July 20, 2021.- The Voces del Sur (VDS) network presented the Shadow Report 2020 that compiles alerts related to violations of freedom of expression, freedom of the press and access to information that occurred in 13 Latin American countries: Argentina , Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
For the third consecutive year, the report documents and independently analyzes the situation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.10.1 to guarantee public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national laws and international agreements. as well as the number of verified cases of murders, kidnappings, forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and torture of journalists, media workers, trade unionists, and human rights defenders. The evaluation is based on information identified as alerts that are collected, recorded and reported by the VDS network using a group of 12 regional indicators.
The regional results of the 2020 SOMBRA REPORT entitled: Journalism in time of Covid-19: Authoritarianism, Disinformation and Precariousness in Latin America, reflect that between January and December 2020 the 13 partner organizations reported 3,350 attacks against journalists and the media. This year 59% of these attacks had the State as the main perpetrator of the violations.
In total, there were registered in the 13 countries: 1630 aggressions and attacks against journalists; 397 stigmatizing speeches; 376 Internet restrictions; 279 restrictions on access to information; 279 arbitrary detentions; 200 judicial processes; 138 abusive uses of state power; 17 murders; 14 kidnappings; 13 legal frameworks contrary to international standards; 4 enforced disappearances and 3 torture.
It is highlighted that the pandemic has served as an excuse for authoritarian regimes and democratic governments to seize special powers to restrict access to information or to censor and silence independent media directly in the name of the so-called «national interest.» That year there has been a notable increase in misinformation, especially through social networks and instant messaging applications.
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic also negatively affected the sources of income of independent media and journalists and this slowdown in economic activity translated into cuts in advertising, which continues to be a key source of income for the company. most of the media.
It also stands out that at least 359 journalists lost their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 12 countries in the region (Does not include data from Argentina).
Voces del Sur (VDS) is a project made up of 13 civil society organizations: Asociación Brasilera de Periodismo Investigativo (ABRAJI, Brasil), Asociación Nacional de Prensa (ANP, Bolivia), Centro de Archivos e Información Pública (CAINFO, Uruguay), Comité por la Libre Expresión (C-LIBRE, Honduras), Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios para la Democracia Social (DEMOS, Guatemala); Foro de Periodismo Argentino (FOPEA, Argentina), Fundación Andina para la Observación y Estudio de Medios (FUNDAMEDIOS, Ecuador); Fundación Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (FVBCH, Nicaragua); Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS, Perú), Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS, Venezuela). Además, para el Informe 2020 se sumaron ARTICLE-19 (México), el Instituto Cubano por la Libertad de Expresión y Prensa (ICLEP) y la Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) Colombia.
To access the full Shadow 2020 Report, you can click on this link. Shadow Report 2020