The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the murder of Mario Sy, a photo journalist shot dead in his home in General Santo City on 1 August.
“I condemn the murder of Mario Sy,” the Director-General said. “It is very alarming to see three journalists killed in the space of two days and I urge the authorities to do all in their power to bring the culprits of these crimes to justice.”
Mario Sy, a freelance contributor to Sapol News Bulletin newspaper, was shot by an unidentified man who entered his house in the province of South Cotabato.
The killing came just two days after the double murder of journalists Bonifacio Loreto and Richard Kho. They are remembered on the dedicated UNESCO webpage, UNESCO Condemns Killing of Journalists.
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UNESCO is the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this the Organization is requested to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”