The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the killing of journalist Ricardo Monlui Cabrera in the eastern state of Veracruz in Mexico on 19 March 2017.
“I condemn the killing of Ricardo Monlui Cabrera,” said the Director-General. “This violent crime not only took a life -- it also affects every single member of society as it attacked the fundamental right to freedom of expression. I welcome the initiative taken by the local authorities to ensure that the perpetrators will be brought to trial.”
A journalist for more than 30 years, Monlui was the Director of the daily newspaper El Político as well as a columnist for the dailies El Sol de Córdoba and the Diario de Xalapa. He was shot by unknown assailants in the municipality of Yanga.
The Director-General of UNESCO issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States at the Organization’s General Conference of 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.” These statements are posted on a dedicated webpage, UNESCO condemns the killing of journalists.
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Media contact: Sylvie Coudray, s.coudray@unesco.org, +33 (0)1 45 68 42 12
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…”