Impunity - Colombia I

WHEREAS journalists Gustavo Rojas Gabalo and Milton Fabián Sánchez, both of them linked to radio stations in their regions, Cordoba and Valle del Cauca respectively, were murdered and it has not been possible to determine if a third murder, that of Atilano Segundo Pérez, was for reasons of his journalistic work WHEREAS threats against journalists continue to increase and 45 were threatened in the last six months, among them the editor of the newspaper Hoy Diario del Magdalena, Ulilo Acevedo, who was forced to leave the country WHEREAS Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to ask the attorney general’s office to open the appropriate investigations in the Human Rights Unit in Bogota to punish those responsible for these crimes to urge the national attorney general’s office to investigate and punish those responsible for the threats against 45 journalists in the last six months, including the threat against the editor of the newspaper Hoy Diario del Magdalena, Ulilo Acevedo to ask the government as well as civil and military authorities to guarantee the security of provincial journalists and implement security measures to guarantee the free practice of journalism.