“The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE, by its Spanish acronym) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) denounces the situation of violence against journalists in the Americas and urges States of the region to investigate the facts exhaustively and independently, and to punish these crimes in an exemplary manner. [It urges] as well, to redouble their efforts to prevent these attacks and protect those at-risk.
According to public information and reports received, so far in 2023, at least 11 journalists have been killed while practicing their profession or for reasons that could be related to their work: Luis Gabriel Pereira (Colombia)*; Dylan Lions (United States); Eduardo Fernando Mendizábal Gálvez (Guatemala)*; Dumesky Kersaint, Ricot Jean and Paul Jean Marie (Haiti); Abisaí Pérez Romero, José Ramiro Araujo Ochoa, Gerardo Torres Rentería, and Marco Aurelio Ramírez (Mexico); and Alexander Álvarez (Paraguay).
For the Office of the Special Rapporteur, these events confirm the situation of risk and vulnerability of journalists and media workers in the Americas.”
