Global impunity for the murder of media workers has risen for the first time in over a decade, with six out of seven journalist killings worldwide remaining judicially unresolved. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released the warning in its biennial Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, published to coincide with the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
Highlighting the growing systemic risk faced by media personnel globally, UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany emphasized the escalating casualties in conflict settings, stating that journalists are increasingly paying with their lives for reporting from the frontlines of war while those responsible are far too often not held accountable.
He reiterated his call for the respect of UN Security Council Resolution 2222, unanimously adopted in 2015 on the protection of journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel as civilians in situations of conflict—a status reaffirmed in the Pact for the Future.
A major highlight of the UNESCO findings is what the agency formally identified as a disturbing new threat to press freedom: the growing use of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to target and kill journalists. During the 2024–2025 reporting period, drone strikes killed at least 50 journalists across active war zones, accounting for 40 percent of all media personnel killed in combat areas over the two-year span.
The report documented seven separate incidents where several journalists were targeted and killed in a single attack, including direct strikes on media workplaces and temporary field reporting centers. Furthermore, fifteen journalists were reportedly killed while wearing press protective gear or travelling in vehicles clearly designated with “Press” markings.
The report confirmed a total of 189 journalist killings worldwide in 2024–2025, marking a 20 percent increase compared to the previous biennium. Just over two-thirds of the fatalities—127 journalists—occurred within active conflict zones, where impunity rates approach nearly 100 percent. Across regions, the Arab States recorded the highest casualty count with 97 verified journalist homicides, followed by Latin America & the Caribbean with 37, Asia-Pacific with 34, Central & Eastern Europe with 14, Africa with 6, and Western Europe & North America with 1.
The State of Palestine recorded the highest annual casualty count globally across both years under review, logging 30 journalist fatalities in 2024 and 32 in 2025.
UNESCO emphasized that female media workers continue to face severe, gender-specific threats, both on the ground in war zones and across digital platforms. Thirteen of the 14 women journalists killed globally during 2024–2025 lost their lives in countries experiencing active armed conflict.
Additionally, a 2025 study conducted by UN Women and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) revealed that 75 percent of women journalists experienced online or offline abuse and harassment. Crucially, over 40 percent of women journalists surveyed reported suffering physical, offline violence directly linked to prior online harassment—doubling from the 20 percent recorded in UNESCO’s 2020 study.
In contrast to the sharp rise in war zone fatalities, UNESCO highlighted steady legal and judicial improvements in non-conflict countries where governments prioritize criminal investigations.
Impunity rates in stable nations fell from 94 percent in 2012 down to 77 percent in 2026, representing a decline of approximately one percentage point per year.
Concurrently, journalist homicides outside war zones dropped to 85 over the biennium—the lowest overall total recorded in 18 years.
UNESCO noted that this progress demonstrates that when governments actively invest in investigations, prosecutions, and protection mechanisms for media workers, meaningful improvements remain possible.
NAN
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