Freedom Forum marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 1 and 2 through social media campaigns. FF’s executive chief and media monitoring officer jointly published an article entitled- Ensure justice to journalists on The Kathmandu Post on November 1. According to the article, November 2 is marked every year to commemorate journalists who have been murdered, forcefully disappeared and faced violence for reporting news. The article also noted that this year’s commemoration took place in the wake of Israel’s devastative war in Gaza with major casualties on journalists and civilians. The article also quoted Committee to Protect Journalist’s report documenting death of at least 31 journalists till October 31, 2023. The article also stated that in Nepal too, growing culture of impunity has fueled a growing threat to working journalists and self-censorship among them, deepening impunity for crimes against journalists. In addition to this, FF made several posts on its official Facebook and twitter pages about the day. FF also shared its documentary showcasing stories of journalists killed and forcefully disappeared since 1996 which is still relevant as some cases are awaiting g investigation and prosecution. Similarly, FF also shared data of press freedom violations documented in its dedicated website: www.nepalpressfreedom.org. The website records detailed incidents of press freedom and freedom of expression violations along with data visualizations. These campaigns were expected to prod national and international stakeholders and government authorities to expedite justice process on the impunity cases in line with national and international human rights standard and prioritizing victims’ needs.
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
