This 2022 has been the deadliest year for the press in Latin America in the last two decades, with 38 journalists murdered in the region.
This was stated this Monday by Paula Roko, coordinator of the Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in a meeting with representatives of the media, governments and regulatory entities in Washington.
The escalation of violence against journalists is one of the most urgent issues to address at the regional level,” said Roko, who is in charge of monitoring attacks against press freedom in Latin American countries.
Politicians and public figures stigmatize the press, experts accuse
The attacks against the press take place in an environment in which politicians and government officials speak in a “stigmatizing” way about communication professionalspointed out the expert.
In addition to pointing fingers at the media, executives in the region do not adequately investigate the murders of journalists: 95% of the crimes committed this year remain unpunishedexplained Fabián Cardozo, president of the Federation of Journalists of Latin America and the Caribbean (Fepalc).
“We require action,” said Cardozo, who asked the Organization of American States (OAS) to demand that nations investigate the crimes and prosecute those responsible.
The person in charge of Fepalc cited “the climate of impunity, the advance of organized crime and the permanent repression of those who investigate” as some of the factors of violence against reporters.
For his part, the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, on Monday condemned the attacks on the press and rejected “any direct or indirect form of restriction” against freedom of expression.
“Journalism does not kill. Articulate words, expose ideas and denounce facts”Almagro said in his speech at the meeting, organized by the Center for Studies for the Development of Telecommunications and Access to the Information Society in Latin America (Certal).
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