The United States stands with the global journalism community in commemorating the 10th International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. Far too many journalists worldwide are targeted for their reporting. The Committee to Protect Journalists has indicated that over 200 journalists were murdered in the last decade without their killers facing justice.
A free and independent press is a critical pillar of democracy. Impartial journalists are essential to informing the public and ensuring accountable governance, especially during crises and emergencies. However, ongoing global crises have caused increased concerns for journalist safety. To address these concerns, the United States has proudly partnered with UNESCO on a new program working in ten countries, including some experiencing crises, to strengthen policies and protocols to protect journalists. The United States will also continue to protect journalists through the Department’s Journalism Protection Platform and other programmatic initiatives, as well as by building our coalition of partners to combat the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware to target journalists and other human rights defenders.
We unequivocally condemn attacks on journalists for their work and call on all governments to protect media workers from violence, harassment, and intimidation. We call on the global community to protect journalists from harm for simply doing their job.