By Gbemiga Bamidele
The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI) is a UN recognized international day observed annually on 2nd November. The day was declared to be marked on November 2 in the United Nations General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/163. The resolution calls on all members states to take concrete steps to combat the culture of impunity in their countries.
The day was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of Claude Verlon and Ghislaire Dupont, two French journalists from RFI radio station, who were kidnapped from the town of Kidal in Mali after they had finished interviewing a local political leader on November 2, 2013. According to UNESCO, in the past decade, a journalist has been killed on average every four (4) days. The year 2019 had the lowest death toll recorded by UNESCO in the last decade with 15 deaths.
