The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says six out of every seven journalists killed worldwide are not brought to justice, warning that global impunity for crimes against journalists has increased for the first time in more than a decade.

According to its latest report, the rate of impunity rose to 86 per cent in 2024 and 2025, compared with 85 per cent in the previous two-year period.

The report also revealed that 189 journalists were killed during the period, representing a 20 per cent increase over the previous biennium.

It was reported that the findings were released ahead of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, observed on November 2.

UNESCO Director-General, Khaled El-Enany, expressed concern that journalists reporting from conflict zones were increasingly losing their lives, while those responsible for their deaths often escaped accountability.

The report identified the growing use of drones as an emerging threat, noting that drone strikes killed 50 journalists during the period, representing 40 per cent of all journalists killed in conflict zones.

It further disclosed that 127 of the 189 journalists killed were covering conflicts, with the highest number of deaths recorded in the Arab States, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, and Western Europe and North America.

However, UNESCO acknowledged progress in countries without armed conflicts, where impunity has declined from 94 per cent in 2012 to 77 per cent in 2026.

The agency also raised concerns over the safety of women journalists, revealing that 13 of the 14 female journalists killed in 2024 and 2025 were in countries experiencing armed conflict.

It called on governments to strengthen investigations, prosecutions and protection mechanisms for journalists, stressing that accountability remains critical to safeguarding press freedom and the lives of media professionals.