Impunity for attacks on journalists has a chilling effect on society.
Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be the region with the highest number of murders of journalists , according to the UNESCO Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity . Since 1993, more than 1,700 journalists have been killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public. In nine out of ten cases the killers go unpunished , according to the UNESCO observatory of killed journalists. Impunity leads to more killings and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems. While killings are the most extreme form of media censorship , journalists are also subjected to countless threats - ranging from kidnapping, torture and other physical attacks to harassment, particularly in the digital sphere. Threats of violence and attacks against journalists, in particular, create a climate of fear for media professionals, impeding the free circulation of information, opinions and ideas for all ...