Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Last year, the number of registered murders of journalists - 57 - was the lowest in the last decade, and, in general, in 2018-2019, compared to the two previous years, it decreased by 14 percent, UN News reported.

These figures were cited in the UNESCO report published yesterday on the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

Despite the positive dynamics, it is too early to assess it as a trend. So, over the past ten years, on average, every four days, a journalist or journalist has died somewhere. Moreover, the number of murders and persecutions of journalists today is growing not where there are conflicts, but in peaceful countries, and it has reached the highest level in the last seven years. Considering the data of the analysis carried out by UNESCO, it can be considered that journalism today is one of the most dangerous professions.

Between 2018 and 2019, 156 journalists were killed globally, with the largest number of attacks in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the report. This part of the world accounts for 31 percent of all press killings, with an additional 30 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the report, just over 10 percent of such crimes are investigated. In three years, this figure has increased from 11 percent in 2018 to 12 percent in 2019 and to 13 percent in 2020. This year, UNESCO sent inquiries about the progress of investigations into the killings of journalists to 63 states. They concerned 992 of the 1,167 cases reported by the Organization between 2006 and 2019.

It turned out that the victims of violence in the vast majority of cases are men. UNESCO explains this by the fact that women are less likely to cover conflicts, and also such "dangerous" topics as political corruption or organized crime.

At the same time, women are more likely to become objects of sexual violence, both physical and psychological, including trolling, threats of rape, the so-called doxing (collection and dissemination of personal data) and deepfakes (fabricated photos or videos, often in an obscene form).

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said that this year UNESCO launched the #EndImpunity awareness campaign to raise awareness of the dangers that journalists face in trying to convey the truth to the wider public.

“Today I call on all people to join this campaign, and all Member States, international and non-governmental organizations to join forces to ensure the safety of journalists and eradicate impunity,” Azoulay said. "Only by investigating crimes against media workers and bringing the perpetrators to justice can we ensure citizens’ access to information and freedom of speech."