International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists – 2 November

1 November 2026 · English Important Days

Topics: Important Days · 1 November 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI) is observed on 2 Nov 2026. UNESCO's 2026 global campaign theme is 'Threats Evolve. Impunity Endures.' – highlighting evolving threats (including drone strikes) in conflict and non-conflict settings. Per UNESCO, 189 journalists were killed in 2024–2025; about 67% in conflict zones; 50 were killed by drones across 6 war zones. The impunity rate rose to 86% – the first increase since UNESCO began measuring in 2012. At a global event at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 2 Nov, the Director-General's 2026 Report is launched.

Key facts

Background

• Constitution: press freedom is not separately mentioned in the Indian Constitution; the Supreme Court read it into Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) (Romesh Thappar case, 1950). Article 19(2) permits 'reasonable restrictions' on grounds such as sovereignty, security, public order, contempt of court and defamation.
• Press Council of India (PCI): set up on 4 July 1966 under the 1965 Act on the recommendation of the First Press Commission (1954, Justice G.S. Rajadhyaksha); dissolved during the Emergency (1976) and re-established under the Press Council Act, 1978. It is a statutory, quasi-judicial body; its chairperson is by convention a retired Supreme Court judge. The Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023 replaced the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867.
• International: UNESCO (1945, HQ Paris) is the UN agency promoting press freedom; it condemns and tracks every journalist killing. World Press Freedom Day is 3 May (UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize). The 'World Press Freedom Index' is published by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Tamil Nadu link: the first newspaper of Madras was the 'Madras Courier', started by Richard Johnston on 12 Oct 1785; it was also the official outlet for government notifications. 'The Hindu' was founded in Madras in 1878; Mahakavi Bharathiyar worked at G. Subramania Iyer's 'Swadesamitran' (1882).

Source: UNESCO website (IDEI 2026); UN observance page; Indico.UN (UNESCO event, 2 Nov 2026); UN resolution A/RES/68/163; Madras Courier (Wikipedia)

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