Mission (March 18, 2024) - An international delegation from the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) is traveling this week to Ecuador to meet with President Daniel Noboa, among other authorities, journalists, and media representatives, to address the situation of press freedom in the country. President Noboa will sign the Chapultepec and Salta declarations, committing to guaranteeing press freedom and freedom of expression in his country.
The delegation, led by SIP President Roberto Rock, will meet with President Noboa tomorrow afternoon at the Carondelet Palace. Rock, from the digital portal La Silla Rota in Mexico, will be joined by former IAPA President Michael Greenspon of The New York Times, United States, former IAPA President Jaime Mantilla, and the organization's Executive Director, Carlos Lauría. Also joining the international delegation will be IAPA Executive Committee Chair Gabriela Vivanco from La Hora in Quito, and Carlos Pérez, the regional vice president for Ecuador, from El Universo in Guayaquil.
The IAPA has also requested meetings with Attorney General Diana Salazar, Ombudsman César Marcel Córdova Valverde, and National Assembly President Henry Kronfle.
The main goal of the mission is to address the situation facing local journalists and the media in Ecuador. Due to the overall security situation resulting from the rise of organized crime, violence against journalists has increased, leading entire communities in the interior of the country to become "silent zones."
In January, armed criminals stormed the premises of TC Televisión in Guayaquil and fired shots into the air while the channel was broadcasting live. In December, the IAPA expressed concern over the advance of organized crime violence and threats against the media and journalists, who face physical assaults and death threats, forcing some to move to other areas of the country or go into exile to ensure their safety. In March of last year, journalists from TC Televisión, Teleamazonas, and Ecuavisa, as well as EXA FM radio, among others, received envelopes with explosives hidden in USB drives.
According to the Chapultepec Index, an annual barometer of the IAPA measuring press freedom in 22 countries in the Americas, Ecuador falls into the category of "high restriction" in the dimension of violence and impunity. "In this context," the study highlights, "the exercise of journalistic work becomes an almost heroic task."
IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere; and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
