Most victims, says a UNESCO press statement, are targeted in countries that are at peace, but where revealing sensitive information -- about drug trafficking, violation of human rights or corruption -- can mean risking one´s life.[break]
In 2008-2009, UNESCO reported the murder of 125 journalists, as against 122 in 2006-2007. However, when the figures are analyzed on an annual basis, last year set a new record with 77 murders reported by UNESCO in 2009, exceeding the previous record in 2006 (69 deaths), a period when violence in Iraq was omnipresent.
Moreover, the major reductions recorded in 2007 (53 murders reported) and in 2008 (48), were largely due to the improvement of the situation in Iraq.
As for the peak seen in 2009, it can be partly explained by the murder of approximately 30 journalists in a day, in an ambush in the Philippines on 23 November 2009. This exceptional event has put the country at the top of the list, with 37 murders targeting journalists, ahead of Iraq, where the number of victims fell from 62 to 15 between 2006-2007 and 2008-2009.
Another significant development in 2008-2009, as noted in the report, is that the percentage of murders not linked to conflict situations considerably increased as compared to 2006-2007. The great majority of the victims were not foreign war correspondents but local journalists who were generally working on issues of local interest in countries at peace.
The 2010 report notes “sadly, the frequency of acts of violence against journalists is increasing. In most cases, impunity precludes the way of justice, and if this trend prevails, journalists will remain easy targets.”
During its 27th session, the Intergovernmental Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) at UNESCO will invite the UNESCO General Conference to propose that a one-minute silence be observed in newsrooms worldwide on World Press Freedom Day (3 May) to honor the journalists killed each year, according to the report.
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