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The United Nations commemorates, Monday, November 2, 2026, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Committed against Journalists, amid international warnings of the increase in attacks committed against journalists, the weakness of accountability for these crimes, as well as the increasing restrictions facing freedom of the press in many countries of the world.
The United Nations says that ending impunity for crimes committed against journalists is “a basic condition for ensuring freedom of expression and ensuring the right of all citizens to access information.”
UN reports indicate that since 1993, more than 1,800 journalists have been killed while carrying out their work.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Observatory reveals that the perpetrators of about nine out of ten murders against journalists escape punishment.
The Arab States region recorded the highest number of killings of journalists, according to the 2026 report of the Director-General of UNESCO on the safety of journalists and the risk of impunity.
According to UNESCO, 189 journalists were killed during 2024 and 2025, about 67 percent of these cases occurred in areas of armed conflict.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent international non-governmental organization based in New York, documented the killing of 129 journalists and media workers around the world during the year 2025, the highest annual toll it has recorded since it began documenting it in 1992.
The committee attributed responsibility to Israel for the killing of 86 of them, or about two-thirds of the total, noting that the majority of these deaths were Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip.
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In a message on the occasion, published on Sunday, November 1, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Media workers play a key role in keeping the public informed about what is happening and holding those in power and influence accountable. However, they are often subjected to harassment, surveillance, prosecution, physical assaults, imprisonment, and sometimes even torture or murder, simply for doing their job."
Guterres added, "During the past year, at least 34 journalists paid with their lives for doing their work. Six out of every seven such killings remain unpunished. In areas of armed conflict, the impunity rate is close to 100 percent."
Guterres called for justice, stressing that "when journalists are targeted, their voices are silenced, and their reports are prevented from reaching the public, we all become victims of this."
The reality of press freedom in the Arab region
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Press freedom in a number of Arab countries faces increasing challenges, ranging from attacks on journalists and threats to their safety in war zones and armed conflicts, to legal, political and economic restrictions that affect the independence of media institutions and the ability of journalists to perform their work without pressure or prosecution.
According to the World Press Freedom Classification for 2026, issued by Reporters Without Borders, the Middle East and North Africa region ranked last in the world in terms of press freedom conditions, after 18 out of 19 countries included in the index in the region were classified in the “difficult” and “extremely dangerous” categories.
The organization indicated that wars, legislation restricting media work, and political and economic pressures contributed to the deterioration of the conditions of journalists.
The Palestinian Territories, Sudan, and Yemen are the most prominent areas where journalists face risks associated with armed conflicts.
In Egypt, Reporters Without Borders says that independent media outlets face censorship and prosecution, noting that journalists have been charged with publishing false news and belonging to terrorist organizations.
In Tunisia, the organization monitored continued political and judicial pressure on journalists, noting that the use of the judicial system to prosecute critics of the authorities makes practicing independent journalism more difficult.
As for Algeria, the organization says that independent newsrooms face censorship and harassment online, in addition to cases of detention affecting media workers.
The need to protect journalists
The rules of international humanitarian law stipulate that journalists working in conflict zones are considered civilians and are protected from deliberate attacks, as long as they do not participate directly in hostilities. Intentionally targeting civilian journalists could constitute a war crime.
The United Nations and organizations concerned with press freedom call for independent and effective investigations into crimes committed against journalists, bringing those responsible to justice, and ensuring a safe environment that allows media workers to carry out their duties without fear of arbitrary arrest, violence or retaliation.
There are increasing calls to provide greater protection for female journalists in the face of digital threats, harassment, and defamation campaigns, in addition to ensuring the independence of media institutions and protecting journalists from prosecutions related to their professional work.
In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, in memory of the killing of two French journalists in Mali on the same day that year.
The commemoration of the occasion aims to strengthen international efforts to protect journalists and ensure that those who commit crimes against them are held accountable, given that the safety of journalists and freedom of the press are linked to the public’s right to obtain information, monitor authority, and expose corruption and violations.
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