IFEX Latin American & Caribbean Alliance

On November 13, in Geneva, Switzerland, the review and adoption of the recommendations issued to the State of Nicaragua as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) will take place.

Eight hundred days after the arrest of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora Marroquín, the organisations ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America, Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited, Freedom House, Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP), Fundamedios, Protection International Mesoamérica, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the IFEX-ALC network reaffirm the urgent demand for the prompt and unconditional release of the journalist and founder of elPeriódico.

Eight people are detained by Nicolás Maduro’s government for carrying out their journalistic duties.

We, the undersigned organizations and members of the global human rights community, urgently call for unfettered access to the internet, social media platforms, and other communication channels for the people in Venezuela at all times. We also demand an end to the use of technological tools and digital platforms for the surveillance and persecution of political dissent, particularly in the wake of the presidential elections of July 28. This commitment is crucial to respect the rights enshrined in Venezuela’s Constitution and the country’s international commitments.

Given the current electoral situation in Venezuela, the undersigned international organizations and regional networks defending freedom of the press and expression express their concern about the attacks against national and international journalists who are documenting the events happening in the country, as well as activists, demonstrators, and the general population. We urge the Venezuelan authorities to fulfill their obligation to guarantee and protect the exercise of freedom of expression and peaceful association, as well as to guarantee the safety of journalists working in the country.

IFEX-ALC, Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información [the Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information], and Red Voces del Sur [the Voices of the South network]- three regional networks defending freedom of expression and press freedom– express our concern over the closure of civic space in Argentina as a consequence of the subjugation of freedom of information, expression, press, demonstration and peaceful assembly promoted by the current administration.

If the proposed legislation is passed, the current law—which was developed with open, participatory and democratic dialogue—will be repealed. Serious and problematic modifications would be introduced with severe implications for the freedom of expression rights of journalists and media outlets in the country.

Since its presentation before parliament, the debate on the “Law on Control, Regulation, Performance and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organisations” has been stigmatising in nature, depicting civil society organisations as “enemies of the country.”

Freedom of expression organisations demand the immediate release of the Ticay and the suspension of the recent constitutional reforms linked to the crime of “treason”, which can be used against critics or opponents of the regime.

Fourteen organizations call for justice in Zamora’s case and respect for the rule of law

The government of Daniel Ortega continues escalating its criminalisation of journalists in Nicaragua, in an attempt to achieve a news blackout. The arrest, imprisonment and charges against journalist Víctor Ticay in May 2023, are yet another sign of the social, cultural, and political crisis taking place in the country due to the systematic violation of human rights.

We call on authorities to respect and protect freedom of expression and freedom of the press as necessary conditions to guarantee democracy and the legitimacy of the electoral process.

IFEX and IFEX-ALC are expressing their solidarity with ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America after an escalation in threats against the organisation by Mexico’s president.

Periodistas Sin Cadenas, Voces del Sur, Red Leal and IFEX-ALC strongly condemn the serious press freedom and freedom of expression violations that have taken place recently in Ecuador. As a result of these violations, two journalists have been forced into exile within the first few months of 2023.