Killings of journalists around the world increased in 2022 and last year compared to the previous two years, according to a report released yesterday by the United Nations cultural body UNESCO, and almost all cases remain unpunished.

With 162 deaths, the number of journalists killed in the line of duty rose by 38 percent, the report said, calling the increase “alarming.”

“In 2022 and 2023, a journalist was killed every four days simply for carrying out their vital work of seeking the truth,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.

Photo: AFP

She urged countries to “do more to ensure that these crimes never go unpunished.”

The highest number of murders took place in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 61 over the two years, while the least deadly region of the world for journalists was North America and Western Europe with six murders .

The report also reveals that the majority of murdered journalists were killed in conflict zones last year for the first time since 2017, with 44 deaths or 59% of that year’s total, reversing a years-long trend. to the decline in conflict-related deaths.

Of the journalists killed in 2022 and last year, 14 were women, or 9% of the total, while at least five were aged between 15 and 24.

Almost all murders of journalists go unsolved, with 85 percent of cases identified by UNESCO since 2006 still unsolved or abandoned, according to responses sent by each country to the body.

This marks some improvement from the unresolved rate of 89% in 2018 and 95% in 2012.

However, of the 75 countries contacted by UNESCO for updates on open cases, 17 did not respond at all and nine only acknowledged receipt of the request.

Even in the 210 cases where journalist murders were solved, the median time to do so was four years.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” write the report’s authors.