The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says the number of journalists killed in the line of duty fell this year, even despite deaths of reporters covering the conflict in Gaza in the past two months.
In the first 11 months of 2023, 45 journalists were killed carrying out their work, down from 61 last year, according to the annual report by RSF published this Thursday.
It is the lowest number since 33 died in 2002, largely due to a major drop in Latin America.
While some 63 journalists have been killed in the Middle East since the start of fighting between Israel and Islamist group Hamas on 7 October, only 17 of those deaths fell under RSF's definition.
"It takes nothing away from the tragedy in Gaza but we are observing a regular decline, and are very far from the 140 journalists killed in 2012 and again in 2013" because of the wars in Syria and Iraq, RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire told French news agency AFP.
The decline is due to efforts by inter-governmental organisations and NGOs to combat impunity, as well as to greater "prudence" by reporters themselves, he added.
🔴 @RSF_inter 2023 round-up.
— Christophe Deloire (@cdeloire) December 14, 2023
▶️ To this day, 521 journalists are detained worldwide.
▶️ 23% of the journalists detained worldwide are now in Chinese jails.
▶️ China is again the world's largest prison for journalists (121), followed by Myanmar (39), Belarus (39), Vietnam (36) and… pic.twitter.com/QvEDbPe1HO
War crimes complaint
Of the 17 journalists RSF counted as killed carrying out their profession in the Middle East since 7 October, 13 were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, three died in Lebanon and one was killed in Israel by Hamas.
The group has filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court for "war crimes" for these deaths.
According to AFP, an investigation showed that Israeli tank fire was responsible for killing Reuters cameraman Issam Abdallah on 13 October and wounding six others, including AFP photographer Christina Assi.
A spokesperson for the Israeli army said the journalists were in an "active combat zone" in southern Lebanon, an answer that Deloire called "not satisfactory".
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine cost the life of two reporters in 2023, including AFP reporter Arman Soldin. The French video journalist was "the only reporter to have lost their life outside their own country", RSF said.
A total of 11 reporters have been killed since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
Fall in Latin America
There was a sharp drop in the casualties in Latin America where six reporters were killed, down from 26 in 2022.
In Mexico alone, the number fell to four from 11 the previous year.
However, RSF has warned that Mexico remains dangerous for journalists, citing continued kidnappings and attacks. Of the 84 journalists counted as missing worldwide, about a third are Mexican.
The number of jailed reporters declined to 521 from 569 in 2022, with Belarus joining China and Myanmar as "one of the three biggest prisons in the world". Turkey and Iran also repeatedly jail journalists, the report says.
A total of 54 journalists are currently being held hostage, compared to 65 in 2022.
(with AFP)
