Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right defined among others in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. However, journalists still face injustices that are often left uninvestigated. According to the newest UNESCO report, 827 journalists have been assassinated in the last decade, from which only 8% cases have been resolved. Today, as we mark the day to end impunity against journalists, we stay together with all brave journalists suffering for doing their job, and particularly covering injustices toward indigenous peoples.
The recent indigenous movement on confronting the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline is the latest and the most frightening example of the attacks on freedom of expression. The producer Deia Schlosberg, award-winning host of Democracy Now! Amy Goodman, and actor Shailene Woodley now face a possible sentence of up to 45 years. For doing their job. For being a journalist, a producer, an actor.
In Latin America, many cases of impunity have been ignored by governments and justice. Journalists face obstacles from accessing information to fighting for their rights. Thirty two years have passed since the correspondent from Diario La Republica Jaime Ayala Sulca forcibly disappeared after denouncing the crimes of the navy, and nobody is still brought to justice. Nowadays, there is significant reason for concern about the situation in North Dakota even though the case is getting more attention and even some celebrities have taken a stand for mother earth.
“We stand together with brave and resilient brothers and sisters in Standing Rock, and we call on American government to release unjustly imprisoned Deia Schlosberg, Amy Goodman, and Shailene Woodley!“, said the President of Habitat Pro Association Gladys Silva.
As an organization that advocates for the rights of indigenous peoples, we solicit your support to defending the freedom of expression and information for everybody. On this day we must shift the paradigm of oppression to equitable freedoms!