Dec. 9 (UPI) — The International Federation of Journalists said in a report released Friday that 67 journalists have been killed in 2022 so far.
The total released ahead of International Human Rights Day on Saturday, is significantly higher than last year’s figure of 47.
Twelve media fatalities occurred in Ukraine since the begging of the year, 11 in Mexico, six in Haiti, five in Pakistan and four in the Philippines. The IFJ also recognized the killing of Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“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.
The IFJ also released figures on imprisoned journalists across the world. China toped the list with 84 imprisoned journalists, followed by Myanmar (64), Turkey (51), Iran (34), Belarus (33), Egypt (23), Russia and occupied Crimea (29), Saudi Arabia (11), Yemen (10), Syria (9) and India (9).
“The number of journalists being held for simply doing their job makes a mockery of the lofty declarations on human rights and media freedom made by too many governments and trumpeted at international conferences,” said Bellanger.
In addition to 67 journalists killed the IFJ noted that eight journalists have died in accidents since the beginning of 2022.
The IFJ urged the U.N. General Assembly to pass the IFJ Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists, to provide protection for journalists.
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