Number of journalists killed in 2023 is lowest in 20 years

The number of journalists killed worldwide in connection with their work fell to its lowest level in 20 years this year, a decrease largely attributed to progress in journalists’ security.

In 2023, 45 reporters have been killed, the lowest since 2002, according to an annual report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In 2022, 61 journalists were killed because of their work.

In Gaza, at least 13 journalists have been killed because of their jobs since the war began between Israel and Hamas, a total that rises to 56 if we include all journalists killed in the Gaza Strip, whether or not in the line of their work.

Progress in terms of journalists’ security is one factor behind the lower number of journalists killed, RSF states in their report.

“In peace zones, journalists are also better protected, thanks to the creation of regulatory frameworks to guarantee their security, and the strengthening of mechanisms to combat impunity. But in some regions, it is self-censorship in the face of an increase in risks that may also account for less exposure to physical risks,” the report says.

Meanwhile, the number of reporters currently detained on arbitrary grounds linked to their work has dropped to 521 across the world, according to RSF, compared to 571 last year.

Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime in Belarus is the worst European offender in terms of detaining journalists. Belarus is currently detaining 39 reporters, an increase of seven compared to 2022, and is second only to China in terms of detailing female journalists.

RSF attributes the fall in the number of journalists detained worldwide to Iran and Turkey holding 24 and 23 fewer reporters respectively at the time of publication.

Press protection within the EU

In the EU, meanwhile, despite the bloc’s professed commitment to media and journalistic freedom, a group of seven EU countries are pushing for governments to have the right to use spyware against journalists as part of the proposed European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), according to an investigation released on Tuesday (12 December) by Investigate Europe, Disclose and Follow the Money.

The draft law, which was tabled by the European Commission last year, would deliver “common safeguards to protect media freedom and pluralism in the EU,” said Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, said.

“We need to establish clear principles: no journalist should be spied on because of their job; no public media should be turned into propaganda channel,” added Jourová.

However, minutes from a meeting of EU ministers on the file in November, revealed that Italy, France, Finland, Greece, Cyprus, Sweden, and Malta are all insisting on retaining a paragraph that provides a caveat to a ban on spying on journalists, stating, “This article shall be without prejudice to the responsibility of Member States to protect national security.”

The European Federation of Jouranalists (EFJ) has called on the Parliament and the Commission “to reject this illiberal and repressive request”.

EU institutions will meet for a trilogue meeting to hash out the differences on EMFA on Friday (15 December).