WHEREAS press freedom faces serious threats from organized crime violence, attacks, institutional pressure, and impunity, forcing nearly a dozen journalists to leave the country and fostering self-censorship and news blackouts in certain areas
WHEREAS press freedom faces serious threats from organized crime violence, attacks, institutional pressure, and impunity, forcing nearly a dozen journalists to leave the country and fostering self-censorship and news blackouts in certain areas
WHEREAS Hernán Higuera, a journalist with Ecuavisa, withdrew from reporting on the Progen case after denouncing alleged reprisals against his wife and son
WHEREAS restrictions on access to official sources, allegations of state harassment against media outlets such as Expreso, and pressure involving government advertising raise concerns about possible practices of indirect censorship
WHEREAS a court ruling ordered Fundamedios to remove an alert concerning journalists’ safety, a decision the organization complied with under protest on October 13, 2026, while challenging it before the Constitutional Court and requesting precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the grounds that it violates freedom of expression
WHEREAS insufficient resources for the state protection mechanism and impunity for attacks against journalists undermine safeguards for the exercise of the profession
WHEREAS the fourth principle of the Chapultepec Declaration establishes that threats, violence against journalists and media outlets, and impunity for perpetrators severely curtail freedom of expression and of the press, and that such acts must be promptly investigated and severely punished.
THE 82nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
Express concern over threats to press freedom in Ecuador, exacerbated by criminal violence, institutional pressure, restrictions on information, and impunity
Urge the government to ensure journalists’ safety, provide adequate resources for the state protection mechanism, and investigate and punish attacks without regard to editorial stance
Call on authorities to guarantee nondiscriminatory access to official sources and venues and refrain from imposing arbitrary restrictions on journalistic work
Demand that state agencies not be used to harass media outlets, interfere with their editorial decisions, or exert economic pressure amounting to indirect censorship
Express concern over the ruling against Fundamedios and urge the authorities to ensure that judicial decisions respect freedom of expression and the work of organizations that document attacks against the press
Urge the authorities to combat impunity and strengthen protections for independent journalism, particularly in areas where reduced news coverage limits the public’s right to be informed.
