World Press Freedom Day

  Across the world, especially in conflict zones, journalists are facing unpredictable dangers. They are often, wrongly, seen as legitimate targets. CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward tells UN News that “ we have entered a very dangerous new era where journalists have become fair game ”.  

In Gaza, nearly 300 reporters have been killed since Hamas-led terror attacks against Israel on 7 October 2023, according to the UN human rights office, OHCHR. That makes the devastated enclave the world’s most dangerous place for journalists. “ Don't let depression attack journalists or democracy will die ,” stressed Rawan Damen, Director General of the organization Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism at a conference on the future of journalism Gaza convened by UN-partner EBU in Geneva last week.

How do you work safely as a reporter when violent crime gangs control your patch? That’s the challenge facing Haitian print and radio journalist Jean Daniel Sénat, who explains that he and his colleagues are “constantly under threat” from criminal groups. The UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed Journalists points to 14 media workers killed in Haiti since 2021. Sometimes the danger comes from an unexpected source: the police, who suspect some journalists of working for gangs as they are able to enter gang-controlled neighbourhoods, Jean Daniel alleges.  Read the UN News story here

“It is to grieve people you may never have met personally yet feel bound to them through shared purpose and risk. It is to carry constant fear while continuing to speak and to document what others would prefer to deny or erase. It is to operate in environments where silence is encouraged through intimidation, and where visibility itself can become a form of danger. “To survive as a journalist is to witness colleagues being killed repeatedly,” says AFP journalist Christina Assi . The photojournalist came under attack by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon in October 2023 while reporting from the Israel-Lebanon border and had her lower leg amputated. Here’s more from her statement for World Press Freedom Day 2026: "From Shireen Abu Akleh to Amal Khalil, courage has come at a cost while they continued reporting despite clear threats. Their killings do not erase the truth they worked on to document, and no amount of justification can change what happened. After three years and more tha...

Organizer: the European Broadcasting Union in Switzerland. Event: Future of Journalism in Gaza Conference. Date: 5 May 2026. Description: To mark World Press Freedom Day, the European Broadcasting Union convenes a conference to examine the state of journalism in Gaza , and explore what it will take to restore safe, independent and sustainable reporting in one of the world’s most dangerous environments for media . With infrastructure devastated, many journalists and media workers killed since the start of the war, and independent reporting by international media banned, this gathering will bring together EBU Members, newsroom leaders, press freedom advocates, humanitarian actors and security experts to share practical experience and identify concrete steps to rebuild capacity, protect journalists and safeguard the public’s right to information . Type of meeting: In person. Audience type: Open meeting. Location: EBU HQ, l'ancienne route 17a 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerlan...

On May 6, 2025; From 15:00 – 17:00; A parallel event entitled '' Building Resilient Newsrooms - Developing Protocols to Protect the Safety of Journalists." Organizer: IWMF , supported by UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication Venue: Visit Brussels rue Royale 2-4, 1000 Brussels Register here Contact: Nadine Hoffman

On May 6, 2025; From 14:30 – 16:30; A parallel event entitled ''Stop killing of journalists in the world's deadliest war zones." Organizer: International Federation of Journalists . Venue: Résidence Palace (Polak Room) Register here . Contact: IFJ .

On May 6, 2025; From 14:00 – 15:00, Launch of Worlds of Journalism Study Global Index on Journalists' Safety. Organizer: Worlds of Journalism Study and University of Liverpool . Venue: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels) Register here Contact: Dr Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova

For the second consecutive year, conflict zones have proven dangerous for journalists and media workers, with 2024 seeing at least 68 deaths in the line of duty, according to new data from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ). More than 60 per cent of these killings occurred in countries experiencing conflict – the highest percentage in over a decade. "Reliable information is vital in conflict situations to help affected populations and to enlighten the world," said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “It is unacceptable that journalists pay with their lives for this work. I call on all States to step up and ensure the protection of media workers, in accordance with international law,” she added. Alarming trends The report highlights that 42 journalists were killed in conflict zones this year, including 18 in Palestine, which recorded the highest toll. Other countries such as Ukraine, Colombia, Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Sudan also saw mul...

Organized by: UNESCO, the Global Network Initiative , the Action Coalition for Meaningful Transparency , the Global Forum for Media Development , Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN, and Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media in the digital Age .  Roundtable on access to data, safety of journalists and media viability. - 14:30 - 15:00. Stoy UNESCO and Japan collaborate to expand efforts for Ukrainian media and journalists . Read the OSCE full report on " Safety of Journalists in Conflicts situation. ". For more information, contact: ipdc.secretariat@unesco.org

                             In this roundtable, moderated by Carlos Gaio, CEO of Media Defence, we will discuss the various and worrying legal threats journalists have faced over the past 15 years. Media Defence was created in 2008 to respond to a growing need: to provide legal support to journalists and independent media globally. We will discuss the type of threats and lawsuits that some of our panelists have faced over the years , how legal harassment and methods to silence journalists have evolved, what the threats look like now and what can be done to counter these, so that journalists can continue to report, freely. Press Freedoms in Decline: How Threats Against the Media Have Evolved Over the Past 15 Years . Organized by: Columbia GFoE, Media Defence | Location: MLK Conference Room 527, Columbia University. Directions:  MLK Conference Room 527, Riverside Church, Columbia University

3 MAY   Closed sessions 13:00 - 14:00 (CET)  | 08:00 - 09:00 (UYT) (Online session) Priority Africa : Regional Celebration in Africa /WPFD Convention in Arusha presenting the highlights of an ongoing assessment report on press freedom and the safety of journalists in Afri ca –  by UNESCO   14:00 - 0:30 (CET)  | 09:00 - 19:30 (UYT) Regional United Nations Workshop on Freedom of Expression, Safety of Journalists and Access to Information –  by UNESCO and the United Nations System Staff College   14:00 - 18:00 (CET)  |  09:00 - 13:00 (UYT)  Critical Voices Under Digital Siege –  by the Danish Institute for Human Rights 16:00 - 21:10 (CET)  |  11:00 - 16:10 (UYT)  Artistic freedom in the digital sphere –  by UNESCO and PEN America's Artist at Risk Connection (ARC) ,   CECC-SICA , with the support of the Kingdom of Norway   Parallel Sessions 14:00 - 15:00 (CET)  | 09:00 - 10:00 (UYT) Medi...

  Serbia is the candidate country with the second highest number of alerts , following Turkey. In total, 35 attacks affecting 55 persons or entities related to media were registered in the reporting period. As evidenced by the MFRR fact-finding mission organised in January and February 2021, media professionals continue to operate in a highly polarised environment. The data confirms the findings of the mission report , published in April 2021. Verbal attacks, intimidation, online harassment, and legal threats are the main issues affecting journalists in the country.  The country's political and ethnic polarisation is reflected in attacks against journalists who critically report on the ruling Serbian Progessive Party (SNS or President Vucic’s family .arious cases show that radical nationalism endangers the safety of journalist s. Pro-government media were the source of – or incited – attacks against journalists in five cases, for instance by discrediting critical media out...

 Journalism can be exercised by a wide range of actors, including bloggers and others. In addition to protecting the safety and security of journalists, States have an obligation to create an enabling environment for free and independent journalism . Strong protections for journalists’ sources and whistleblowers are often a precondition for a range of journalistic activities, and critical to the public’s right to know .