UNESCO: A journalist is killed every 4.5 days

A journalist is killed every four and a half days, according to a UNESCO report released yesterday.

Some 827 journalists have been killed in the last decade while reporting, it added.

Countries where journalists are most at risk include Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. Latin America followed as the worst affected region for the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity.

Some 59 per cent of the deaths over the last two years were in conflict zones, with eight of the 213 journalists killed in Arab states. Local journalists are at greater risk of death than foreign journalists and account for 90 per cent of the victims.

“The extent of the risks faced by journalists is demonstrated by the 827 killings recorded by UNESCO over the course of 10 years.”

“To this, one needs to add the countless other violations endured by journalists, which include kidnappings, arbitrary detention, torture, intimidation and harassment, both offline and online, and seizure or destruction of material.”

The report also showed an increase in journalists dying in Western Europe and North America from none in 2014 to 11 last year. There was a sharp increase in foreign journalist dying in 2014 with 17 killed compared to an average of four in previous years.

The report also found that over 10 times as many men are killed than women: 195 to 18 in 2014 and 2015.