Resolution of the 71th General Assembly
Charleston, South Carolina
October 2 – 6, 2015
WHEREAS from March 2015 to date there have been 11 murders of journalists and in these cases there are indications that they may have been linked to their work; three were in Brazil, three in Mexico, two in Guatemala and one each in Colombia, Honduras and the Dominican Republic
WHEREAS Journalist Gleydson Carvalho, host of a program broadcast on Radio Liberdade FM in Camocim, Ceará, Brazil, in which he was accustomed to denouncing acts of corruption and wrongdoing by local politicians, was murdered on August 6, 2015
WHEREAS Djalma Santos da Conceição, host of the program "Acorda Cidade!" (Wake Up, City) broadcast on the community radio station RCA FM in Conceição da Feira, Bahia, Brazil, in which he used to report and call on authorities for action to counteract crime and corruption, and he had received threats, disappeared on May 22, 2015 and his body was found the following day
WHEREAS Evany José Metzker, who wrote the blog "Coruja do Vale" in Minas Gerais, Brazil, in which he published investigations into corruption, drug trafficking and child prostitution, among other critical matters occurring in the region, disappeared on May 13, 2015 and his body was found on May 18
WHEREAS Rubén Espinosa, a news photographer with the news agency AVC and correspondent of the magazine Proceso and of the agency Cuartoscuro in Veracruz, Mexico, who had moved to Mexico City for reasons of safety after being attacked and intimidated on several occasions since 2012, was murdered on July 31, 2015 in the Mexican capital
WHEREAS Filadelfo Sánchez Sarmiento, director and host of a program broadcast by radio station La Favorita 103.3 in Miahuatlán, Oaxaca, Mexico, in which he criticized the local policy regarding public works and had received threats, was murdered on July 2, 2015
WHEREAS Armando Saldaña Morales, host of a news program broadcast by radio station La Ke Buena, 100.9 FM, in Veracruz, Mexico, and stringer for several local media, reported on the robbery of gasoline in that part of the country by drug trafficking cartels, was kidnapped on May 2, 2015, his body being found on May 4
WHEREAS Danilo López, correspondent of the newspaper Prensa Libre in Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez, Guatemala, was carrying out journalistic investigations into corruption and embezzlement of state funds in the region and had been attacked and threatened on several occasions, was murdered on March 10, 2015
WHEREAS Federico Salazar, correspondent of Radio Nuevo Mundo in Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez, Guatemala, who collaborated in some reporting by journalist Danilo López, was also murdered on March 10, 2015
WHEREAS Journalist Flor Alba Núñez Vargas, host of the news program "Red Noticias" on radio La Preferida Estéreo in Pitalito, Huila, Colombia, and a correspondent of other media in which she used to denounce drug trafficking, human trafficking and corruption and recently referred to the capture of a local criminal gang and had received threats, was murdered on September 10, 2015
WHEREAS Joel Aquiles Torres, owner of Canal 67 television in Taulabé, Comayagua, Honduras, attacked by high-caliber weapons fired at his vehicle at least 29 times, was murdered on July 4, 2015
WHEREAS Blas Olivo, a press stringer for the Dominican Agricultural Business Board (JAD) in Piedra Blanca, Monseñor Nouel province, Dominican Republic, was murdered on April 12, 2015
WHEREAS Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states "Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, 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 IAPA GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES
to condemn the murders of journalists Gleydson Carvalho, Djalma Santos da Conceição and Evany José Metzker in Brzsil; Rubén Espinosa, Filadelfo Sánchez Sarmiento and Armando Saldaña Morales in Mexico; Danilo López and Federico Salazar in Guatemala; Flor Alba Núñez Vargas in Colombia, Joel Aquiles Torres in Honduras, and Blas Olivo in the Dominican Republic and demand greater will on the part of the governments of those countries to solve them and prevent them going unpunished
to urge the governments of Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras and the Dominican Republic to not cease in the investigations into the crimes until they find those guilty and rigorously apply justice, so as to learn whether the motives for the murders were connected to the victims' work as journalists, and punish the masterminds and those who carried out the murders
to request a revision of the measures for the protection of journalists existing in those countries in order to ensure that they can offer the speedy and effective service for which they were created, to give attention to the cases of journalists at risk and to the serious threats to freedom of expression.
