Dear Friends,

Today (10 October), on behalf of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), I unveiled the names of 57 journalists who paid with their lives for their commitment to keep us informed in Palestine, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan and elsewhere in the world.

These names have been engraved on the Reporters Memorial Stone in Bayeux, France for the 31st edition of the Bayeux-Calvados-Normandy War Correspondents’ Prize. The 57 names are those of journalists who were killed in the line of duty between 1 June 2023 and 1 June 2024. An olive tree was also planted to pay special tribute to the more than 130 journalists who have been killed in Gaza in the past year.

I would like to share with you the words of Teresa Martín Sánchez, who was with me in Bayeux today and who is the daughter of Luis Martín Sánchez, a Mexican journalist murdered in July 2023. She said: “My father taught me, through his actions and the way he conducted his professional life, that responsible and honest journalism consists of the art of using powerful words to translate facts that would otherwise be forgotten (...) Justice will eventually prevail.”

At RSF, we will continue our tireless fight against impunity for crimes of violence against journalists, with the aim of reducing the death toll, protecting human lives and defending our right to information. Behind the death toll, there are dreams that have been destroyed, families that have been shattered and rights that have been flouted. We must not surrender to fatalism. Things could be different. We must continue to keep tallies, name victims, denounce violations and conduct investigations so that justice can be rendered.

You are invaluable allies for the journalists who fight every day in the field, risking their lives, to produce reliable, independent reporting. Thanks to your donations, RSF can provide them with protective equipment, take legal action to defend those who are the victims of abuses, and help those forced to flee with their asylum applications. Every donation counts. Thank you for supporting us.