Photo of Mario Hurtado by Article 19.

On May 11, the ‘Forum for the construction of a comprehensive public policy for the protection of defenders and journalists’ was held in Mexico City.

It was convened by the Delegation of the European Union in Mexico and the organizations of the Espacio OSC (civil society organizations/CSO space) for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.

Three journalists have been killed in Mexico just this past week. On Monday, El Veraz news website director Yessenia Mollinedo Falconi and reporter Sheila Johana García Olivera were killed in the municipality of Cosoleacaque, Veracruz Last Thursday, Fuentes Fidedignas journalist Luis Enrique Ramírez Ramos was killed in the state of Sinaloa.

At the forum, Mario Hurtado Cardozo , a representative of Espacio OSC, condemned the recent murders of Luis Enrique Ramírez, Yesenia Mollinedo and Johana García.

Hurtado said: “There is an obligation of state authorities to operate effective protection systems. The great challenge: the creativity to implement them. We must demand the right to defend.”

He further noted: “There is an obligation of state authorities to operate effective protection systems. The great challenge: the creativity to implement them. We must demand the right to defend.”

Espacio OSC also presented the 44-page document ‘Priority points to guarantee the Right to Defend human rights and freedom of expression’.

Eleven reporters have been killed in Mexico since the start of 2022. In 2021, seven reporters were killed in Mexico, making it the most dangerous country for journalists for the third year in a row, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Espacio OSC is accompanied by the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project.

The media release about the forum can be read here.