UNESCO Director General urges investigation into murder of journalist

USPA NEWS - The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for an investigation into the killing of Francisco Pacheco Beltrán, in the Mexican city of Taxco on 25 April. “I condemn the murder of Francisco Pacheco Beltrán,“ the Director-General said.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for an investigation into the killing of Francisco Pacheco Beltrán, in the Mexican city of Taxco on 25 April.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “I condemn the murder of Francisco Pacheco Beltrán,“ the Director-General said. “I call on the authorities to investigate this killing, which undermines the media´s ability to do their work and limits people´s access to information.“ Francisco Pacheco Beltrán worked for radio station Capital Máxima, daily newspaper El Sol de Acapulco, online weekly El Foro de Taxco and ran his own website. He was killed in front of his house in Taxco. The Director-General of UNESCO issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by UNESCO Member States at the Organization´s General Conference of 1997, entitled “Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.“ These statements are posted on a dedicated webpage, UNESCO condemns the killing of journalists.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2016 TO BE HELD IN HELSINKI I2-14 MAY-------------------------------------------- Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over 100 national celebrations take place each year to commemorate this Day. UNESCO leads the worldwide celebration by identifying the global thematic and organizing the main event in different parts of world every year.------------------------------- The international day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the 26th Session of UNESCO's General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.