By Elena Ralli | New Europe

As Jim Boumelha, IFJ President, stated: “The death toll for 2012 is another indictment of governments which pay lip service to the protection of journalists but have consistently failed to stop their slaughter.

It is no wonder that these sky-high numbers of killed journalists have become a constant feature in the last decade during which the usual reaction from governments and the United Nations has been a few words of condemnation, a cursory inquiry and a shrug of indifference.”

Syria is at the top of the IFJ’s list of the most dangerous countries for media in 2012, with 35 fatalities, followed by Somalia with 18 dead. Mexico due to organized crime and Pakistan due to insurgents are in the third place of the list, having 10 dead journalists each.

In addition, the IFJ stated that journalists were deliberately targeted because of their work and with the clear intention to silence them and as a result, the need to take action in order to protect journalists and stop violence against the media is urgent.

Last month, the IFJ also urged all countries to find those responsible for violence targeting media at the UN Inter-Agency’s conference in Vienna, Austria which officially launched the UN Action Plan on the safety of journalists and the issue of Impunity.

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