LOC19:20
16:20 GMT
WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (KUNA) -- The United States is renewing its efforts to protect journalists and push to hold those responsible for undermining press freedom abroad, the State department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday.
Commemorating International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, Nauert said the US is joining the international community to renew "its dedication to promoting a free, professional, and independent press abroad, and to advocating for accountability for those who would undermine a free press with threats, intimidation, and violence."
The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali in November 2013. Since last year, 115 have been killed in the line of duty, according to the International News Safety Institute's (INSI) annual report.
"Due to their profession, journalists are often under threat from those who wish to silence them. In too many parts of the world, crimes against journalists go unpunished," Nauert said.
Nauert pointed to Syria, Venezuela, Iraq, Sudan, Uganda, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan as some of the top countries where violence, intimidation and harassment towards journalists and independent media institutions are most severe.
"They shine a light on abuses and corruption, expose threats posed by transnational criminal organizations, and counter disinformation and propaganda that spread false narratives. These efforts play an indispensable role in the healthy functioning of our own democracy and also underpin democratic values around the world," she affirmed. (end)
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