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Director-General denounces killing of Mexican journalist Armando Saldaña Morales
The Director-General of UNESCO today urged a full inquiry into the killing of journalist Armando Saldaña Morales in Mexico, stressing the need to end impunity of crimes against media workers.
“I condemn the murder of Armando Saldaña Morales and call on the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into this murder,” the Director-General said. “Crimes against journalists affect the whole of society and limit our ability as citizens to make informed choices. For this reason, it is essential that such crimes do not go unpunished.”
On 4 May, police found the dead body of Saldaña Morales in the state of Oaxaca. Saldaña Morales was the host of a news programme at La Ke Buena 100.9 FM radio station in the town of Tierra Blanca in Veracruz State. He also worked for a number of other media outlets, notably El Mundo de Córdoba, El Sol de Córdoba, La Crónica de Tierra Blanca and Radio Max.
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…”
