Freedom of expression is at risk across Latin America, with journalists being killed, kidnapped, threatened and prosecuted. And, in several countries, there is impunity for crimes against journalists.
That's the conclusion of delegates who attended the recent
mid-year meeting of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).
The organisation's report concluded: "The gloomy record of journalists being murdered continued to expand during the last six months in Latin America, where the state of freedom of expression deteriorated enormously in nearly all of the Americas, particularly in Argentina and Ecuador."
IAPA also highlighted violence against the media in Mexico, threats of government control in Venezuela and Ecuador, attacks and restrictive press laws in various countries.
It called on the governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru to ensure that justice is done in cases of the murder and/or disappearance of journalists.
And it urged Mexico's government to honour commitments to pursue legal reforms to make crimes against press freedom federal offences.
All the IAPA resolutions, conclusions and country-by-country reports can be viewed on its website sipiapa.org (English version).
IAPA, based in Miami, is composed of more than 1,300 print publications in the Americas.
Sources: Knight Centre/IAPA
