Haiti, Israel ranked worst for securing justice in journalist killings

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Washington — Haiti and Israel rank the worst in the world in terms of allowing the murderers of journalists to go unpunished, according to a report published Wednesday.

The annual report from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, tracks impunity in journalist killings globally over the past decade. Nearly 80% of journalist killings around the world remain unsolved, the report said.

“If journalist murders go unpunished, that creates an environment in which other journalists can be attacked,” the CPJ’s CEO, Jodie Ginsberg, told VOA. “It creates this environment where attacks on journalists feel like fair game.”

“That matters because journalism is essential for us in providing us the information we need to live our everyday lives,” Ginsberg added.

CPJ’s impunity index specifically tracks when journalists are killed in direct connection to their work. It measures the number of unsolved journalist murders relative to the country’s population.

This year marks the first time that Israel has appeared on the index after failing to hold anyone accountable in what the CPJ classifies as targeted killings of five journalists in Gaza and Lebanon by the Israeli military over the past year, in addition to three other targeted killings that occurred before the war began.

“Israel is supposedly a democracy. It has talked very openly about how it prides itself as being the only country in the region that has press freedom,” Ginsberg said. “And this [impunity] demonstrates that is not the case.”

CPJ is investigating the possible targeted killings of 10 more journalists in the Israel-Hamas war, the report said.

“What we’re seeing is the Israeli army not following any clear rules of engagement, targeting journalists, who are civilians, and those murders going unpunished,” Ginsberg said.

While CPJ has confirmed that five journalist killings in the Israel-Hamas war were targeted, as of Oct. 30, the press freedom group has documented at least 134 killings of journalists and media workers since the war began.

Impunity in journalist killings is an entrenched issue in Israel, according to Ginsberg.

“We have not seen any real, credible investigations into any killings of journalists by the Israeli army, not just in this war, but in the past two decades,” Ginsberg said.

Israel’s foreign ministry and military did not immediately reply to VOA emails requesting comment. Israel has previously denied targeting journalists.

Meanwhile, this year marked Haiti’s second time on the impunity index and its first in the top spot.

Haiti’s status as a non-functioning state with severe gang violence, political instability and a weak judiciary helps explain why impunity in journalist killings is such a serious problem, according to the report. CPJ has documented seven targeted journalist killings in the Caribbean nation over the past decade.

“With increased violence, the dangers to journalists rise,” Ginsberg said. “Haiti being at the top of this year’s impunity index is really a reflection of that increased violence.”

Haiti’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to a VOA email requesting comment.

Most of the other countries on this year’s index have been on it for more than a decade.

Somalia, ranked third this year with nine unsolved killings, has been on the impunity index in all 17 years of the report’s existence.

Syria and South Sudan rounded out the top five worst offenders of 2024. They’re followed by Afghanistan, which has been on the index for 16 total years, with 18 unsolved killings over the past decade.

In seventh place was Iraq, with 11 unsolved killings, followed by Mexico, with 21, and the Philippines, with 18. Those three countries — plus Pakistan and India — have been on the index since its inception nearly two decades ago.

On Tuesday night, a journalist named Mauricio Cruz Solis was shot and killed in western Mexico, underscoring just how dangerous the country is for reporters.

That so many countries have been on the impunity index since the study started highlights “the persistent nature of impunity,” the report said.

Besides Israel and Haiti, Myanmar is the only other country that has been on the index for less than one decade. The Southeast Asian country has been on the list since 2022.

CPJ documented three targeted journalist killings in Myanmar in 2024 alone, marking this year as the worst for impunity in Myanmar on record. It ranked 10th on the index.

Of the eight total unsolved journalist murders in Myanmar over the past decade, seven of them occurred after the country’s military launched a coup in 2021. The country has been engulfed by civil war ever since.

After Myanmar is Brazil, which has been on the list for 15 years and has 10 unsolved killings. Pakistan and India complete the list with eight and 19 unsolved killings, respectively.

This year has been particularly deadly for journalists in Pakistan. CPJ has confirmed that at least two Pakistani journalists were killed in direct retaliation for their work so far in 2024. The press freedom group is investigating four other possible work-related killings.

“Rule of law has worsened, and with that, we’ve seen crimes against journalists on the rise,” Ginsberg said about Pakistan.

In 2013, the United Nations declared November 2 the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.

Although more than 10 years have passed since then, impunity in journalist killings remains a pervasive issue, according to CPJ.

Since 1992, CPJ has classified 974 journalist killings as murder, with only 5% receiving full justice, and 79% remaining unsolved.

Of those killings, 241 of them were included in the index period of this year’s report. Less than 4% of those murdered achieved full justice, while 77% received no justice, according to CPJ.

The biggest barrier to accountability in these killings is political will, according to Ginsberg.

“Far too often, the reason that we see no movement in impunity is because those in power either are responsible for the killings or have no wish to investigate,” Ginsberg said.

In the absence of political will, Ginsberg said she is hopeful that international bodies can also investigate and prosecute these crimes. International pressure can help, too, she added.

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