“On Freedom of Expression and Protection of Journalists and Press Workers” was the bill presented on April 27 in Paraguay, a day after the country celebrated the Day of the Journalist, according to newspaper La Nación. The bill was announced at a press conference given by congresswoman and head of the Commission of Human Rights, Olga Ferreira de López and legislator Pastor Vera Bejarano, the newspaper added.
In a report about human rights in Guatemala published on March 14, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern about attacks in recent months against journalists whose investigative work was related to corruption, public administration and human rights violations.
Guatemalan journalists have condemned the murder of a 32-year-old radio director in the country and called for renewed attention to the construction of a protection program for journalists.
In 2015, Mexico saw one attack against journalists every 22 hours, making that year the most violent for the country’s press since 2009, according to an annual report from freedom of expression organization Article 19 Mexico. This violence, along with the pervasive impunity that follows, an unresponsive state, weak democracy and inaccessible protective agencies, have created a culture of fear among the country's journalists, the report said.
A Salvadoran communication worker's recent murder is directly linked to his work, according to communications groups that have called on the government for a thorough investigation of the crime and protection for media workers.
The former mayor of Silao (in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico), Enrique Benjamín Solís Arzola, was arrested on March 11 for alleged involvement in the attack against journalist Karla Silva from newspaper El Heraldo de León in 2014. After a long hearing, the local court ordered Solís to be taken into custody for two months, a period in which to conclude the investigation against him.
In the context of high levels of violence against journalists in Brazil, which already account for four murders this year, freedom of the press defenders came together around a project that seeks to curb impunity in these crimes. The Brazilian Press Association (ABI for its acronym in Portuguese) and the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj for its acronym in Portuguese) launched "SOS Journalist", a platform for journalists to denounce aggressions and media abuses related to their professional practice, and to ask for and receive state protection.
After the Provincial Court of Pichincha in Ecuador denied the appeal for protective action filed by Brazilian journalist Manuela Picq on Oct. 1, her lawyer announced that the case will be presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS).
One month after the brutal murders of Veracruz journalist Rubén Espinosa, activist Nadia Vera and three other women in a Mexico City apartment, activists and journalists continue to fight against impunity and for freedom expression.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary this August, the Protection Program for Journalists in Colombia (the oldest mechanism of its kind in Latin America) is at a “critical moment,” according to organizations defending freedom of expression. Among the main problems affecting the stability of the program are internal corruption scandals and the lack of financial resources.
As part of the campaign ‘Journalism at Risk’ (‘Periodismo en Riesgo’), the Free Press Foundation (FLIP for its acronym in Spanish) has launched the J-Pro project, which seeks to explain and evaluate the policies established by the governments of Colombia and Mexico for protection of journalists at risk.
The murder of photojournalist Rubén Espinosa on 31 July in Mexico City was without a doubt a turning point in matters of security for Mexican journalists. For this reason, his colleagues are demanding that the crime does not go unpunished and that the Mexican state provide protection for journalists.