BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Philippines remains in third spot, trailing behind strife-torn Iraq and Somalia, as the “Worst Nations on Journalist Murders.”
According to the 2012 Impunity Index released on April 17 by the New York based-Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Philippines’ international image on press freedom “showed virtually no sign of progress.”
The Philippines posted at least 55 unsolved murders, the CPJ Index said, while Iraq again landed first with 93 unsolved murders.
Though Somalia had only 11, it placed second because it had only 9.3 million people compared to the Philippines’ 93.3 population count by the World Bank’s 2010 World Development Indicators.
For five consecutive years, Iraq ranked worst on CPJ’s Impunity Index, where most of the murders occurred as the country was immersed in war, “but even now, as authorities claim stability, they have failed to bring justice in a single case,” the CPJ said.
The CPJ explained that the index does not include cases of journalists killed in combat or while carrying out dangerous assignments such as coverage of street protests.
CPJ’s Impunity Index calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders between Jan. 1, 2002 to Dec. 31, 2011, and only nations with five or more unsolved cases are included in the list.
Disturbing facts
The CPJ noted that Philippine authorities have yet to effectively combat impunity, citing “the prosecution of dozens of politically connected suspects in the 2009 Maguindanao attack has been marked by delays and marred by allegations of bribery and witness intimidation.”
The index also noted that the death toll in the country showed no improvement with 0.589 unsolved journalist murders per million inhabitants, compared with the 0.609 rating in 2011.
Last year, Gerardo Ortega, a well-known journalist who covered environmental issues and corruption, was included in the list, after a gunman shot him to death.
While the Philippines is acknowledged for “its tradition of press freedom, the country’s dysfunctional and corrupt criminal justice system has failed to bring justice in 55 journalist murders in the past decade.”
CPJ defines murder as “a deliberate attack against a specific journalist in relation to the victim’s work.”
It also considers cases as unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.
Around the world, murders make up more than 70 percent of work-related deaths among journalists, CPJ research showed.
Ranking fourth is Sri Lanka with 9 unsolved cases followed by Colombia in fifth spot with 8 unsolved murders; Nepal and Afghanistan in sixth and 7th place with 5 murders; Mexico, 8th with 15 murders; Russia, 9th with 16 murders; Pakistan, 10th with 19 murders; Brazil in 11th spot with 5 murders; and India, 12th with 6 murders.
The CPJ said “deadly, unpunished violence against the press rose sharply in Pakistan and Mexico, continuing a dark, years-long trend in both nations.”
The CPJ also censured “Pakistani authorities (who) routinely fail to bring prosecutions in journalist murders, including several suspected government links, while Mexican officials are yet to effectively combat the murderous crime groups, targeting news media in vast parts of the nation.”
Promising improvements
CPJ’s index this year found improving conditions in Colombia and Nepal, along with a long-term decline in deadly, anti-press violence in Bangladesh that caused that country to drop off the list entirely.
The 2012 Impunity Index follows two significant international developments that take the fight against impunity in markedly different directions.
In March, the Mexican Senate approved a constitutional amendment that, if adopted by the states, will federalize anti-press crimes and place national authorities in charge of such investigations, steps seen as crucial in fighting impunity in that country.
However, in the same month, the UN plan to strengthen international efforts to fight impunity was derailed by Pakistan and two other member nations – India and Brazil – for having a high index rating on anti-press violence.
The UN plan also includes strengthening the office of the special rapporteur for free expression and assisting member states in developing national laws to prosecute suspects who killed the journalists.