Dear Friends,
This year, 67 journalists have been killed — not by accident, but because they were doing their job: keeping the world informed. How can we stand by and do nothing when so many journalists meet such a tragic end ?
Governments and international organisations, whose duty it is to uphold the law, are failing to protect those who risk their lives to help us understand the world that we live in. Although the UN Security Council Resolution 2222 ought to protect them, far too often it is violated and/or overlooked. On top of this, journalists face another threat: smear campaigns. Whenever a journalist is locked up, injured or killed, some people think to themselves that they “took too many risks”, that they “had it coming”, or even that they are “traitors” or “accomplices.” This deadly rhetoric makes journalists targets, fuelling hatred and helping justify what is simply unacceptable.
This year, 67 journalists have been killed. 503 are in detention, 135 are missing, and 20 are being held hostage. It is not only our trust in information that is at stake here: it is the very lives of those who protect our right to be informed.
