Through events, statements, joint video messages and more, members of the Media Freedom Coalition were active across the world for International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI) 2025.
On March 28, the Canadian High Commission in the UK co-hosted an event entitled “Combatting Transnational Repression to Protect Press Freedom.” The panel, which included Jon Williams from the Rory Peck Trust, Mark Bendeich from Reuters, Imtiaz Tyab from CBS News, and Kiran Nazish from the Coalition for Women in Journalism discussed ways to combat transnational repression to protect media freedom.
Drawing on their professional experiences, the speakers discussed different forms of transnational repression, including surveillance, legal pressure, harassment, and threats directed at journalists and their families, both in their home countries and abroad.
In Pakistan, the embassies of France, Germany, and the Netherlands supported the Freedom Network with a roundtable on journalist safety, featuring expert speakers from Pakistan’s Federal Union of Journalists and the Commission for the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals among others.
In Sri Lanka, the British High Commission in Colombo met with journalists on IDEI to hear of their work over the years and their continuous advocacy for the rights of journalists across the country.
In Somalia, the UK Chargé d’Affaires Sam Thomas participated in an event organised by UNESCO and Somali Media Women Association. In the session he reaffirmed the UK’s support for journalists and highlighted the need for a safe environment for the press.
Also in Somalia, the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives supported the National Union of Somali Journalists with an event entitled “Tackling Impunity: Combating Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Against Women Journalists”.
During the event, the German Ambassador to Somalia reaffirmed Germany’s continued commitment to media freedom and its consistent advocacy for accountability and justice, while Canada’s Ambassador-designate to Somalia reaffirmed Canada’s steadfast commitment to media freedom and gender equality, particularly in defending women journalists.
Finally, the Italian Ambassador to Somalia reiterated Italy’s strong belief in the freedom and responsibility of journalists and that media freedom cannot thrive without protection from threats and violence, calling for all crimes against journalists to be investigated and prosecuted.
In commemoration of the Day to End Impunity, the Government of the Netherlands published a blog, highlighting crimes against journalists, while the government of Ukraine released a statement on X, highlighting the cases of Ukrainian journalists in the Russian War of Aggression.
In Bangladesh, the MFC embassy network published a joint statement on X in commemoration of IDEI, which encouraged all actors to uphold accountability and end impunity for crimes against journalists, and called attention to the need to continue progress towards gender equality within the media landscape. Meanwhile in Cameroon, the French embassy also released a statement on X.
Finally, several embassies published statements on their social channels in commemoration of the day:
- The UK in Mongolia published a video.
- France in the UK published a statement on Facebook highlighting the cases of Anna Politkovskaya and Arman Soldin.
- The Permanent Mission of Norway in Geneva, along with other Nordic countries, published a video on LinkedIn.
- Greece in Ukraine published a video, highlighting the ICSJ-International Training Center For the Safety of Journalists and Media Professionals in Thessaloniki.
