Geneva: Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, deplored that the record in the fight against impunity remains gloomy particularly this year as the perpetrators of violence and murders committed against journalists over the past days have enjoyed total impunity. On the eve of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, an UN-recognized global day observed annually on 2 November, PEC reported that across the world altogether 116 journalists have been killed this year till date.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on 7 October 2023, more than 150 journalists have been killed in Palestine and Lebanon as a result of Israeli reprisals for attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah. Palestinian media facilities and equipment were systematically destroyed. No one responsible at any level, military or civilian, has been prosecuted, said a PEC statement, adding that the matter has been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), in particular following the murder of a Reuter employee in southern Lebanon, but Israel does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction.
Last May, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan requested international arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for several Hamas leaders, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel since the start of hostilities unleashed by the Palestinian Islamist movement on 7 October. But Israel reacted by claiming in September that the ICC lacked jurisdiction over the case.
According to the Israeli government, the prosecutor did not respect the statutes of the Court and the principle of complementarity, in that he did not give Israel the opportunity to exercise its right to investigate the accusations made by the prosecutor before the latter submitted his request to the judges. In the absence of ICC proceedings, independent investigations must be carried out.
The Jerusalem authorities have banned foreign journalists from travelling to Gaza, in a bid to prevent credible testimony. Israeli journalists have been allowed in, but only under the supervision of the Israeli army. The PEC strongly condemns these practices. This widespread impunity is very worrying, as it sends out the wrong signal. Elsewhere in the world, impunity remains the rule, as in Mexico, Pakistan and Russia.
“PEC once again urges the Israeli army to respect international humanitarian law, and in particular the distinction between civilians and combatants. Admittedly, this distinction is difficult to observe when combatants are hiding among civilians,” commented PEC president Blaise Lempen, adding that the media, clearly identified as such, are seemingly not taking part in the fighting and hence their freedom to inform must be respected, even if they belong to the opposing camp.
PEC’s south & southeast Asian representative Nava Thakuria informed that since 1 January 2024 Pakistan lost 10 media workers to assailants followed by Bangladesh (7 media casualties during and after the mass uprising against the government in Dhaka), India (3 journo-murder victims), Myanmar (3 journos due to military atrocities), Indonesia and Philippines (one each). The complete list of media casualties across the world are available on the PEC website (https://www.pressemblem.ch/casualties).
