BORDER SECURITY ISSUES RESEARCH PROJECT # 2 - Essay Example

Law Violence against Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ), reports that amid the violence caused by organized criminal gangs and government corruption in the world, there are those states that experience an alarming rate of attacks and murders against journalists. Information from CPJ report shows that in some of these states, there is impunity in murders, attacks and other crimes against journalists which tend to go unreported, unexplained or unresolved (Witchel, 2014).The 2014 CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, published in April 16th By Elisabeth Witchel shows 10 of these states where the killers of journalists go free.

These are states named below:1. Iraq2. Somalia3. Philippines4. Sri Lanka5. Colombia6. Afghanistan7. Mexico8. Russia9. Pakistan10. IndiaAccording to the report, Iraq has some of the highest levels of impunity in the world, topping the list with 100%. The CPJ report shows that Iraq has held this position since 2008, when there was another survey (Witchel, 2014). In 2012, when there was a U.S invasion, journalists were not killed because of their relation to their work. However, because of increasing terrorists groups in the country, there were 10 journalists killings of which nine were unresolved murders.

In total, the report shows that there 166 journalist murder cases since year 1992, with 103 of these cases murdered with impunity.The second country ranked as the worst is Somalia, where there were four new murders last year. According to the report, there are elusive armed insurgent gangs who terrorize the media to the point that the law agencies do not follow-up the cases (Witchel, 2014). There were 53 journalists’ deaths since 1992. Out of these deaths, 35 journalists were murdered with impunity.

In Philippines, there are 51 murders of journalists that are still unresolved. The country has remained number 3 after Iraq and Somalia since year 2010 (Witchel, 2014). According to the CPJ report, there are 53 journalists killed since 1992 and 35 of these journalists were murdered with impunity.In Sri Lanka, there was no progress made in the unresolved cases of journalist murders. However, CPJ notes that it did not record any of the murders from year 2009 to 2013. CPJ notes that out of 19 journalists killed since 1992m 10 of these journalists are murdered with impunity and go unreported in Sri Lanka.

Colombia falls in the fifth category with 45 cases of journalists killed since 1992. 36 of the 45 cases were murdered with impunity. Nonetheless, it records so many cases of death threats of journalists in different states of Columbia.In Afghanistan, journalists who are also from other states are usually jailed for many years such as the Pakistani reporter who was sentenced to 4 years in prison in July, this year. In total, Afghanistan records 26 cases of journalists murdered since 1992, with 8 of them murdered with impunity.

Mexico records 30 journalists since 1992 and 24 of these journalists were murdered with impunity (Witchel, 2014). The level of impunity in Mexico is so high to the point that government officials create fake magazine covers that contain positive stories to show that there is no impunity.In Russia, there are 56 journalists who were killed since 1992 (Witchel, 2014). 32 of these journalists were murdered with impunity. Authorities in Russia go to the extent of raiding journalists’ newsrooms and closing certain TV channels.

In Pakistan, Journalists who join anti-government protests are usually killed or in other cases, receive death threats. News outlets are usually targeted when there are protests. The country has 56 journalists killed since 1992. 30 of these journalists were murdered with impunity.Lastly, there is India, which has 18 cases of journalists murdered with impunity and a total of 32 killed since 1992 (Witchel, 2014). Journalists are usually detained, beaten and arrested.Based on the CPJ report, it is clear that there are a few states that are trying to mitigate violence against journalists (Witchel, 2014).

Mexico is one of these states that approved legislation last year to give the authorities to prosecute the criminals who committed crimes against journalists.ReferenceWitchel, E. The Committee to Protect Journalists, (2014). CPJ’s 2014 global impunity index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free. Retrieved from http://cpj.org/reports/2014/04/impunity-index-getting-away-with-murder.php