On March 8, in Los Angeles, a hearing of the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) addressed the issue of violence once morest journalists and communicators in Latin America. Twenty-four organizations from across the continent and also with global influence – such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – denounced the record number of murders of media professionals in the region in 2022 and asked the OAS member states to increase your commitment to protect those of us who practice this trade. Although Argentina is not one of the countries most affected by violence once morest journalists, it does have some of the institutional deficiencies that limit attacks and stigmatization by political, economic, and social leaders.
Pedro Vaca, IACHR rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, indicated that 2022 was the deadliest year once morest the press. He pointed out that he expected an honest, frank and solidarity message from the highest authorities of the States: “I cannot say that there was not, because there were some timid messages,” he clarified. But what did sound loud were stigmatizing messages once morest journalistic work.” The rapporteur recalled that many journalists who asked the State for help ended up being assassinated. “Tragedy is one step away,” he stressed.
The Voices of the South Network, made up of seventeen civil society organizations, and the organizations Reporters Without Borders, Global Justice and Women’s Communication and Information (Cimac), presented their concerns to the (IACHR) regarding the murders and other types of of violence once morest journalists and the deficiencies of the protection mechanisms for the press in the countries where it has been implemented. “We request that this information be converted into actions to stop the serious violations of freedom of expression and press in the region, given that, from the States, there is no effective response, and they are even the main aggressors,” they said in a statement. set. There was no representation from Argentine organizations that defend the right to freedom of expression.
A recently released report by the United Nations revealed that Latin America and the Caribbean was the deadliest region for journalists in 2022, with 44 homicides, more than half of all those killed in the world. Mexico leads the sad ranking, with nineteen murders registered in 2022.
Almost half of the homicide victim informants were traveling, at home, in parking lots and other public places outside their workplace. An upward trend in recent years that, according to Unesco, “implies that there are no safe spaces for journalists, not even in their spare time.”
The main causes of the murders were reprisals for reporting on organized crime, armed conflicts, or coverage of compromising issues such as corruption, crimes once morest the environment, abuse of power, and protests.
Despite some progress over the past five years, the impunity rate for murders of journalists remains extremely high: 86%.
In addition to murders, other forms of violence once morest press workers were forced disappearances, kidnappings and arbitrary detentions, harassment, and violence in the networks, particularly once morest women journalists.
The director general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, urged the authorities to “redouble their efforts to put an end to these crimes and ensure that their perpetrators are punished, because indifference is an important factor in this climate of violence.”
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