WHEREAS, the exile of journalists in Latin America is a reminder of the human cost of repression and violence against the press, as well as the importance of guaranteeing a safe and conducive environment for the practice of journalism in the region
WHEREAS, in recent years, numerous journalists have been displaced or forced to move to other areas of their country or to emigrate due to violence and threats from criminal gangs, corrupt officials, and authoritarian governments
WHEREAS, this phenomenon also includes the media, particularly in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, some of which have their operations abroad because they are victims of systematic persecution
WHEREAS, although some countries welcome journalists forced into exile and their families, they face enormous challenges that may vary according to the country and the specific situation but include, among others, cultural and linguistic adaptation, uprooting, psychological problems, limited economic resources; restricted access to local sources and information; reprisals against family members who remain in their homeland; migratory problems; legal obstacles in the host country or administrative or judicial persecution from their country of origin; and that even when journalists are forced into exile, they face enormous challenges; limited access to local sources and information; reprisals against family members who remain in their homeland; migration problems; legal obstacles in the host country or administrative or judicial persecution from their country of origin, and that, even abroad, their websites are constantly blocked in their countries of origin as well
WHEREAS the situation of exiled journalists in Latin America is a reflection of the persistent challenges facing press freedom in the region, and the forced flight of journalists is a reminder of the importance of protecting press freedom and guaranteeing a safe environment for the practice of journalism
WHEREAS the Declaration of Chapultepec establishes in its fourth principle that "pressures, intimidation, unjust imprisonment of journalists, material destruction of the media, violence of any kind and impunity for aggressors severely restrict freedom of expression and of the press," and states in its tenth article that "no media outlet or journalist should be punished for disseminating the truth or formulating criticisms or denunciations against the public authorities."
THE IAPA MID-YEAR MEETING RESOLVES
To ask national governments to provide for the creation of human, economic, psychological, and labor support programs for journalists displaced to other regions within their countries
Urge national governments to develop integration projects for journalists fleeing their countries, providing them with adequate humanitarian, economic, psychological, and working conditions, as well as expediting the procedures for granting political asylum or special work visas so that they can continue reporting from exile
Request the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations to develop public policies to support the insertion of journalists and their families in their adopted countries and to implement public policies to support the reinsertion of journalists and their families when the sources of violence in their countries of origin diminish
Reiterate to the international community that it must continue to defend the cause of press freedom to ensure that journalists can carry out their work without fear of persecution and exile.
