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110 journalists murdered in 2015 - RWB

110 journalists murdered in 2015 - RWB

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Over 110 journalists were killed in 2015.

The report published by Reporters Without Borders, indicates that 67 of the journalists were killed either because of their work or while on duty.

In Africa, 14 journalists were killed in 2015 including 7 in South Sudan , 3 in Somalia and one each in the Democratic Republic of Congo , Libya, Kenya, and Ghana.

“The creation of a specific mechanism for enforcing international law on the protection of journalists is absolutely essential,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.

Iraq suffered the highest number of journalists killed in 2015 followed by Syria and France respectively. Other countries that followed were Yemen, South Sudan, India, Mexico and Philippines.

In France, the attack on Charlie Hebdo reversed the trend in the previous years where most journalist lost their lives in the war zones but instead in 2015 most of them occured in countries at peace.

“Non-state groups perpetrate targeted atrocities while too many governments do not comply with their obligations under international law. The 110 journalists killed this year need a response that matches the emergency. A special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for the safety of journalists must be appointed without delay,” the secretary further pointed out.

In his annual report on the safety of journalists around the world, secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said: “I am deeply concerned about the failure to reduce the frequency and scale of targeted violence that journalists face and the near absolute impunity for such crimes.”

The report further said that over 787 journalists have so far lost their lives in connection to their careers since 2005. 43 journalists had no clear connection to their deaths. Amongst them, twenty seven were citizen-journalists and seven media workers.

When looking back at 2015, remember those who died to bring the news to us. Journalism is not a crime. https://t.co/bmSJ9hHBvk

— africa @pressfreedom (@africamedia_CPJ) December 29, 2015

Reporters Without Borders has been publishing report on journalists and journalism around the world every year. This year they have published a revised and amended version of its Safety Guide for Journalists in partnership with UNESCO on 15 December, 2015.