Somalia has a strong if unwished-for, claim to be the most dangerous African country in which to be a journalist. Comparative data collected by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the accounts of journalists in the country show media rights egregiously violated day in and day out as well as targeted actions designed to indefinitely silence independent and critical journalists. Actions intended to instil fear in the hearts of journalists are routine.

This year, 2 November 2022, the world marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, an UN-recognised international day. No place better exemplifies the issue of impunity than Somalia. This year also marks the 10^th anniversary of the UN plan of action on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity.

In the past 10 years, fifty-four (54) journalists were murdered according to the cases documented by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) with the last journalist killed on 29 October 2022, in the very week that we mark the international day to end impunity. It was a terrible display of the deadly violence Somali journalists face. This grim tally equates to an average of five journalists fatally attacked each year.

 

With just one exception, these journalists’ killers have not been prosecuted or punished. Nor have those who masterminded, organised and ordered these killings been held to account. Although the number of journalists murdered each year has decreased slightly, this campaign of terror has not been brought to an end.

Some Somali journalists have met their end in a hail of bullets. Others have died as a result of suicide bomb blasts or other explosions. Some have received death threats, and so lived in fear until their killers caught up with them. Others were attacked without warning.

As well as fatalities, fifty (50) journalists have been horrifically injured during the past decade, including two journalists wounded on 29 October 2022 along with a camera assistant. Many others have suffered the arrests, threats and harassment that both female and male journalists constantly face. Impunity for those who attack journalists exacerbates this situation until the constant threat has become a permanent shadow over all who work in Somalia’s independent media.

These threats take many forms. Hazards to physical safety are the most dramatic, but they are the tip of the iceberg. Journalists in Somalia also face frequent arrests and trials on trumped-up charges. There is no expectation that once arrested, a journalist will receive a fair trial.

Female colleagues additionally face the threat of gender-based violence and harassment. They regularly experience attacks over and above those experienced by their male colleagues. There are also threats coming through the digital space whereby journalists are subjected to increasing digital insecurity and threats are transmitted through social media accounts by both known and unknown individuals. Such threats are undoubtedly more targeted at female journalists. Messages threatening women journalists that they will be killed or raped if they pursue a particular line of reporting are routine.

The other subtle but critical safety concern is the psychological well-being of journalists, many of whom have been traumatised by the constant threats and harassment. Simply covering stories involving deadly violence places many Somali journalists at higher risk of psychological trauma. Their deliberate targeting by those who want to shut them up adds to this.

The widespread acceptance of impunity for those who attack journalists in Somalia is obviously an issue in itself. But it also signals a lack of collective political will to tackle it head-on. Without this, there will be more deadly violence and old and oppressive laws will continue to be used to legally prosecute journalists rather than their predators. This, in turn, encourages those within law enforcement and to some extent in the judicial system, especially in the regions, and non-state actors to think that they can harass and attack journalists without adverse consequences.

The time for lamentation and condolences is over. What is now required is the vigorous implementation of the National Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists that was adopted in Mogadishu in September 2022 with the support of the African Union (AU), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) UNESCO, ILO and NUSOJ.

 

Omar Faruk Osman is the Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), and also the General Secretary of the Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU), the apex workers’ body of Somalia. Mr Osman works tirelessly for free and independent journalism and trade unionism in Somalia and for the respect, fulfilment and protection of human rights. Osman is recognized on home soil and by the international media freedom community as well as the global labour movement as a passionate and fearless defender of journalists’ rights, media freedom, freedom of information, labour rights and gender equality. He sits on the Executive Committee of the IFJ and twice served as the President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ).