IBAHRI renews calls for protection of journalists and accountability for crimes against them
On United Nations World Press Freedom Day, marked annually on 3 May, the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) reiterates its grave concern over the global erosion of press freedom, underscoring the essential role of a free and independent press in safeguarding democracy, accountability and the rule of law. Ranging from targeted killings to the widespread deployment of legal and digital threats, attacks against media workers are being used to silence dissent against autocratic regimes.
A cornerstone of democratic societies
A free press is an essential pillar of democracy – it is a foundational pillar of democratic societies.
Independent journalism enables scrutiny of power, exposes corruption and ensures the public’s right to access accurate information. For the IBAHRI, protecting journalists is inseparable from defending human rights.
Escalating violence and entrenched impunity
Over the past two years, IBAHRI's World Press Freedom Day statements have highlighted the rising numbers of targeted killings of journalists, as reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) – a troubling trend. In both 2024 and 2025, the CPJ recorded the ‘deadliest year for journalists’ since the organisation began keeping records in 1992, with 125 and 130 killings respectively.
The first four months of 2026 have shown little sign of improvement with 17 journalists and media workers killed in work-related incidents, primarily across the South West Asia and North Africa region, including in Iran, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon and Syria. The persistence of such violence — coupled with widespread impunity — reflects a failure of states to uphold their obligations under international law. The IBAHRI calls for urgent action to protect media workers and to combat the growing impunity of those who kill journalists.
The IBAHRI stresses that without accountability, attacks on journalists will continue to be used as a tool to suppress truth and silence dissent.
Legal and institutional pressures intensifying
Beyond targeted killings, media workers are increasingly constrained by legal and administrative measures that restrict access and reporting. In the United States, recent restrictions affecting access to government institutions, alongside actions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), raise concerns about undue limitations on press freedom and media plurality.
In September 2025, the US Department of War began requiring journalists reporting from the Pentagon to sign a pledge agreeing to limit their movements within the building and to refrain from accessing unauthorised materials; those who refuse face having their press passes revoked. The Freedom of the Press Foundation has described this as one of the ‘most serious violations of the press freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution's First Amendment’. In addition, the Trump Administration has placed restrictions on journalists’ access to the West Wing’s ‘Upper Press’ area in the White House. Major news organisations — including the New York Times, CNN, Politico and NPR — have faced unprecedented barriers to reporting.
Further cause for concern are the actions of the US FCC that suggest an abuse of authority over broadcast licensing and consolidation of media ownership among six major corporations, leading to increased censorship.
Similar legal restrictions have been imposed in other countries — in Vietnam, amendments to state secrecy laws in December 2025 now compel media outlets to disclose the identities of confidential sources upon request by state authorities. This undermines the protection of confidential journalistic sources — a cornerstone of investigative reporting. At the same time, the growing use of internet shutdowns in the context of anti-government protests in Iran and during elections in Uganda have impeded the ability of journalists to report on politically sensitive events.
Criminalisation and detention of journalists
The detention and prosecution of journalists remain a widespread tactic to silence independent voices. In Georgia, the imprisonment of prominent media manager Mzia Amaglobeli has drawn international condemnation from defenders of media freedom and human rights and raised concerns over politically motivated prosecutions. Ms Amaglobeli’s conviction is viewed by many as an attempt to intimidate the press into silence in the wake of the passing of Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law, which places restrictions on foreign funding — often a lifeline for independent media.
Meanwhile, a February 2026 CPJ report documents the conditions facing journalists imprisoned in Israel as the most harrowing instances of press intimidation, finding that dozens of Palestinian journalists have suffered torture, sexual assault and starvation in detention following their arrest in the occupied West Bank and Gaza since 7 October 2023. The majority have been held without charge under administrative detention, without the opportunity to mount a legal defence, with some held for over two years without due process.
Such cases illustrate a broader global pattern: the use of legal systems to intimidate, punish and ultimately dismantle independent media.
Targeting of lawyers representing journalists
As journalists are targeted, so are the lawyers who represent them. A recent survey conducted by UNESCO found that a quarter of lawyers defending journalists have either personally experienced or know other colleagues who have faced ‘criminal charges and legal actions’. This aligns with a collaborative study by the American Bar Association, Thomson Reuters Foundation and Media Defence that demonstrated within the last decade more than 40 lawyers from ten countries that were defending media freedom have been targeted. The nature of this pointed behaviour included: criminal suits, interference with client representation, obstruction of legal practice and threats of physical violence or murder. Not only is media freedom directly under threat, so too are the legal professionals carrying out their duties.
The role of international cooperation and legal expertise
Against this backdrop, the IBAHRI emphasises the critical importance of coordinated international responses.
As Secretariat to the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, the IBAHRI supports the provision of independent legal guidance to the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) – a partnership of governments committed to defending media freedom worldwide. The High Level Panel plays a vital role in developing practical legal solutions, advising on accountability mechanisms and strengthening protections for journalists operating in increasingly hostile environments. On World Press Freedom Day, High Level Panel Deputy Chair Can Yeginsu will contribute to discussions at a side event hosted by theUN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva, and in Estonia on the need to support journalists in exile to continue their vital reporting.
A call to action
On World Press Freedom Day, the IBAHRI reaffirms its unwavering support for journalists and media workers who play an indispensable role in upholding democracy and human rights around the world. The cases cited in this statement represent a tiny fraction of the grave injustices committed against journalists every day. The IBAHRI reiterates that the defence of press freedom requires urgent, sustained action and calls on governments to move beyond commitments, take concrete steps to end impunity, repeal restrictive laws and ensure safe environments for journalists to operate.
ENDS
Contact: IBAHRI@int-bar.org
For journalists:
- Interviews can be arranged with legal experts, programme leads, and partners involved in current initiatives.
Notes:
- Related items:
- Reports of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom.
- Report on the Use of Targeted Sanctions to Protect Journalists
- Advice on Promoting More Effective Investigations into Abuses against Journalists
- Report on Providing Safe Refuge to Journalists at Risk
- A Pressing Concern: Protecting and Promoting Press Freedom by Strengthening Consular Support to Journalists at Risk
- The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), established in 1995 under Founding Honorary President Nelson Mandela, is an autonomous entity working to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.
- Find the IBAHRI on social media here:
- The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, with the aim of protecting and promoting the rule of law globally, the IBA was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
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