Haiti ranks highest globally for impunity in journalist murders, CPJ finds

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has listed Haiti as the world’s worst country for impunity in the murders of journalists in its 2024 Global Impunity Index, released Wednesday, Oct. 30. Haiti’s ranking highlights a national crisis in addressing violence against the press, with criminal gangs and weakened institutions reportedly preventing accountability for at least seven unsolved journalist murders since 2019.

The report from CPJ, an advocacy organization based in New York, calculated impunity by looking at the rate of targeted journalist murders per population where no one was held accountable. Haiti, which made its first appearance on the index in 2023, now tops the list, surpassing conflict-affected regions like Israel, Somalia, and Syria. 

“[Haiti] is challenged by criminal gangs that are overtaking the country and destabilizing already weak institutions, including the judiciary,” CPJ reported. With authorities unable to keep gangs under control, journalists who continue reporting often face life-threatening risks.

“Murder is the ultimate weapon to silence journalists. Once impunity takes hold, it sends a clear message: that killing a journalist is acceptable and that those who continue reporting may face a similar fate,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg in a statement.

Israel, which ranks second on the index by virtue of its larger population compared to Haiti, made its first appearance due to unresolved cases involving five journalists killed during conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The organization’s research emphasizes that “deliberately targeting journalists, who are civilians in any conflict, is a war crime,” and notes that in 2024 alone, Israel has killed a record number of Palestinian journalists.

Haiti’s grim ranking is a symptom of broader instability. Weak institutions and increasing gang control over the country have escalated threats to journalists. Recent reports reveal that armed groups now control approximately 85% of Port-au-Prince, further complicating access to justice for crimes against journalists and other civilians alike.

CPJ also shined a light on the stories of some of the journalists murdered without justice, including the 39-year-old Haitian radio journalist Gerry Tesse, found to be mutilated shortly after vanishing in Oct. 2022 while on his way to work. Not long before his death, Tesse accused influential prosecutor Ronald Richemond who is now presiding over Tesse’s controversial murder case of plotting to have him killed. Richemond has denied the allegations; demands for a larger investigation continue. 

Impunity and Global Consequences

CPJ’s findings come as violence against journalists grows worldwide. From Mexico to Iraq, countries face similar issues of “wars, insurgencies, criminal gangs and local authorities that are unwilling or unable to act and deliver justice,” CPJ stated. This lack of accountability has “created news deserts that stifle the voices of local people, making it easy for officials to ignore them, and creating fertile ground for corruption and wrongdoing to flourish.”

With gang control and state weaknesses impeding justice, Haiti continues to face challenges in protecting its journalists—an issue compounded by the absence of sustainable reforms.

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