Mission Demands Action to End Impunity and Improve Conditions for Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on Mexican authorities and media owners to step up efforts to protect the safety and freedom of the media in the country and to introduce procedures to help tackle impunity for violence against journalists. The call was made by an IFJ mission which held a three-day fact-finding visit to Mexico from 9-11 September where they met with journalists and government officials from the Federal District and the State of Guerrero to learn more about the issues affecting journalists in the region including self-censorship, a lack of government intervention, and impunity for attacks against journalists. On the first day of the mission delegates visited Mexico's Federal District where they met with a number of high profile officials to learn about the situation for journalists in the region. The mission demanded that local authorities increase support for journalists and improve investigation methods, while also advising that its Mexican affiliate, the Sindicato de Redactores de la Prensa, should be involved in this work.   On day two of the mission, the IFJ delegates visited the state of Guerrero – one of the most dangerous regions in the world for journalists. They heard the testimonies of journalists from local cities, learning about the fear and intimidation they work under on a daily basis and the worrying trend of self-censorship that is occuring in the profession. They also met with a number of senior local officials who told them about the positive work that is being done to help journalists, including a government programme offering financial, legal and health support. However, mission delegates expressed their fears about the appalling rates of impunity for violence against journalists that exist in the region, learning that between 2000 and 2014 there have been 114 documented cases of attacks on journalists including homicides, restrictions and complaints against their professionalism. “This mission is aiming to be a wake-up call to politicians, officials and Mexican society that they should demand: Enough is enough. End the violence against journalists,” said mission delegates. Read the full reports on DAY ONE and DAY TWO of the mission. Following the informative and powerful fact-finding mission, the IFJ delegates involved have expressed their deep concern about the high rates of crimes and attacks against journalists. Despite some of the positive measures that have been introduced by local authorities in the Federal District and Guerrero, delegates stressed that the issue of impunity for crimes against journalists remains an issue of paramount importance, with the vast majority of cases remaining unsolved. Having established the background to the situation for Journalists in Mexico, the IFJ mission believes it is necessary to speed up mechanisms of potection for journalists in the country and immediately begin the fight to tackle the precarious conditions in which the profession is exercised. Read the final report of the IFJ mission HERE, including quotes and the mission's recommendations in full. Mission delegates were: Celso Schroder (Brazil), Vice President of IFJ, Wolfgang Mayer (Germany), Treasurer of the IFJ, Zuliana Lainez (Peru), Vice President of the Federation of Journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean (FEPALC), Luis Menéndez (Spain), Federation of Associations of Journalists in Spain (FAPE) and colleagues of the National Union of Press Reporters in Mexico (SNRP).For more information, please contact IFJ on + 32 2 235 22 17 The IFJ represents more than 600.000 journalists in 134 countries