A journalist’s driver injured by tear gas is evacuated near the national palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 17, 2024. The Caribbean nation became the likeliest nation to let journalists’ murderers go free in CPJ’s 2024 Global Impunity Index. (Photo: AFP/Clarens Siffroy)

Dear Friend, 

As we mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, I write to you to underscore a harsh reality that many reporters face daily: threats, violence, and too often, murder—without justice for those responsible. Despite journalists’ vital role in exposing corruption, human rights abuses, and injustice, their killers frequently go free. 

At CPJ, we are committed to fighting against this impunity. Each year, we publish an Impunity Index, highlighting the countries where killers of journalists escape accountability. This year, we found that globally, impunity remains entrenched, as no one is held to account in almost 80% of the cases where journalists have been directly targeted in retaliation for their work. Two small nations with outsized levels of impunity—Haiti and Israel—are the world’s top offenders in allowing the murderers of journalists to go unpunished. 

Additionally, when a journalist is murdered, we:

- Talk to their family and friends, we consult their colleagues, and we speak to police and local authorities 

- Conduct advocacy and report on the murder in our work, making sure to highlight the issue with our partners

- Call on local and national authorities to ensure the killers are brought to justice

This fight is long and hard, but progress is possible. Just this September, after 13 years of tireless advocacy, Joel Reyes, a former Palawan governor in the Philippines, was once again taken into custody for his alleged role in the 2011 murder of broadcast journalist Dr. Gerry Ortega. CPJ, along with coalition partners are calling for a swift trial after the fugitive ex-governor surrendered himself to. This case, like so many others, reminds us of the importance of persistence in seeking justice for journalists and their families. 

Our work to end impunity is essential to preserving a free press and ensuring that those who seek to silence journalists are held to account. Your support makes this vital work possible, and as we approach the year’s end, I hope you will consider making a gift to CPJ to help us continue the fight for justice and press freedom worldwide. 

Sincerely, 

Carlos Martínez de la Serna
CPJ Program Director

Interactive Feature: 30 journalists whose murderers are still free more than 30 years after CPJ documented their 1992 killings.