Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, today denounced the murder of radio manager Cláudio Moleiro de Souza in Jaru, in the north of Brazil, on 12 October and called for an investigation into the crime..
“I condemn the murder of Cláudio Moleiro de Souza,” the Director-General said. “ I trust the authorities will spare no effort in investigating this case, which is essential for the preservation of press freedom and the protection of journalists’ right to carry out their professional duties.”
Cláudio Moleiro de Souza, manager of Rádio Meridional was shot by a lone gunman who entered the radio station and also shot at one of Souza’s colleagues, presenter Alberto Duran Duran, whose life is not in danger.
Cláudio Moleiro de Souza is the sixth Brazilian media professional this year whose killing is recorded in the dedicated webpage UNESCO Condemns the Killing of Journalists.
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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…”