{
  "id": 17827422,
  "title": "Six in seven journalist killings remain unresolved, UNESCO warns",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/six-in-seven-journalist-killings-remain-unresolved-unesco-warns",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T16:42:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital FM Kenya",
    "slug": "capital-fm-kenya",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/six-in-seven-journalist-killings-remain-unresolved-unesco-warns/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nairobi, Kenya - Impunity for journalist killings has reached a critical level, with 86% of cases remaining unresolved, according to a new UNESCO report marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. The report reveals a 20% increase in the number of journalists killed in 2024-2025, reaching 189 fatalities, surpassing the previous two-year high set in 2014-2015. Of those killed, 127 were covering conflict zones, accounting for 67% of the total.\n\nThe surge in drone warfare has introduced new dangers for journalists, with 50 journalists killed in drone strikes during the reporting period, representing 40% of those killed in conflict zones. In six war zones, drone attacks accounted for more than a quarter of all journalist killings, often targeting media workplaces and temporary reporting centers. Fifteen journalists were killed while wearing press vests or driving press-marked vehicles.\n\nUNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany condemned the rise in killings, emphasizing the need for accountability and respect for UN Security Council Resolution 2222, which recognizes journalists as civilians in armed conflict zones. The report found that global impunity for journalist killings rose to 86% from 85% in the previous period, reversing a gradual decline over the years.\n\nIn non-conflict countries, journalist killings fell to 85 in the 2024-2025 period, the lowest level in 18 years, contrasting with a 77% impunity rate in non-conflict countries, down from 94% in 2012. Women journalists faced particularly high risks, with 14 killed, 93% of them while covering conflicts. A 2025 UN Women and International Center for Journalists study revealed that 75% of women journalists had experienced online or offline abuse and harassment, with offline violence linked to online abuse more than doubling from 20% in 2020 to over 40% in 2025.\n\nRegionally, the Arab States reported the highest number of journalist killings at 97, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with 37. Africa recorded six killings, down from 14 in the previous two-year period. Since UNESCO began monitoring journalist killings in 2006, 1,641 journalists have lost their lives worldwide, an average of one every four days. The persistent failure to investigate and prosecute these crimes threatens press freedom and undermines the public's right to information.",
  "summary": "NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov2 – Impunity for the killing of journalists has risen globally for the first time since 2012, with 86 per cent of cases remaining unresolved, as the number…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}