UN campaign to end impunity of crimes against journalists

Every year, more than 50 journalists all over the world get killed because of their job, and since 2006, according to UNESCO, less than 10% of persons responsible for such crimes have been convicted. On the occasion of the UN International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalism (2^nd of November), IFEX (a network for press freedom) decided to take action to make governments more involved with the issue.

In fact, according to an article by IFEX Executive Director Annie Game, ‘reducing impunity is an achievable goal’. Currently, there are two important mechanisms to make a breakthrough in the struggle against impunity: the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, a multi-stakeholder strategy launched in 2012, and the Biennial UNESCO Director General's Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, which tracks and reports on progress in unsolved cases of crimes against journalists.

But these tools can be useless if governments and civil societies don’t do their part. Therefore, IFEX produced a campaign to spread awareness about the problem and to lean on world leaders for taking their responsibility in the process. ‘We will be united, and we will be loud’ says the association: at the moment, 95 organizations for press freedom are part of it.