The war in Ukraine and crime gangs in Mexico and Haiti were major factors behind "the surge in killings" of news reporters around the world this year, the world's largest organization of journalists said.
Killed in the line of duty in 2022 were 67 journalists and media staff, up from 47 last year and a reversal of the decline seen in recent years, said the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists, which represents 600,000 media professionals from 187 trade unions and associations in more than 140 countries.
The spike in killings underscores the "urgent" need for the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly to approve an international treaty on the safety and independence of journalists and other media professionals, IFJ said.
“The surge in the killings of journalists and other media workers is a grave cause of concern and yet another wake up call for governments across the globe to take action in the defense of journalism, one of the key pillars of democracy,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.
Doing nothing, he said, "will only embolden those who seek to suppress the free flow of information and undermine the ability of people to hold their leaders to account, including in ensuring that those with power and influence do not stand in the way of open and inclusive societies."
IFJ also recorded 375 journalists imprisoned for doing their jobs, up from 365 last year, mainly in China and Hong Kong, where 84 were jailed. The next most were jailed in Myanmar, 64, Turkey, 51, Iran, 34, Belarus, 33, and Egypt, 23.
The largest number, 12, died covering Russia's war in Ukraine, but that was closely followed by 11 deaths in Mexico. Six reporters were killed in Mexico, and five each were killed in Pakistan and Tanzania.
