UNDP and UNESCO Peru organise seminar on the risks of journalism and how to deal with them

It is through journalism that we learn about the most important events in our community, but we also have access to the facts that, at first glance, may remain hidden. Yet the press is not free from risks such as violence and stigmatisation for doing its duty: keeping the public informed in an accurate and timely manner.

The right to freedom of expression depends to a large extent on the press being able to work freely and independently, free from threats and attacks, something that remains an unfinished task. A total of 86 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2022, one every four days, according to UNESCO.

The case of Peru is also worrying, as between December 2022 and February 2023, more than 170 journalists were assaulted, harassed, threatened, beaten and/or arbitrarily detained, according to figures from the Peruvian Press Council (CPP).

In addition, the organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in its latest 2023 report, ranks Peru 110th out of 180 countries in the world press freedom ranking, which represents a drop of 33 positions compared to last year.

Enrique López-Hurtado, Coordinator of the Culture Sector of UNESCO Peru, emphasised that UNESCO, as a United Nations agency, "contributes to these objectives through the fulfilment of its mandate to promote "the free flow of ideas through words and images", basing our work on the articulated work with States, journalists and civil society".

"We are committed to a free press, capable of informing the public without exposing the integrity of media professionals, and we will continue to work towards this, in collaboration with UNESCO and trade associations such as the National Press Association," said Carla Zacapa, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative.

As part of the efforts to address this situation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Peru organised the seminar "Free Journalism: for a society with the right to information" in Cusco on 2 November, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

This event provided key concepts to understand the threats faced by journalists, as well as the new scenarios in which the press can be threatened, such as disinformation, fake news and cyber-bullying.

The first block included the participation of Federico Chunga, UNESCO consultant on freedom of expression and human rights; María Cristina Caldas, president of the A Mi No Me la Hacen collective; and Álvaro Beltrán, UNDP Digital Democracy Associate for Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the second block, journalists Edith Sinchi Roca, from Radio Universal; and Renzo Chávez, secretary general of the National Association of Journalists of Peru (ANP) gave their testimonies on the state of press freedom in Cusco and at the national level, respectively.

Finally, the last panel was made up of Dora Garrido, Coordinator of the Communication and Information Sector of UNESCO Peru, and Gladys Concha, senior lecturer at the San Antonio de Abad National University of Cusco.