“Impunity for crimes against journalists must end,” said a special statement by EU High Representative Josep Borrell and European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova. The statement was issued on the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which is celebrated on 2 November.
“Journalists are our eyes and ears reporting from conflict zones. They put their lives in danger to provide accounts of what is happening on the ground. Their accurate, impartial media reports serve a fundamental public interest: accounts, images and news from the ground can have a decisive impact on the development and outcome of armed conflicts,” says the statement.
Borrell and Jourova stress that several journalists and media workers have been killed or injured in Ukraine, “sometimes deliberately targeted, while documenting the truth about the atrocities committed by Russian troops in Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine”. The EU officials say that their work is essential, as the Russian regime wages a global disinformation campaign.
Borrell and Jourova add that intentionally directing attacks against journalists, as civilians, constitutes a war crime.
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According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, nobody has been held to account in 80% of journalists’ murders during the last 10 years.
