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Photos of killed journalists at the headquarters of the Mexican Attorney General's Office: another sad top spot
Photo: Eduardo Verdugo/AP
After several years of decline, the number of journalists killed worldwide rose by 50 percent to 86 in 2022.
Latin America and the Caribbean are the most dangerous areas for journalists, according to a Unesco report presented in Paris on Monday.
In this region, 44 journalists and media workers were killed, more than half.
Ten journalists were killed in Ukraine in 2022.
That puts Ukraine second to Mexico, where 19 journalists were killed.
According to UNESCO, around half of journalists were killed in their free time, such as at home or while travelling.
"It means that there is no longer a safe place for journalists," says the report.
The reasons vary, often it is about acts of revenge for reports on sensitive issues such as organized crime, armed conflicts, extremism or corruption.
The proportion of cases in which the perpetrators go unpunished is extremely high at 86 percent.
»Indifference is an important factor in the climate of violence«
According to the report, journalists, but especially women journalists, are often confronted with other forms of violence, such as kidnapping, arbitrary detention and legal prosecution.
The number of journalists killed had decreased in recent years: 99 journalists died violently in 2018, and 58 from 2019 to 2021.
The sharp increase in 2022 is alarming, said UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay on Monday in Paris.
"The authorities must redouble their efforts to put an end to these crimes and ensure that the perpetrators are convicted, because indifference is an important factor in this violent climate."
feb/dpa/AFP