WHEREAS, a high rate of impunity prevails in Mexico for the murders of journalists
WHEREAS, a high rate of impunity prevails in Mexico for the murders of journalists
WHEREAS, the unpunished crimes against Alfredo Jiménez Mota, Francisco Ortiz Franco, Víctor Manuel Oropeza, Héctor Félix Miranda and Benjamín Flores González, are at different procedural stages before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
WHEREAS, in the case of Alfredo Jiménez Mota - who has been missing since April 2, 2005 - a Friendly Settlement Agreement was reached, with the mediation of the IACHR and the support of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the IAPA; that on December 8, 2021, the State acknowledged its responsibility and issued a public apology for its failure to guarantee the safety, integrity, rights and freedom of the journalist
WHEREAS, in the case of Francisco Ortiz Franco - murdered on June 22, 2004, in Tijuana - the family and the petitioners agreed to begin a dialogue to evaluate a possible friendly settlement agreement - and are awaiting the State's reply
WHEREAS, nearly 31 years after the murder of Víctor Manuel Oropeza Contreras - occurred on July 3, 1991, in Ciudad Juárez - there is still impunity for the crime and talks with representatives of the State to reach an agreement to comply with the recommendations of the IACHR are at a standstill
WHEREAS, in the case of Héctor Félix Miranda - murdered on April 20, 1988, in Tijuana - there is still no full justice and the recommendations of the IACHR remain unheeded
WHEREAS, nearly 25 years after the murder of Benjamín Flores González - killed on July 15, 1997, in San Luis Río Colorado - the same violations persist regarding the rights to life, personal integrity, personal liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and the right to judicial protection as when the case was presented to the IACHR in July of 2000
WHEREAS, the impunity and the violation of the guarantees of the murdered journalists extends to the right of family members to know the truth and obtain justice - and of journalists to enjoy the guarantees to practice free and safe journalism
WHEREAS, impunity in the murders of journalists - as well as violence - restrict freedom of expression and of the press, and the authorities have the responsibility to clear up crimes against journalists - as stated in the fourth principle of the Chapultepec Declaration.
THE IAPA MID-YEAR MEETING RESOLVES
To reiterate to the government that it is duty-bound to put an end to the lack of justice surrounding numerous murders
To welcome the State's acknowledging its responsibility for the disappearance of Alfredo Jiménez Mota, and to urge continued full compliance with all provisions of the Friendly Settlement Agreement
To urge the State to move forward in complying with the recommendations of the IACHR in the cases of Víctor Manuel Oropeza and Héctor Félix Miranda
To ratify the commitment to continue addressing the cases submitted to the IACHR - so that they do not go unpunished, do not fall into oblivion and that the State makes full and appropriate reparations to the families of each of the victims
To reiterate the public demand for justice in the cases of Héctor Félix Miranda, Víctor Manuel Oropeza, Benjamín Flores González, Francisco Ortiz Franco and Alfredo Jiménez Mota - as well as hundreds of Mexican journalists, whose unpunished murders continue to grieve the journalistic community.
