-lowest after 2008, when 46 journalists were killed. By contrast, in 2020, 62 journalists were killed across the world.
As for India, five journalists were killed in 2021 and six in 2020. Significantly, these were the third highest in the world, after only Afghanistan and Mexico, which are well-known as dangerous to journalists. The UNESCO report says two have been killed in 2022.
Another significant fact for India is that it is one of only 23 countries whose governments did not respond to UNESCO’s requests for providing data on the journalists killed.
A crucial fact to remember about the 117 killed in 2020 and 2021 is that 91 of those, or 78 per cent, “were killed in the privacy of their own home or while travelling”.
However, sadly, this year, as of September, the number has already become 66, turning out to be the deadliest year since 2018, and may rise further. 2020 and 2021 being lockdown years due to the COVID-19 pandemic could be the reason the numbers were on the lower side.
It must be remembered, though, that even one journalist killed during work is bad as it is the duty of a journalist to bring news to the people.
While releasing the report, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said “journalists continue to be killed at an alarming rate”, with the agency’s data revealing 955 journalists lost their lives over the past decade.
