Journalist killings outside of conflict zones rising

Killings of journalists outside of armed conflict zones are on the rise, according to reports.

The recent killing of Jamal Khashoggi has put the issue squarely back into the global spotlight as the world marks Nov. 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

After weeks of denying involvement, the Kingdom admitted he had been killed at the consulate and that it was premeditated.

According to UNESCO's 2018 Director-General Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity, the number of journalists killed outside of armed conflict zones has increased in the last few years.

The majority of journalists killed in 2017 were killed in countries not experiencing armed conflict, the report said.

According to Anadolu Agency's compilation of data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, the same trend continued in 2018.

Out of the 64 killings of journalists worldwide so far this year, more than half occurred in countries outside of armed conflict zones.

On the other hand, the UNESCO report said local journalists covering local stories accounted for the vast majority of victims, in line with observations of previous years.

The report said the largest number of killings occurred in the Asia-Pacific region, which accounted for 34 percent of all killings in 2017.

In 2016, the largest number of killings took place in the Arab countries, accounting for 31 percent of all killings that year, the report said.

The report said although there was a greater percentage of women journalists killed in 2017, the majority of journalists killed were men.

Between 2006-2017, nearly 1,010 journalists were killed while reporting the news, which means a journalist was killed every four days, according to UNESCO data.

UNESCO said in nine of ten journalist killings, the killers remained unpunished.

"Legal impunity for perpetrators is still the norm for most killings of journalists," the UNESCO report said.

UNESCO said impunity leads to more killings and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems.

A UN General Assembly resolution adopted in 2013 proclaimed Nov. 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and urged member states to implement definite measures to counter the existing culture of impunity.