With more than 80 countries set to hold elections next year, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is urging governments to ensure that journalists are protected throughout the entire period leading up to the vote.

UNESCO data reveals that journalists have been attacked, and some even killed, while providing coverage throughout the electoral cycle. Recent years have seen some 759 attacks, and five deaths.

To find out more, UN News’s Felipe de Carvalho spoke to Guilherme Canela, Chief of the agency’s Section on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists. 

He asked Mr. Canela how shutting down the internet – as reporters experienced in embattled Gaza last Friday – can impact journalists.