# Nine in ten crimes against journalists go unpunished

> A Unesco report marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, showing that 86 percent of murders of press workers worldwide remain unsolved.
- Title: Nine in ten crimes against journalists go unpunished · RFI
- Summary: A Unesco report marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, showing that 86 percent of murders of press workers worldwide…
- Keywords: journalists, unesco, impunity, press freedom, middle east, africa, uganda, somalia, burkina faso, mali, niger, news
- Source: RFI — https://rfi.fr/en/international/20261102-nine-out-of-ten-crimes-against-journalists-go-unpunished-unesco-report
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: journalists, unesco, impunity, press freedom, middle east, africa, uganda, somalia, burkina faso, mali, niger, news
## Day marks journalists killed in Mali
Monday is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, chosen in memory of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, two Radio France Internationale journalists murdered in Mali on two November two thousand thirteen.
## More than sixteen hundred murdered in twenty years
According to UNESCO, more than one thousand six hundred journalists have been murdered worldwide over the last twenty years, representing a twenty percent increase in the past three years.
## Eighty-six percent of crimes go unpunished
UNESCO's latest report, Threats evolve. Impunity endures, published on Monday, warns that eighty-six percent of crimes against the press remain unpunished. Nine out of ten victims are local journalists.

> Threats evolve. Impunity endures
## Armed conflicts make prosecution harder
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, told RFI that in combat zones, when a journalist is murdered, those responsible find it much easier to evade authorities and escape accountability.
## Middle East deadliest region for press
UNESCO says the Middle East remains by far the most dangerous region for the press, with ninety-seven journalists killed there over the past two years, many in connection to the war in Gaza.
## Two African journalists killed this year
Reporters Without Borders recorded two journalists killed on the African continent this year.Joe Nam, a former contributor to New Vision, was shot dead on nineteen April in Kampala, Uganda.
## Sahel countries slide in press freedom rankings
Yao Noël, president of the Union of African Free Press Journalists, told RFI that in two thousand twenty-six, Burkina Faso slipped to one hundred tenth place, Mali to one hundred twenty-first and Niger to one…
## French case still unresolved after thirteen years
Thirteen years after the murder of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, the judicial investigation is still ongoing in France with many questions unanswered.
## Key takeaway

UNESCO reports that eighty-six percent of crimes against journalists go unpunished globally, with nine out of ten victims being local journalists, as the Middle East remains the deadliest region.