Journalists and media workers must be able to investigate and report without violence, arbitrary detention, censorship or intimidation.
Journalists and media workers must be able to investigate and report without violence, arbitrary detention, censorship or intimidation.
WHRF focus area. Independent journalism enables people to understand public affairs, document abuse and test official claims. Attacks on journalists harm not only individual reporters but everyone’s right to seek and receive information.
Risks include killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, surveillance, online abuse, strategic lawsuits, equipment seizure and impunity for attacks. Freelancers, local reporters, women journalists and media workers in conflict settings can face particular exposure.
Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects expression and access to information. United Nations resolutions and the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists call for prevention, protection and prosecution, with special attention to impunity.
WHRF approaches this issue through independent research, public-interest analysis, non-partisan advocacy and cooperation with credible human-rights actors. This page identifies a focus area; it does not claim that WHRF currently operates a field programme or provides direct services in a particular country.
Contact WHRF if your organization has relevant evidence, expertise or a responsible partnership proposal.
Last reviewed: 20 October 2026.
