At least 120 journalists were killed in 2023

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 2023 ends with at least 120 journalists and news professionals killed, two-thirds of them as a result of the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Eleven of the 119 killed (in addition to accidental deaths) were women, and 71 percent occurred in the Middle East, with a clear predominance of Palestinians (75), as well as four Israelis, three Lebanese and three Syrians.

The IFJ is conducting an ongoing campaign on the situation in the Gaza Strip under the motto “No story is worth the life of a journalist.”

Twelve journalists were killed in the Asia-Pacific region: Indian (3), Afghan (2), Filipino (2), Bangladeshi (2), Pakistani (2) and Chinese (1).

In America, murders of journalists were recorded in Guatemala (3), Mexico (3), Colombia (1), USA (1), Honduras (1) and Paraguay (1).

Eight public relations professionals were killed in seven countries on the African continent – Cameroon (2), Lesotho (1), Mali (1), Mozambique (1), Nigeria (1), Somalia (1) and Sudan (1). and Rwanda reported one death.

This map also shows Europe: three journalists – a French, a Russian and a Ukrainian – have died in the ongoing war in Ukraine, as well as an Albanian public relations specialist.

“This year’s death figures show how urgently a binding international instrument is needed that commits states to adopt mechanisms to protect the safety and independence of journalists,” IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement.

The IFJ recalls that on December 8 it published its first list of journalist casualties, which mentioned 94 journalists and information technology specialists killed.

There are “too many situations” in which journalists are “deliberately targeted to cover up stories and limit the public’s right to know,” condemns the IFJ general secretary.