It’s usually a day set aside to draw global attention to rate of violent crimes committed against Journalists and the call for it to stop.
In a recent list released by Guardian international ,of 13 countries where Journalists have been killed with impunity, Nigeria ranked the 12th position.
Most recent is the murder of Abdullahi Mire Hashi, a radio journalist shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Mogadishu, Somalia just last week.
Also recent and still gaining great media coverage, is the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist for ‘The Washington Post’, who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October the 2nd.
In 2017, two Nigerian journalists, Famous Giobaro of Bayelsa State-owned radio station, Glory FM 97.1, and Lawrence Okojie of the Nigerian Television Authority, Benin, were killed by unidentified gunmen.journalists, impunity.
In the past twelve years (2006-2017) close to 1010 journalists have been killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public. In nine out of ten cases the killers go unpunished. Impunity leads to more killings and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems.
UNESCO is concerned that impunity damages whole societies by covering up serious human rights abuses, corruption, and crime.
A landmark resolution condemns all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers. It also urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability, bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against journalists and media workers, and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies.
It further calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference
