Haiti, Israel rank worst in CPJ impunity index 

A journalist's driver injured by tear gas is evacuated near the national palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 17, 2024. The Caribbean nation became the likeliest nation to let journalists' murderers go free in CPJ's 2024 Global Impunity Index. (Photo: AFP/Clarens Siffroy)
A journalist’s driver injured by tear gas is evacuated in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 17, 2024. The Caribbean nation became the likeliest nation to let journalists’ murderers go free in CPJ’s 2024 Global Impunity Index. (Photo: AFP/Clarens Siffroy)

Two small nations – Haiti and Israel – are now the world’s biggest offenders in letting journalists’ murderers go unpunished, according to CPJ’s 2024 Global Impunity Index, which measures unsolved murders in proportion to a country’s population. This year is the first time Israel has appeared in CPJ’s index since its inception in 2008.

In Haiti, ranked No. 1, a weak-to-nonexistent judiciary, gang violence, poverty, and political instability have contributed to the failure to hold killers to account. Israel’s targeted killing of journalists in Gaza and Lebanon during a relentless war drove it up to the No. 2 spot on the index, which covers the period from September 1, 2014, to August 31, 2024.

Somalia, Syria, and South Sudan, all long-time occupants on the list, round out the top five worst offenders. In close to 80% of global murders of journalists, no one is held to account.

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CPJ’s 2024 US election safety guide helps journalists, newsrooms manage risks
Fencing and other security barriers are placed around the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2024, ahead of the U.S. election. (Photo: AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Fencing and other security barriers are placed around the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2024, ahead of the U.S. election. (Photo: AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

The 2024 United States presidential election will take place on Tuesday, November 5, amid an increasingly polarized political climate. Coupled with a high level of distrust in the media, journalists are likely to face significant security challenges surrounding election day.

CPJ’s election safety guide is designed to help newsrooms and journalists think about and manage physical and digital risks, understand legal rights, and help create an atmosphere of psychological safety when it comes to covering the U.S. election.

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Special Report: What the US election could mean for global press freedom


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The Committee to Protect Journalists promotes press freedom worldwide.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Journalists Attacked

Myat Thu Tan

MURDERED

Myat Thu Tan, a contributor to the local news website Western News and correspondent for several independent Myanmar news outlets, was shot and killed on January 31, 2024, while in military custody in Mrauk-U in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State.

He was arrested on September 22, 2022, and held in pre-trial detention under a broad provision of the penal code that criminalizes incitement and the dissemination of false news for critical posts he made on his Facebook page. Myat Thu Tan had not been tried or convicted at the time of his death.

The journalist’s body was found buried in a bomb shelter, with the bodies of six other political detainees, and showed signs of torture.

Myanmar’s military junta has cracked down on journalists and media outlets since seizing power in a February 2021 coup.

In at least 8 out of 10 cases, the murderers of journalists go free. CPJ is waging a global campaign against impunity.

journalists killed in 2024 (motive confirmed)
imprisoned in 2023
missing globally