Director-General urges investigation into the murder of journalist and newspaper owner Mauricio Campos Rosa in Brazil
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the killing of journalist Mauricio Campos Rosa in the municipality of Santa Luzia, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
“I condemn the murder of Mauricio Campos Rosa,” the Director-General said. “I call on the authorities to investigate this crime and bring its perpetrators to justice. Impunity must not be allowed to benefit those who use violence to prevent the media from keeping us informed.”
Mauricio Campos Rosa, who owned and wrote for the local O Grito newspaper, was killed in Santa Luzia on 17 August.
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.
****
Media contact: Sylvie Coudray, s.coudray(at)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…”
<- Back to: News articles