India Among Most Dangerous Countries For Journalists: PEC Report

Geneva: The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has released its report where it has said that Afghanistan and Mexico are the most dangerous countries in 2021 for journalists and has also included the name India in the list.

PEC has released the annual report on the occasion of World Human Rights Day on December 10 highlighting the number of journalists killed around the world in the past years.

In the said report, PEC has stated that since January, 77 media workers have been killed in 28 countries around the world.

''Afghanistan leads with 12 assassinations, ahead of Mexico where 10 journalists were killed. Among the most dangerous countries are Pakistan (7), India (6), the Philippines (4), Yemen (4), and Democratic Republic of Congo (3),'' the report revealed.

It further also said that the two deaths were recorded in Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina-Faso, Colombia, as well as in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Turkey.

''Finally, one victim has been identified in the following countries: Ecuador, Gaza, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Lebanon, Netherlands, Syria, and United States of America,'' it added.

By region, Asia, with 40 dead (+7), is ahead of Latin America 17 (-10), Africa 14 (+5), Europe 5 (+2) and North America 1 (+1).

"The number of journalists killed decreased by 8 percent compared to the same period of last year, a slight improvement. Improvement has taken place in Latin America outside of Mexico, deterioration is observed in Africa and Europe. Mexico and Afghanistan are among the most dangerous countries for journalists for many years, but the rise in Africa is particularly worrying", commented PEC Secretary General Blaise Lempen.

In Europe, the targeted killings of 3 journalists, in Greece, Georgia and the Netherlands is a very sad development. In Burma (Myanmar) after the coup and in Afghanistan after the departure of the NATO troops, press freedom has registered a very serious setback, the report noted.

''Of the 77 journalists murdered, 29 were in war zones (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, DRC, Ethiopia, Gaza, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen). Terrorist groups were responsible of at least 20 murders (Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen), an increase compared to previous years,'' the report added.

The PEC strongly condemns these attacks and calls for those responsible for these crimes to be brought to justice, it said.

Over the last 5 years, Mexico has recorded the highest victims (66), ahead of Afghanistan (53), then India (40), Pakistan (35), Syria (29), the Philippines (22), Iraq (18), Yemen (17), and Somalia (16).

According to PEC, in ten years, from 2012 to 2021, 1150 journalists were killed, or 115 per year, 2.2 per week.

One positive development, says PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi is that the awareness across the globe has become more widespread due to the impressive engagement of media colleagues spreading the message of media protection and the safety of journalists as well as press freedom.

The PEC also claimed that more than 1900 journalists have also died from COVID-19 since March 2020, among them at least 1300 since January this year. The PEC is supposed to make a special report at a later stage.

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