PBI-Mexico accompanies the 4th Consultation Forum in Sonora for the Strengthening of Protection for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists
PBI-Mexico has posted: “Last Saturday [July 6] we were accompanying the 4th Consultation Forum in Sonora for the Strengthening of the Protection of Defenders of #HumanRights and Journalists organized by the @IniSinaloa [Initiative Sinaloa, a non-profit civil organization that works in defence of human rights].”
Iniciativa Sinaloa also posted:”4th Consultation Forum for Strengthening the Protection of Defenders of #HumanRights and #Journalists of the State of #Sonora.”
The killing of journalists and defenders
The Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) has recorded 88 killings of journalists and media workers in Mexico between 2012 and March 2024. It has verified that 37 of them were murdered in relation to their work. Seven of those killed were in Sonora.
For 2022, they noted: “In Mexico, CPJ documented a total of 13 journalists killed, the highest-ever number in a single year. In three of those cases, journalists were murdered in retaliation for their reporting on crime and politics, and had received threats prior to their deaths. CPJ is investigating the motives for the 10 other killings, but in a country characterized by violence and impunity, it is notoriously difficult to confirm whether journalists were killed because of their work.”
Front Line Defenders has reported that 45 human rights defenders were killed in Mexico in 2022, while Global Witness further highlights that 31 land and environmental defenders were killed in Mexico that year.
Mexico News Daily has also reported: “A report released [in March 2024] by the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) … found 20 lethal attacks against environmental activists in 2023.” One of those lethal attacks was against 31-year-old botanist Gabriel Trujillo on June 30 in Sonora while working on his thesis.
“Notable deficiencies and concerning failures”
PBI-Mexico has previously explained that a Protection Mechanism was created for journalists in Autumn 2010. By June 2012, the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists came into effect. That law obliges both federal and state authorities to protect the rights of journalists and human rights defenders.
In March 2020, PBI-Mexico commented “the Mechanism continues to demonstrate notable deficiencies and concerning failures.”
The year before that, PBI also highlighted: “The Mechanism can’t possibly address its shortcomings with its current budget and staffing levels. Providing additional funding would be the first step the Mexican government can take to ensure the Mechanism has the resources necessary to manage its rapidly growing caseload.”
In March 2024, Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists noted: “Eight journalists have been killed while enrolled in Mexico’s Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in the last seven years, a figure that highlights the urgent need to strengthen and reform the institution.”
For more, please see the report Turning the Tide on Impunity: Protection and Access to Justice for Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in Mexico (March 2019).
0 Comments