File photo.
International Desk //

162 journalists were killed worldwide while carrying out their professional duties in 2022 and 2023, more than in the previous two years, according to a UNESCO report released on Saturday.

The report also said that in almost all cases of journalist killings, the perpetrators were not punished. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said that the increase in journalist killings worldwide is “worrying”.

The highest number of journalists were killed in Latin America and the Caribbean. 61 were killed there in the last two years. The fewest, six journalists were killed in North America and Western Europe.

The report also found that a large proportion of journalists killed in 2023 lost their lives in the field of war. A total of 44, or 59 percent of the total journalists killed that year. The trend of journalist deaths in the field of war has been decreasing since 2017.

Of the journalists killed in 2022-23, 14 were women, accounting for 9 percent of the total deaths. At least five of them are between the ages of 15 and 24.
Almost all cases of journalist murders remain unpunished. UNESCO has been tracking journalist killings around the world since 2006. According to the organization’s list, 85 percent of the cases have been either unresolved or abandoned.