PFUJ calls for end to Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 6 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
BRUSSELS - The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Thursday releases its 29th report on journalists and media staff killed in the course of their duties in 2018.
The report, In the Shadow of violence: journalists and media killed in 2018, details cases of 94 journalists and media professionals who lost their lives in targeted killings, bomb attacks or crossfire incidents. The number represents an increase of 12 killings more than in 2017.
Yemen, India, Mexico, Afghanistan, and Syria recorded the most devastating tolls while South Asia becomes the world’s most dangerous region for journalists, according to the report.
The IFJ says that the increase in killings takes place in the context of increasing polarization of views across the world with the rise of dangerous nationalist and populist forces in many countries and the stigmatization of journalists and media by politicians and the enemies of media freedom.
The report also points at the pervasive level of impunity that prevails across the globe where 90% of journalists' killings remain unresolved as the authorities all too often fail to conduct credible investigations into these crimes.
IFJ President Philippe Leruth said: "Those tragic figures remind us of our duty to act and hold governments responsible for the lack of investigation for journalists' crimes. We need an international instrument to force all states to act to halt the killing of journalists and bring the killers to justice. Our draft Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists and other media professionals would achieve this."
The IFJ proposed Convention addresses the key weaknesses in the international legal regime, and provides a dedicated instrument specific to the situation of journalists, ensuring more effective implementation of international law. It will ultimately secure a safer working environment for journalists and greater additional protection for press freedom.
The IFJ and its affiliates have met with governments, lobbied delegations and missions at the United Nations to raise support on the draft convention. The Federation has also built a broad-based coalition of media organizations and professionals that have warmly supported the initiative and helped take the argument forward.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "Every time a journalist is killed, it is not just the individual, the family, the media which suffers. Society is increasingly denied its right to the free flow of information and views as journalists – fearful for their lives – are silenced by the assassin’s gun." – IFJ media release/Photo by Omar Sobhani (Reuters)
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
November 02, 2025: Impunity for crimes against journalists deepens worldwide as Pakistan reports a 60 percent surge in attacks and weak enforcement of safety laws.
November 01, 2025: Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025: A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.
October 31, 2025: Police foiled a plot to kill DawnNewsTV journalist Tahir Naseer in Rawalpindi after arresting suspects hired for Rs200,000. Naseer says threats followed his reporting.
October 31, 2025: CPJ calls on Pakistan to bring Imtiaz Mir’s killers to justice after the journalist was allegedly murdered by a banned militant group in Karachi.
October 30, 2025: The PFUJ has condemned a fabricated drug case against journalist Matiullah Jan, calling it an attempt to silence him and urging authorities to quash the charges immediately.
October 30, 2025: NewsOne TV remains on air but faces mass layoffs and delayed salaries, exposing Pakistan’s worsening media crisis and financial instability.
November 02, 2025 Independent outlet All About Macau to halt print and online operations amid rising pressure, financial strain, and legal threats, sparking press freedom concerns in the city.
November 01, 2025 Belarus court jails journalist Siarhei Chabotska for extremism and defaming the president, highlighting Minsk’s ongoing crackdown on press freedom.
November 01, 2025 Mexican journalist Miguel Angel Beltran was found murdered in Durango. CPJ urges authorities to ensure justice amid rising violence against journalists in Mexico.
November 01, 2025 UNESCO survey finds one-third of media lawyers cannot effectively defend journalists due to threats, limited resources, and lack of specialization.
October 31, 2025 Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded broadcaster covering tightly controlled Asian media environments, has suspended all news operations after federal funding dried up.