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The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the murder of journalist Mario Roberto Salazar Barahona in Guatemala on 17 March.

“I condemn the murder of Mario Roberto Salazar Barahona,” said the Director-General. “His killing constitutes an attack on the media as a whole. I trust that those responsible for this crime will be brought to trial, in the interest of justice, freedom of expression and rule of law.”

Mario Roberto Salazar Barahona was a journalist and the director of radio Estéreo Azúcar. He was shot in the city of Asunción Mita in southern Guatemala.

The Director-General of UNESCO issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States at the Organization’s General Conference of 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.” These statements are posted on a dedicated webpage, UNESCO condemns the killing of journalists.

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Media contact: Sylvie Coudray, s.coudray(at)unesco.org, +33 (0)1 45 68 42 12

UNESCO is the United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this the Organization is requested to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”