Reporters Without Borders publishes "unprecedented" report on protective mechanisms for journalists
Reporters Without Borders publishes “unprecedented” report on protective mechanisms for journalists in Latin America
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
1 March 2022
2 minute read
Guadalajara, Mexico, 25 January 2022. A man holds a banner that reads “Killing journalists does not kill the truth” during a protest calling for justice for journalists and photojournalists murdered in Mexico, Leonardo Alvarez Hernandez/Getty Images
The Latin America bureau of RSF released an investigation and analysis of protective mechanisms in Latin America's four most dangerous countries for the media – Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Brazil.
This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 21 February 2022.
The Latin America bureau of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is today releasing the findings of a lengthy investigation and analysis of protective mechanisms for journalists in Latin America’s four most dangerous countries for the media – Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Brazil.
Entitled Protection paradigm: making protection mechanisms work for Latin American journalists, the report is the outcome of an unprecedented comparative analysis of the protective mechanisms in these four countries, where 90% of the murders of journalists in the past decade took place. In one of them, Mexico, no fewer than five journalists have already been murdered since the start of 2022.
Launched in 2021 with support from UNESCO, this survey’s goal has been to better determine how these measures work, their effectiveness, and their impact on the journalists who have been threatened and who request help.
“Journalists in Latin America must cease to be targets,” said Emmanuel Colombié, the director of RSF’s Latin America bureau. “It is urgent to stem this spiral of violence with dramatic consequences for the region’s democracies. The vulnerability of journalists is not inevitable. RSF is proposing concrete ways to improve the effectiveness of protective mechanisms in Brazil, Honduras, Colombia and Mexico, and aims to help initiate the necessary changes and provide them with lasting support.”
To carry out this detailed diagnosis, RSF conducted 75 interviews with the various actors involved – the beneficiaries of protection measures, those responsible for implementing them, and civil society representatives working on this issue. On the basis of these interviews and its regional expertise, RSF has produced a total of 80 recommendations aimed at helping to resolve the flaws identified and improve the effectiveness of the protective mechanisms.
More:
https://ifex.org/reporters-without-borders-publishes-unprecedented-report-on-protective-mechanisms-for-journalists-in-latin-america/