More than 70% of journalists from 129 countries who cover environmental issues have indicated that they have been victims of threats, pressure or attacks, warns UNESCO in a survey revealed Thursday on the occasion of World Freedom Day. the press.
In its new report “Press and planet in danger”, UNESCO indicates that it conducted a survey of 905 journalists in March and that more than 70% of them declared having been the target of “attacks, threats or pressures” in connection with their investigations into environmental issues.
Among them, two in five say they have suffered physical violence.
Some 85% of the journalists concerned say they have been the subject of threats or psychological pressure, 60% have been victims of online harassment, 41% of physical attacks and 24% said they had been attacked on a legal level.
Nearly half (45%) say they self-censor for fear of reprisals, of having their sources revealed, or because they are aware that their articles conflict with the interests of relevant stakeholders.
Data also shows that female journalists are more exposed to online harassment than men.
44 assassinations in 15 years
As part of the publication of this investigation, UNESCO also revealed that at least 749 journalists and media outlets covering environmental issues have been “targets of murder, physical violence, detention and arrest, online harassment or legal attacks” during the period 2009-2023.
A 42% increase in cases was noted between 2019 and 2023 compared to the previous period (2014-2018).
UNESCO recalls that at least 44 journalists covering environmental issues have been killed since 2009 in 15 countries, including 30 in Asia-Pacific and 11 in Latin America or the Caribbean.
Some 24 survived murder attempts and only five assassinations resulted in convictions, representing “a shocking impunity rate of almost 90%”, underlines UNESCO.
Environmental journalists face increasing risks because their work “often intersects with highly profitable economic activities, such as illegal logging, poaching or illegal waste dumping,” notes UNESCO.
The United Nations agency calls for increased support for journalists specializing in environmental issues, because “without reliable scientific information on the ongoing environmental crisis, we can never hope to overcome it”, indicated the director general of the UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, cited in the report. She emphasizes that “climate-related misinformation is omnipresent on social networks”.
The survey, revealed at the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference in Santiago, Chile, highlights that the problem is global, with attacks taking place in 89 countries in all regions of the world. .