Mexico must redouble efforts to protect journalists, human rights experts urge

GENEVA (5 December 2017) – Mexico must take bold steps to address the violence faced by journalists, two human rights experts have stated after a week-long official mission examining freedom of expression in the country.

“Violence against journalists has been a crisis for Mexico for more than a decade, and yet, despite the Government’s creation of protection and prosecution mechanisms, impunity and insecurity continue to characterize the situation throughout the country,” said David Kaye and Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression for the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

“In this situation, we urge the Government to rapidly and substantially increase the resources available to the mechanisms which have been set up to deliver protection and accountability. Mexico has already taken the laudable step of creating these institutions; now it should give them the tools to be effective.

“The need to address protection and accountability will be especially critical in 2018, when Mexicans will vote in federal, state and local elections. Ensuring the safety of journalists enables them to gather and disseminate information on matters of the highest public interest,” the experts said, in a joint statement at the end of their visit.

The Special Rapporteurs added: “We were inspired by the passion of the journalists we met, their commitment to their role of informing Mexican society, and their eagerness to investigate corruption, organised crime or other matters of public interest, regardless of the risks they know they could face.”

“We were appalled by the stories we heard from journalists, presenting a dire picture of the hostile environment they faced. Sexual harassment against women journalists, reporters forced to flee their homes, killings and disappearances, and pervasive impunity were common features in their narratives,” they said.

The Special Rapporteurs urged the Government to conduct an independent investigation into the well-documented reports of the digital surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and others. They expressed particular concern that the surveillance appeared to take place in the absence of legal and judicial controls.

The Government established the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in 2012, after a visit by the previous UN and IACHR Special Rapporteurs in 2010 and a campaign by civil society. A specialized prosecution mechanism was earlier created within the Office of the Prosecutor General in 2010.

During their mission, from 27 November to 4 December, the Special Rapporteurs met more than 250 journalists and members of civil society organizations, from 21 Mexican states.

The Special Rapporteurs also followed-up on recommendations issued by their predecessors in 2010 and evaluated progress on these recommendations, meeting high-level federal and state level authorities in Mexico City, Guerrero, Sinaloa, Veracruz, and Tamaulipas. 

They highlighted a range of issues such as efforts to combat impunity, access to information, official advertising, media pluralism, victims’ rights, and concerns over a proposed internal security law on freedom of expression. Their recommendations include strengthening the protection mechanism with resources, both human and economic, stressing that these measures needed to be backed at the highest political level.

The Special Rapporteurs thanked the Government for inviting them to carry out their official joint mission. They will present full reports in 2018.

ENDS

Mr. David Kaye (USA) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expressionin August 2014 by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Mr. Edison Lanza has been Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights since October 2014.

As a UN Special Rapporteur, Mr. Kaye is part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

For additional information and media inquiries please contact:
In Mexico (during the visit): Ms. Azin Tadjdini (+ 41 79 752 0480/ atadjdini@ohchr.org) and Ms. Ona Flores (oflores@oas.org)
In Geneva (after the visit): Ms. Azin Tadjdini (+ 41 22 917 9400 / atadjdini@ohchr.org)
In Washington DC (after the visit) Ms. Ona Flores (oflores@oas.org)

For media inquiries in Mexico and questions related to the press conference on 4 December, please contact:
Ms. Gabriela Gorjón - Communication and Information Unit. (+52 55 5061 6374 / Cel.+52 1 55 5438 1729 / ggorjon@ohchr.org).

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact:
Bryan Wilson – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9826 / mediaconsultant2@ohchr.org)

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