Four Pakistanis out of 38 media workers killed during first six months of 2019

Geneva, 4th of July (PEC) According to the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), 38 journalists were killed in 20 countries from January to the end of June 2019. During the same period in 2018 (January to June) 66 journalists were killed: the decrease is significant with 42% less casualties than the previous year.

This decrease is a positive development, however the trend remains very worrying in two countries. In Mexico, 9 journalists have been killed in six months and 6 in Afghanistan, more than one third of the total of fatalities. In Afghanistan terrorist groups and in Mexico criminal groups bear the main responsibility of the high price paid by media workers.
“The national mechanisms are clearly powerless to prevent those crimes and to ensure accountability, because local police and judicial institutions are insufficient or corrupt”, said PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen.
“The international community must establish an independent mechanism that can fight impunity when the national institutions are not efficient nor sufficient in order to fill the gaps in prevention, protection and prosecution”, he added.
Pakistan follows Mexico and Afghanistan among the most dangerous countries so far this year, with 4 journalists killed. Then Brazil with 2 killed and Colombia with also 2 killed.
One journalist was killed in the following countries: Bangladesh, Chad, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Northern Ireland, Philippines, South Africa, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.
Latin America the most affected
By region, Latin America represents the most affected continent with 15 killed (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Haiti). There is an improvement in the Middle East due to the lower intensity of conflict in Syria and Iraq.
The PEC strongly condemns those attacks and calls upon the governments to bring the perpetrators to justice.
At the 41st session of the Human Rights Council, the PEC welcomed the conclusions of the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings Agnes Callamard (A/HRC/41/36) into the killing last October of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. She recommended to establish a Standing Instrument for the Criminal Investigation into Allegations of Targeted Killing, or other acts of violence against journalists and human rights defenders. This instrument could be part of an International Convention on the Protection of Journalists.
The PEC calls upon governments, associations and civil society to continue to engage on the issue of the safety of journalists in order to reduce at least by half the casualties among media workers around the world, a goal set last year.
Source: PEC