This Observatory provides updated information on the killing of journalists since 1993 and on thejudicial status of condemned cases since 2006. It also providespublic access to country responses to UNESCO's requests for information into the judicial status of ongoing and unresolved cases. You may browse thefull list of killed journalists and search forvisual statistics and data.

This Observatory makes publicly accessible UNESCO’s work onmonitoring and reporting on the safety of journalists, as well as on global impunity for these crimes, data which is largely collected through theDirector-General's Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity. It forms an essential part of the implementation of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

Recording Killings of Journalists

The termjournalist in UNESCO's monitoring and reporting mechanisms covers“journalists, media workers and social media producers who are engaged in journalistic activity”, in line with IPDC Decisions on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity adopted by the IPDC Council in2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020,2022 and2024. This definition also aligns withGeneral Comment No. 34's broad interpretation of journalism as a "shared function" by a wide range of actors, including professional full-time reporters and analysts, as well as bloggers and others who engage in forms of self-publication in print, on the internet.

The cases of journalist killings recorded in this Observatory are identified and verified through the following process. First, a case of an alleged killing of a journalist is flagged to the Secretariat, for example by a Member State, Field Office, or specialised observer. The case is then added to an internal list for further monitoring and verification. UNESCO verifies that multiple sources, including international and regional press freedom, media and human rights organizations in relationship with UNESCO’s Governing Bodies, have confirmed that a particular killing may have been connected to the journalists work, for example, when a journalist is targeted for reprisals as a result of their work, or killed while on assignment.

Cases that don’t meet the verification criteria keep being monitored. The information in this Observatory can be updated in case of new evidence. The Observatory includes all cases for which the Director-General has called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths, including cases of deaths that have been deplored.

State Responses

UNESCO, lead UN agency for freedom of expression

UNESCO’s mandate to monitor the killings of journalists stems fromResolution 29 on the Condemnation of violence against journalists which was adopted at the 29^th Session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1997. The Resolution invites the Director-General to condemn the“assassination and any physical violence against journalists as a crime against society”.

In 2008, theDecision on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity gave UNESCO a central role in monitoring the follow-up of killings condemned by the Director-General. Since then, successive Decisions on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity adopted by the Intergovernmental Council of theInternational Programme on the Development of Communication (IPDC) have reinforced UNESCO’s mandate, most recently in2024.

Based on the information provided by Member States on judicial inquiries into journalist killings, every two years an analytical report is presented by theDirector-General on theSafety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity to the Intergovernmental Council of the IPDC.

UNESCO is responsible for these monitoring mechanisms as per theGeneral Conference's Decision, but also within theAgenda 2030. In fact, this data contributes to UNESCO's responsibility to collect information on the monitoring indicator of data for SDG 16.10.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals, in conjunction with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Global data on violence against journalists, trade unionists and other human rights defenders is collected by OHCHR, ILO and UNESCO using a common template and integrated into a single dataset.

Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity

Combatting impunity for crimes committed against journalists

UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity

The Plan focuses on six key areas — raising awareness; standard setting and policy making; monitoring and reporting; capacity building; research and coalition building.