2012 could be a very dangerous year for journalists
2012 could be the deadliest year for journalists since records began 15 years ago. The International Press Institute (IPI) issued this warning on World Press Freedom Day.
By April 30, the Institute had registered 43 journalists killed worldwide. On Thursday, the IPI launched a global campaign to protect press freedom. According to the IPI, many newspapers are publishing a large advertisement free of charge, including papers from Argentina, Australia, India, Liberia, Namibia, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey and the USA. Newspapers from Switzerland are also taking part.
According to IPI in Vienna, 2011 was the year with the second highest number of victims, with 102 journalists killed. The highest number of journalists killed was in 2009, when the death toll was 110 - 32 reporters alone were killed in an attack on an election campaign convoy in the Philippines.
Syria is reportedly the most dangerous country for journalists this year. In the first three months alone, eleven reporters have already been killed there, including foreign journalists. There are also a particularly high number of victims among investigative journalists in Mexico. Unscrupulous drug dealers commissioned ten journalist murders there in 2011 alone.
Together with the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the IPI is trying to strengthen the regulations of the UN Human Rights Council for the protection of journalists. By the end of the year, Austria will submit a resolution on the safety of journalists to the Human Rights Council.
Even in countries where freedom of the press prevails, journalists are
murdered, often in connection with investigations into organized crime and corruption. This is usually carried out by contract killers or corrupt police officers, the IPI reported. (SDA/DPA)
