Eleven (11) Haitian media workers have been killed in the exercise of their duties since January 2022 to date. This is what Jean Luc Tondreau, Officer in charge of the UNESCO office in Haiti, declared to the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. A figure which makes Haiti one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, according to UNESCO which took the opportunity to distribute materials to around thirty press workers from different media.
THE HAITI FACTOR, May 3, 2024._Celebration this Friday, May 3, 2024, of World Press Freedom Day. On occasion, UNESCO took stock of the situation of journalists in Haiti.
According to data provided by the Officer in charge of the UNESCO office in Haiti, Mr. Jean Luc Tondreau, 11 media workers have been killed since January 2022 to date. Murders that make Haiti one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
« In Haiti, the situation of journalists is increasingly alarming. Since the deterioration of the security situation, several journalists have been murdered, kidnapped or injured. Today, alarmed journalists are fleeing the country, reducing their media coverage or leaving the profession permanently. Media outlets are vandalized, premises ransacked by bandits and equipment completely destroyed. Recent attacks include acts of vandalism against the newspaper Le Nouvelliste »denounced Jean Luc Tondreau in a speech delivered during a brief ceremony organized at the central office of the Organization on rue Darguin, in Pétion-Ville.
According to the data communicated by the Responsible, UNESCO conducted a survey among 86 journalists Haitians. The results of the investigation revealed that 76 % of them were faced with threats linked to their profession, 62 % were harassed verbally and online, while more than 30% experienced physical threats.
Add to this, 54 %, according to the findings of the UNESCO investigation, indicated that these threats had an impact on their journalistic work.
« These attacks threaten press freedom and seriously hamper the ability of journalists to carry out their profession and provide vital information », declared Jean Luc Tondreau.
Because of these attacks and threats, Haiti is increasingly at risk of becoming a ” silence zone », he regrets, with serious consequences on access to information for the local population and the whole world.
Mr. Tondreau recalls that journalists must be able to exercise their essential role in guaranteeing the population’s right to information in a crisis context. On the other hand, UNESCO, through the head of its office, says it reiterates its condemnation for the death of the journalist Ricot Jean and calls for an end to the violence as well as the protection of journalists in Haiti.
At the end of the ceremony, UNESCO, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, provided support for the safety of journalists in Haiti covering the crisis on the ground. In fact, the Organization provided journalists with necessary safety equipment, including gas masks, helmets and tactical vests.
The beneficiary journalists come from different media associations such as: AHML, RENAMEL, AJH et CMEL, among others, represented by Godson Lubrun, Shelovenie Jean, Jacques Desrosiers (whose mission was entrusted to Jean Daniel Senate in his absence) and Robest Dimanche.
According to office members, this support was made possible thanks to the Crisis Response Mechanism of the Global Media Defense Fund.
Even before the distribution of materials, UNESCO, to respond to the most urgent needs of Haitian journalists, has been supporting security and risk management training for several months for more than 50 media workers.
Sensitive to the cause of press workers, UNESCO says it promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness campaigns, capacity building of stakeholders as well as the adoption of specific measures, particularly within the framework of the Plan d United Nations action on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity.
THE HAITI FACTOR (LFH)
