Impunity for the murders of journalists is on the rise for the first time since 2012, warns UNESCO in a report published Monday, on the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for these crimes. This year, “the overall rate of impunity for the assassinations of journalists increased by one percentage point to reach 86%,” the report states.
Since 2012, this rate has continued to decrease, going from its record level of 95% to 85% in 2024. The impunity rate covers murders for which investigations have not been completed or are still ongoing. Six out of seven perpetrators of journalist murders thus escape justice.
“Investigations and legal proceedings concerning the assassinations of journalists in war zones remain particularly insufficient,” Mariya Gabriel, Assistant Director General for Communication and Information at UNESCO, told the press. She specifies that the international organization “is not a court of justice”, but it “pressures for justice to be done”.
Two thirds killed in conflict zone
The report, published every two years, counts 189 journalists, media professionals and content creators on social networks carrying out journalistic activity killed in 2024 and 2025, including 14 women. This is the most deadly two-year period for journalists in 10 years.
Two thirds of them (67%) were killed in conflict zones, such as in Palestinian territory, Yemen or Ukraine. “This marks a major shift in the global risk landscape for journalists,” says Mariya Gabriel. UNESCO also notes the increasing use of “unmanned aerial vehicles or drones”, which are the cause of 26% of all murders in 2024 and 2025.
Palestine’s sad record
In total, “the State of Palestine again recorded the highest number of cases” in 2025, “with at least 32 homicides”, underlines the report. Furthermore, the organization emphasizes that journalists continue to be killed at home or while wearing a vest indicating their profession. In total, 1,641 journalists have been killed around the world since 2006, when UNESCO began monitoring. This represents one death every four days, on average.
Some figures reported by UNESCO in this report differ from those published by the Committee to Protect Journalists or Reporters Without Borders. UNESCO explains these differences by “the circumstances of a death which are sometimes difficult to assess due to the constant evolution of conflicts”.
