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(OPINION) Too many journalists are dying for doing their job. Between 2006 and 2019, close to 1,200 journalists were killed for reporting the news. This equates to approximately 100 journalists per year. In nine out of ten cases, the killers do not face justice. This impunity begets further crimes, enabling not only crimes against journalists but also the continuation of crimes these journalists were attempting to uncover.

This data does not include the numbers of nonfatal attacks against journalists, for example, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment. Furthermore, female journalists are often subjected to sexual violence.

The statistics for 2021 are expected to show a further deterioration of the situation, with reports of attacks on journalists around the world, especially in areas of significant unrest, such as Afghanistan, Belarus and Ethiopia. 

Such attacks on journalists are perpetrated globally, even in EU countries, which are considered some of the safest places for journalists. As reported by the European Commission, “In 2020, 908 journalists and media workers were attacked in 23 EU Member States. 175 journalists and media workers fell victims of attacks or incidents during protests in the EU.”

The prevalence of such attacks is of concern to everyone, as such attacks are often associated with human rights violations, corruption or other crimes that the perpetrators wish to conceal. As such, journalists must be protected in their own right and also as an important means to aid the protection of the rights of others. However, as it currently stands, impunity is a common outcome for those who commit violence against journalists.

States and international bodies need to do more to address such attacks. On Nov. 2, the U.N. marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, a day that the U.N. General Assembly established to urge states to “prevent violence against journalists and media workers, to ensure accountability through the conduct of impartial, speedy and effective investigations into all alleged violence against journalists and media workers falling within their jurisdiction and to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies.”

It calls upon member states to promote a safe environment, accommodating journalists in their work through legislative measures, raising awareness, carrying out adequate investigations, monitoring and reporting attacks committed against journalists and publicly condemning attacks.

In September 2021, the European Commission issued the first-ever Recommendation for the Protection, Safety and Empowerment of Journalists, which includes a set of concrete actions to address the issue, — including support services for victims, early warning mechanisms, an “effective approach to prosecution of criminal acts, cooperation with law enforcement authorities, rapid response mechanisms as well as economic and social protection.”

The recommendation aims to equip states with basic but effective approaches for the protection of journalists. The European Commission also launched a new call for proposals on media freedom and investigative journalism that aims to establish a Europe-wide rapid response mechanism for violations of press and media freedom and an emergency support fund for investigative journalists and media organizations to ensure media freedom in the EU. 

The European Commission’s proposals for more effective monitoring of attacks on journalists could be the first step toward change, and so is the emergency support fund. However, to provide a lasting difference, such mechanisms must be mirrored and introduced around the world.

This piece was republished from Forbes with permission.

Ewelina U. Ochab is a legal researcher, human rights advocate, doctoral candidate and author of the book “Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East” and more than 30 U.N. reports. She works on the topic of the persecution of minorities around the world.