A coalition consisting of 17 international organizations dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of expression and information (ISCO SOJ Coalition) will arrive in Mexico to address the situation of impunity in crimes against journalists, within the framework of the International Day to end the impunity of crimes against journalists (IDEI), which is commemorated every November 2 since 2013.
The mission will be carried out in Mexico City from November 2 to 8 and aims to place the crisis of freedom of expression as a priority on the national government’s agenda, as well as to encourage the Mexican government’s commitment to reduce the level of impunity in crimes against journalists.
This mission comes amid a crisis in the area of freedom of expression in Mexico, as attacks on journalists have increased in recent years, which has led it to be one of the most dangerous and deadly countries in the world to exercise journalism.
Between 2000 and August 2019, about 115 journalists were killed, some of whom were beneficiaries of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. According to the Global Impunity Index of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), Mexico is the country with the highest number of cases of murders of journalists in impunity.
In addition, it tops the list of countries with the largest number of missing journalists, and more than 230, along with their families, have been forcibly displaced.
The foregoing shows that the instruments implemented by Mexican governments – from the Vicente Fox administration to the current one, headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador – to protect journalists are not enough to fulfill their obligation to prevent, investigate, judge and punish crimes against freedom of expression.
For the members of the coalition organizations it is urgent to address this crisis, so they will hold meetings with Mexican State authorities, in order to make a call to reduce the impunity rate in crimes against journalists and propose mechanisms for collaboration.
Among the activities of the mission is also the installation of an offering, on November 6, to honor the memory of the journalists who have been killed in Mexico; In addition to a meeting with victims, civil society organizations, local journalists, to strengthen collaboration.
In Mexico, organizations that defend and promote freedom of expression and human rights express their approval for this visit, considering that it makes visible the urgent need to end impunity in crimes committed against journalists; these organization are Asociación Mexicana de Periodistas Desplazados y Agredidos (AMPDA), el Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social (Cencos), Artículo 19 México y Centroamérica, Propuesta Cívica, R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales, la Asociación de Periodistas del Estado de Guerrero (APEG), International Media Support (IMS), la Red de Periodistas del Noreste and Espacio OSC.
Finally, the coalition announces that during the development of the mission it will report on social networks the results of the activities with the tag #LibertadParaInformar and #IDEI.
The International Coalition of Civil Society Organizations on Journalist Security (ISCO SOJ Coalition) is made up of 17 international and regional civil society organizations, and aims to strengthen coordination to promote the safety of journalists and fight against impunity. The following groups are part of it: ARTICLE 19, Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders, International Media Support (IMS), Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), Freedom House (FM), Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), International Federation of Journalists (FIP), Internews, International Press Institute (IPI), International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA), PEN America, Free Press Unlimited (FPU), World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
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Source: MEDIA FEED
