The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has raised alarm over what it describes as a growing number of attacks on journalists and is pressing authorities to hold perpetrators of killings to account, according to Channels Television.
The institute's warning was reported on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, alongside related coverage from other outlets. Premium Times Nigeria, citing a UNESCO report, said six out of every seven murders of journalists are never punished. Punch Newspapers reported that the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) is also demanding that those who attack reporters face prosecution.
The wider picture extends beyond any single country. AllAfrica.com reported on joint efforts in Southern Africa to counter new threats facing journalists, while UNESCO carried a call from Pacific media partners for stronger action on journalist safety.
Taken together, the reports point to a shared concern: violence against reporters is persistent, and the legal consequences for those responsible remain rare. The IBAHRI's intervention adds a legal-professional voice to demands that have come from journalists' unions and media organisations in several regions.
The institute has not, in the reporting available, set out specific cases or named individual countries in connection with its warning.
What to watch next: whether the IBAHRI's call prompts formal responses from national governments or international bodies, and whether the accountability gap highlighted by the UNESCO figures becomes a subject of debate at upcoming press-freedom forums.
