CPJ submits report on Iraq to UN’s human rights review
The Committee to Protect Journalists has submitted a report on the state of press freedom and journalist safety in Iraq and semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of its January to February 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session. The U.N. mechanism is a peer review of each member state’s human…
Press freedom in Nicaragua nearly nonexistent, CPJ and rights groups tell UN
Mexico City, August 27, 2024—Nicaragua has escalated its persecution of critical voices since 2018, pushing freedom of expression to a nearly nonexistent state, according to a joint submission to the United Nations by the Committee to Protect Journalists and eight other journalism and human rights groups. The submission, prepared for Nicaragua’s Universal Periodic Review in…
Two years behind bars: CPJ calls for José Rubén Zamora’s immediate release
São Paulo, July 29, 2024—Marking the second anniversary of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora’s detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists renews its calls for President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration to free Zamora without further delay. “For two years now, José Rubén Zamora has been behind bars in horrific conditions, despite a court order for a retrial,”…
Urgent appeal to UN says journalist José Rubén Zamora was tortured, should be freed
Mexico City, July 18, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists supports the urgent appeal filed to U.N. officials by an international legal team on behalf of Guatemalan investigative journalist José Rubén Zamora, who the appeal says has been wrongfully imprisoned since 2022 and held in conditions “that amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading…
UN group says detention of Guatemalan journalist Zamora violates international law
Mexico City, July 2, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s Monday declaration that the continued imprisonment of Guatemalan investigative journalist José Rubén Zamora is arbitrary and in violation of international law. CPJ echoes the group’s call for Zamora’s immediate release. “The U.N. Working Group’s acknowledgment of José…
CPJ joins call for renewing mandate of UN special rapporteur on Eritrea
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday joined 30 other non-governmental organizations in urging member and observer states of the United Nations Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. The special rapporteur reports on and assesses the human rights situation in Eritrea, and…
CPJ, others request update on Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah from UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 26 press freedom and human rights organizations in an April 17 letter to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) seeking updates regarding the urgent appeal filed on November 14, 2023, about the case of jailed Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdelfattah. The appeal was submitted by 34 organizations, including…
CPJ, partners urge UN leaders to release full report on journalist Issam Abdallah’s murder
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined its international partners on Friday in signing a letter urging the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL) to publish its investigation into the murder of Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli forces in south Lebanon on October 13, 2023. Four journalists injured in the…
Kyrgyzstan parliament approves ‘foreign agents’ law
Stockholm, March 15, 2024—Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov should reject Russian-inspired legislation that would designate externally funded media rights groups and nonprofits that run news outlets as “foreign representatives,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Thursday, Kyrgyzstan’s parliament approved in a third and final reading, without debate, a bill requiring nonprofits that receive foreign…
CPJ joins calls to UN to push for accountability in murder of Lebanese video journalist Issam Abdallah
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined a combined 120 people and entities, including victims and their families, media outlets, press freedom groups, and human rights groups, in two letters calling on the United Nations to help provide accountability in the murder of Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah, who was killed by Israeli forces in south…