Terrorists killed my journalist son and threaten others. Democracy needs them to be safe.
In 2013, when the United Nations designated Nov. 2 as International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, our son James Foley had been kidnapped, held hostage, starved and tortured by the Islamic State group for a year. Jim had been working in northern Syria as a freelance conflict reporter. He was horrifically beheaded in August 2014.
The Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity highlighted the dangers journalists like Jim face around the world. The U.N. convened governments, civil society and journalists themselves to create safety mechanisms, promote accountability for crimes that target reporters and advocate for free expression.
However, in the decade since the historic resolution, the threats to journalists have only become more dire. Our son was one of more than 800 journalists who have been killed since 2013, per UNESCO, for doing their jobs to report and inform the public.
Unchecked threats to journalists threaten democracy
The trend lines for virtually every measure of journalist safety are only getting worse:
293 journalists were imprisoned last year, the highest yearly total in three decades.
73% of women journalists surveyed had experienced online violence in the course of their work.
Only 13% of cases recorded by UNESCO since 2006 are considered judicially resolved. In nine out of 10 cases where a journalist is killed the killers go unpunished, according to the UNESCO. In many cases, threats of violence and attacks against journalists are not properly investigated.
This global culture of impunity toward journalists leads to more killings, the U.N. warns, “and is often a symptom of worsening conflict and the breakdown of law and judicial systems.” In other words, unchecked threats to journalists indicate a serious threat to democracy around the world.
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The world desperately needs journalists who dare to seek the truth amid misinformation and disinformation, civil unrest, and in conflict zones. In turn, journalists need our society to value them and recognize the necessary role of a free press in a democratic system.
Prosecute crimes against journalists
Public awareness of the dangers journalists face is a necessary first step. But the real measure of our commitment to protecting a free press is to do the hard work of shoring up justice systems, investigating and prosecuting those who commit crimes against journalists, and holding them accountable for those crimes.
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My family and I are living proof that this is possible. Despite the challenges of geography, war and time, the United States successfully arrested and prosecuted the ISIS terrorists responsible for the torture and murder of Jim and his fellow journalist Steven Sotloff. On Aug. 19, the eighth anniversary of Jim’s beheading, former British jihadist El Shafee ElSheikh was sentenced to life imprisonment. His co-conspirator Alexanda Kotey had pleaded guilty and also was sentenced to life in April.
Thanks to the relentless work of the Justice Department, the United States sent a clear message to anyone who would harm an American journalist: Wherever you are, we will find you and hold you accountable. This is the hard work of ending impunity against journalists. It is doggedly investigating, coordinating with partner countries, and using all tools of diplomacy and the rule of law.
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Courage is key to democracy
Jim’s last public words before returning to work in the Middle East were “for some reason I have physical courage, but that is nothing compared to moral courage. If I don’t have the moral courage to challenge authority, to write about things that might have reprisals on my career, if I don’t have that moral courage, we don’t have journalism.”
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Jim was absolutely right. But for democracy to survive and thrive, it’s not enough for just journalists to have moral courage. We also need politicians, law enforcement, civil society and the general public to stand up for freedom of speech, to demand and support quality journalism and to hold accountable those in power.
And when journalists are threatened, detained or harmed for simply doing their jobs, we must all demand accountability for those who harm them.
Diane M. Foley is the mother of five children, including American freelance conflict journalist James W. Foley. She founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation in September 2014, less than a month after his public execution, and is serving as president and executive director.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As crimes against journalists rise, here's how to protect free speech
