In 2022, killings of journalists and media workers increased by 50 percent to reach 86 worldwide, marking one death every four days, UN cultural body Unesco said Monday.
The increase last year followed a three-year increase in violence against reporters, with an average of 58 killings annually in 2019 -- 21.
After several years of consecutive declines, the number of journalists killed in 2022 is alarming, said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of theUNESCO, in a statement.
She added that authorities need to step up their efforts to stop these crimes and to make sure their perpetrators are punished, because indifference is a major factor in this climate of violence.
In 86 percent of cases, unesco found no one was brought to justice.
The crimes against journalists included reprisals for reporting on organised crime, armed conflict or the rise of extremism, and covering sensitive topics such as corruption, environmental crimes, abuse of power and protests, according to UNESCO.
In 2022, more than half of the journalists killed were in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Three-quarters of the killings took place outside of full-scale conflicts.
Mexico was the deadliest country with 19 journalists killed, followed by Ukraine, which has been battling the Russian invasion, at 10 dead and Haitian nine.
Around half of the journalists it killed last year were off duty, struck while traveling, in their homes, or in parking lots, or in other public places where they were not on assignment. The trend implies there are no safe spaces for journalists, even in their spare time, the body said.
Reporters can face multiple forms of violence, including kidnapping, arbitrary detention, legal harassment and digital violence, particularly against women, according to Unesco.