The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, today condemned the killing of veteran Mexican journalist Carlos Domínguez Rodríguez who was murdered in the city of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, on 13 January.
“I condemn the assassination of Carlos Domínguez Rodríguez in Mexico and urge the authorities to ensure an effective investigation,” the Director-General declared. “Bringing journalists’ killers to justice is crucial to end violence against those who defend the public’s right to know.”
Carlos Domínguez Rodríguez, an experienced reporter and columnist, worked for the Noreste Digital and Horizonte de Matamoros news website. In his reporting, he denounced abuses by local and national government officials, political violence, corruption and failures of the justice system.
He was attacked and killed while travelling in his car. In one of his last reports, published a couple of days before his killing, he denounced impunity for political violence and the weakness of public security.
In the spirit of Article 1 of the Constitution of UNESCO, the Director-General of the Organization issues statements on violations of press freedoms condemning the killing of media workers, in line with its action to take forward the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
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