Freedom of Expression
Press release R106/23
RELE rejects murders
of journalists in the region and calls on States to redouble efforts to prevent
and protect the press
June
1, 2023
Washington
D.C. - The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) of
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) denounces the situation of violence against journalists in
the Americas and urges the States of the region to investigate the facts exhaustively and independently, and punish the crimes in an exemplary manner, as
well as to redouble their efforts to
prevent these attacks and Protect those
who are at risk.
According
to public information and reports received, so far in 2023, at least 11
journalists have been killed in the exercise of their profession or for reasons
that could be linked to their work: Luis Gabriel Pereira (Colombia)*; Dylan
Lions (United States); Eduardo Fernando Mendizábal Gálvez (Guatemala)*; Dumesky
Kersaint, Ricot Jean and Paul Jean Marie (Haiti); Abisaí Pérez Romero, José
Ramiro Araujo Ochoa, Gerardo Torres Rentería and Marco Aurelio Ramírez (Mexico);
and Alexander Álvarez (Paraguay).
For the Office of the Special Rapporteur,
these events confirm the situation of risk and vulnerability of journalists and
media workers in the Americas. During the 186th Period of Sessions of the
IACHR, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression participated in a thematic hearing on the protection of
journalists and defenders in the region, in which civil society organizations presented
information on the incessant violence against the press in the Americas,
including murders, Aggressions, threats,
kidnappings, surveillance, criminalization and stigmatizing speeches by public
officials against journalists. On this occasion, the IACHR expressed its alarm
in this context and stressed the need to investigate these events and analyze the
causes and consequences of the phenomenon.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur
recalls that the murders of journalists constitute the most extreme and
reprehensible form of violence and censorship against the press. As the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights has established, "journalism can only be carried out freely when the
persons who carry it out are not victims of threats or physical, mental or
moral aggression or other acts of harassment. Such acts constitute serious
obstacles to the full exercise of freedom of expression."
For its part, the IACHR has stated in the IACHR's Declaration of
Principles on Freedom of Expression that "[t]he murder, kidnapping, intimidation,
threats to social communicators, as well as the material destruction of the
media, violate the fundamental rights of individuals and severely restrict
freedom of expression. It is the duty of States to prevent and investigate
these acts, punish their perpetrators and ensure adequate reparation for the
victims."
Both the Commission and the
Inter-American Court have referred to the chilling effect that violence has on
journalists, as well as on citizens who seek to denounce abuses of power,
irregularities, or illicit acts of any kind. This chilling effect can only be
avoided, according to the Commission,
"through decisive
action by the State to punish those responsible, as befits its obligation under
international and domestic law."
With respect to violence against
journalists, the Office of the Special Rapporteur has highlighted
the importance of three positive obligations of
States, which emanate from the rights to life, personal integrity, and freedom
of expression: the obligation to prevent, the obligation to protect, and the
obligation to investigate, prosecute, and criminally punish those responsible
for these crimes.
In relation to the obligation of
prevention, the Office of the Rapporteur stresses the importance of public
authorities adopting a discourse that contributes to preventing violence
against the press and, on the contrary, refraining from issuing stigmatizing
statements that increase the risk inherent in their work. This also implies
that they constantly, clearly, publicly and firmly recognize the legitimacy and
value of journalistic work, even when the information disseminated may be
critical, inconvenient and inopportune for the interests of the government.
In view of the foregoing considerations,
the Office of the Special Rapporteur calls on the States of the region to
investigate in a complete, effective, and impartial manner these crimes, which
affect society as a whole, to clarify their motives, and to judicially
determine the relationship they may have with their activity as communicators.
In this regard, it emphasizes the importance that, during the investigations,
the authorities do not rule out the hypothesis of the link with journalistic
activity and freedom of expression.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for
Freedom of Expression (RELE) is an office created by the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in order to stimulate the hemispheric
defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression, considering its
fundamental role in the consolidation and development of the democratic system.
* The State of Guatemala informed the
Office of the Special Rapporteur that it is conducting the corresponding
criminal investigation to help clarify the facts and identify those responsible
for the crime against the journalist. Also, the State of Colombia expressed its
commitment to clarify the facts of the murder and to promote a culture of
respect and protection of the work of journalists, with the objective of
strengthening the protection programs for journalists and social communicators
at risk due to their profession.
Access
the press release in French here.
R106/23