{"id":114359,"date":"2026-05-01T23:49:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T23:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/un-urges-attacks-on-media-persons-should-stop\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T23:50:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T23:50:53","slug":"un-urges-attacks-on-media-persons-should-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/un-urges-attacks-on-media-persons-should-stop\/","title":{"rendered":"UN urges, attacks on media persons should stop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Volker Turk further highlights growing threats to the media in a message world press freedom day<\/a>Celebrated every year on 3 May. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen attacks on media become normal, freedom begins to diminish<\/strong>And with it, the foundation of peace, security and sustainable development,\u201d he said caution<\/a>. <\/p>\n

a dangerous job<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

The High Commissioner paid tribute to the courageous journalists and photographers around the world “who document horrific atrocities, expose corruption and investigate business practices.” <\/p>\n

However, he added that “Journalism today has become an unsafe and sometimes dangerous profession<\/strong>As media personnel were “bombed in their cars, kidnapped from their offices, silenced behind bars and dismissed from their jobs.” <\/p>\n

At least 14 journalists have been killed since January<\/strong>Full accountability has been held for only about one-tenth of the killings committed over the past two decades, and covering armed conflict poses the greatest risks. <\/p>\n

\n united nations news<\/span>
\n Mourners hold funeral prayers for Palestinian journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike on August 10, 2025.<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gaza ‘death trap’<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

“Israel’s war in Gaza has become a death trap for the media. My office has confirmed the killing of nearly 300 journalists since October 2023, while many others have been injured,” he said. <\/p>\n

“Lebanon is deadliest country for media workers so far in 2026.” <\/p>\n

Furthermore, it is often only local journalists who cover wars, such as the journalists he met in Sudan “who faced extreme violence, brutality and even famine while trying to carry on with their essential work.” <\/p>\n

‘First casualty’ of the war<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

in his Message<\/a> For the day, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres<\/a> Affirmed that “recent years have seen a sharp increase in the number of journalists killed – often deliberately targeted<\/strong> – In the war zone.” <\/p>\n

Although there is a popular saying that truth is the first casualty in war, “Too often, the first casualties are the journalists who risk everything to report the truth \u2013 not just in war, but wherever those in power fear investigation.<\/strong>” <\/p>\n

But freedom of the press is also under “unprecedented pressure” due to “economic pressures, new technologies and active manipulation”, he said. <\/p>\n

no safe place<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

Reiterating this, Mr Turki warned that “virtually no country is truly safe for those who speak truth to power.” <\/p>\n

The High Commissioner pointed to his recent visit to Mexico, where reporting on corruption, environmental damage or organized crime has put journalists, their sources and even their families at serious risks. <\/p>\n

“I am deeply concerned that media workers are the primary targets of increasing international repression and surveillance \u2013 most recently seen in attacks against Iranian journalists abroad,” he said. <\/p>\n

Online harassment and abuse<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

At the same time, laws on defamation, disinformation, cybercrime and terrorism are being used to protect the powerful, while costly legal cases are being used to intimidate and silence journalists. <\/p>\n

around the world, Around 330 media persons are currently detained along with around 500 citizen journalists and human rights bloggers<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

The UN rights chief expressed concern over online harassment and bullying, which disproportionately affects female journalists \u2013 three-quarters of whom have faced abuse such as smear campaigns and threats of sexual violence. <\/p>\n

such attacks”There is a risk of creating a disinformation society, in which the media are forced to obscure the facts and refuse to treat science safely.<\/strong>,” He said. <\/p>\n

silencing the press<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, efforts to silence the press have “turned disturbingly creative”, such as restricting access, Internet shutdowns, and news blackouts. He said that “in some cases, an unholy alliance between political, corporate and media power is harming democracy and polarizing societies.” <\/p>\n

Economic pressure is reaching record levels, complicating the situation. In nearly a third of countries, funding cuts and media concentration are forcing local news outlets to close. <\/p>\n

\n UN Photo\/Fardosa Hussain<\/span>
\n Journalists attending a press conference in Somalia. (file)<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

driven by conviction<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

In the face of these challenges, journalists continue to report even in the most difficult circumstances \u2013 “even from hospital beds and wheelchairs” \u2013 because they believe the truth is worth fighting for. <\/p>\n

Emphasizing that they cannot fight alone, Mr. Turk called on countries to \u201cend harassment of the press, lift arbitrary restrictions, repeal abusive laws, and align legal frameworks with international human rights standards.\u201d <\/p>\n

Governments are urged to prevent attacks against media workers, protect them from surveillance \u2013 including while working abroad, investigate violations, and ensure accountability. <\/p>\n

He also appealed to tech companies to take meaningful action against online abuse and disinformation and underlined the importance of maintaining independence, transparency and integrity within media institutions. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volker Turk further highlights growing threats to the media in a message world press freedom dayCelebrated every year on 3 May. \u201cWhen attacks on media become normal, freedom begins to diminishAnd with it, the foundation of peace, security and sustainable development,\u201d he said caution. a dangerous job The High Commissioner paid tribute to the courageous<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[313,3179,5596,305,1876],"class_list":{"0":"post-114359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-verse","8":"tag-attacks","9":"tag-media","10":"tag-persons","11":"tag-stop","12":"tag-urges"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114359"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114364,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114359\/revisions\/114364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}