“Being both a woman and a journalist in LAC involves a big risk “, warn UNESCO experts at Global Conference on World Press Freedom Day

Working as a journalist in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) might involve attacks and threats to life, with specific implications for women, as several international experts warned last 2nd May during a high-level conference in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

The activity -organised by UN Human Rights in South America, UNESCO and the Austrian Embassy in Buenos Aires- reflected on the 10th Anniversary of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the issue of Impunity. This took place in the framework of the UNESCO Global Conference on World Press Freedom Day, held from 2nd to 5th May 2022 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

From a perspective of prevention, protection and prosecution of justice, the panellists highlighted the centrality of free and safe journalism for democratic societies and regretted the persistence of murders, harassment, stigmatisation and other forms of intimidation against press workers, emphasising the impunity that often accompanies crimes against journalists.

Gender was highlighted as a cross-cutting dimension of violence against journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean, so that various speakers underlined that women are particularly affected in the exercise of their informative and investigative work in traditional and digital journalism.

Freedom of expression

During the event, Irene Khan, the United Nations Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, referred to harsh statistics on the murders of journalists in the region. She said that digital technology opens up new possibilities for investigative journalism, but also gives rise to new threats, especially against women. "When women are attacked, online or offline, the intention is to silence and limit them".

"We are concerned about the violence and we do not see it stopping over time", said the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Ricardo Pérez Manrique, who mentioned the Court's jurisprudence on freedom of expression and its scope.

The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Pedro Vaca Villarreal, called on the authorities to take threats to the press seriously and to commit to prevention. "We are at a point where political leadership is finding it difficult to support journalists”, he warned.

Xavier Mena, Deputy Representative for South America at UN Human Rights, stressed the need to guarantee the right to freedom of expression and to see journalists as human rights defenders. "The risks faced by these professionals must be addressed and the circle of impunity must be closed with prompt, thorough and impartial investigations”.

Plan of Action

On behalf of UNESCO, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information Tawfik Jelassi shared the other panellists’ concerns and highlighted the main achievements of the Action Plan. "The issue of the safety of journalists has moved higher up the international agenda of the United Nations than it was 10 years ago”.

ARTICLE 19 officer Paula Saucedo, representing the civil society group Voces del Sur, put forward recommendations for the Plan of Action, such as strengthening preventive and participatory mechanisms for journalists themselves. She also highlighted challenges in terms of media ownership, siege by public officials and job insecurity.

Other participants in the activity were the UN Resident Coordinator in Uruguay, Pablo Ruiz Hiebra; the Deputy Head of Mission of the Austrian Embassy in Buenos Aires, Lisa Butzenlechner; the Director of Programmes of the Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information, Daniela Urribarri; and the representative of the Association for Progressive Communications, Paula Martins.

This session on Latin America and the Caribbean was a preparatory activity for the global commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, to be held in Vienna in November 2022.