'In search of protection, justice and the truth: journalists' responses to impunity in Mexico and Honduras'

将2021年诺贝尔和平奖授予来自俄罗斯和菲律宾的两名记者，以表彰他们在日益加剧的镇压和攻击面前自由、独立和以事实为基础的报道(《纽约时报》，2021年)，这是国际社会承认反新闻暴力以及记者对社会的重要性，从而保护他们的最新迹象。自1990年代末以来，特别是自2012年《联合国记者安全和有罪不罚问题行动计划》(联合国，2012年)以来，这些问题在联合国和区域一级得到了高度重视。然而，在许多国家，记者的重要性、他们的社会作用和他们的安全经常被忽视，甚至受到争议，而针对记者的袭击和威胁继续增加，基本上不受限制。在许多国家，暴力对所有记者的影响并不平等，但主要针对报道敏感话题的独立和调查记者，如侵犯人权、腐败和有组织犯罪集团(Waisbord，2002)。这样的记者也可能被认为是HRD，即使他们并不认为自己是HRD。大多数袭击即使调查不力，也不会受到惩罚(教科文组织，2020；Heyns和Srinivesan，2013，IACHR，2013)。在这种有罪不罚--肇事者没有法律后果--的背景下，记者如何在挣扎着继续工作的情况下确保自己的安全，并为袭击伸张正义？我的博士论文提供了一项定性、比较、自下而上的研究，探讨在墨西哥和洪都拉斯这两个拉美国家，记者如何应对针对记者的暴力行为不受惩罚的问题，在这两个国家，侵犯人权的行为普遍不受惩罚。它的灵感来自于我为(I)非政府组织国际笔会(PEN International)(2007-2016)支持拉丁美洲和非洲处于危险中的记者所做的研究和倡导。通过对这些国家的67名记者和保护行为者(支持处于危险中的记者的组织)的深入采访，我发现，尽管记者经常在国内和国际层面寻求正义和保护，通常是在(I)非政府组织的协助下，但这只是故事的一部分。另一个经常被忽视的部分是自我保护。虽然以国家为导向的寻求正义和保护的方法有一些好处，对于问责目的来说是必要的，但其多重限制和风险是墨西哥和洪都拉斯记者转向活动家和专业形式的自我保护的一个关键因素。我认为，自我保护是广泛存在的，对记者的安全至关重要，尽管它本身存在风险，但学者、保护行为者和政策制定者需要更多地考虑自我保护。该奖学金的活动主要集中在分享我的博士论文的研究结果和建议。我将前往墨西哥和洪都拉斯进行15-20次后续采访，根据政府和新冠肺炎相关限制的变化更新我的数据，并在必要时修改我的调查结果。然后，我将把这篇论文改编为有史以来第一篇关于记者-HRDS的安全和保护的书籍长度的研究，为一家备受尊敬的学术出版商；我还将为一家顶级专业学术期刊撰写一篇关于记者为自己的事业而从事激进主义的好处和风险的文章，并为更广泛的受众撰写另一篇文章。在这一年中，我将在相关的主要国际学术会议上和非学术受众，如政府间组织、政策制定者、(I)非政府组织、记者和捐助者，发表演讲。我将与CFOM和教科文组织教席合作，帮助扩大他们的网络/伙伴关系，并可能为未来的研究制定一项合作筹资建议。我还将接受培训，以进一步发展我的专业知识和作为研究人员的影响力。

The award of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to two journalists from Russia and the Philippines for their free, independent and fact-based reporting in the face of increasing repression and attacks (NYT, 2021) is the latest sign of international recognition of anti-press violence and the importance of journalists to society and, therefore, of protecting them. These issues have received significant attention at UN and regional level since the late 1990s, in particular since the 2012 UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity (UNPA) (UN, 2012). Yet in many countries the significance of journalists, their social role and their security are frequently disregarded and even contested, while attacks and threats against journalists continue to grow, largely unchecked. In many countries violence does not affect all journalists equally but mainly targets independent and investigative reporters covering sensitive topics such as human rights violations, corruption and organised crime groups (Waisbord, 2002). Such journalists may also be considered HRDs, even if they do not see themselves as such. Most attacks are poorly investigated, if at all, and go unpunished (UNESCO, 2020; Heyns and Srinivasan, 2013, IACHR, 2013). In such contexts of impunity - an absence of legal consequences for the perpetrators - how do journalists keep themselves safe and seek justice for attacks as they struggle to continue their work?My PhD dissertation offers a qualitative, comparative, bottom-up study of how journalists respond to impunity for violence against journalists in two Latin American countries where this problem - like impunity for human rights violations in general - is particularly widespread, Mexico and Honduras. It was inspired by my research and advocacy in support of journalists at risk in Latin America and Africa for the (I)NGO PEN International (2007-2016). Drawing on 67 in-depth interviews with journalists and protection actors (organisations that support journalists at risk) in these countries, I show that while journalists frequently seek justice and protection from the state at domestic and international level, often with the assistance of (I)NGOs, this is only part of the story. The other part, often neglected, is self-protection. While a state-oriented approach to seeking justice and protection has some benefits and is necessary for accountability purposes, its multiple limitations and risks are a key factor in journalists in Mexico and Honduras turning to activist and professional forms of self-protection. I argue that self-protection is widespread and central to journalists' security and, despite its own risks, needs to be taken more into account by scholars, protection actors and policymakers.The activities of the fellowship are mainly centred around sharing the findings and recommendations of my PhD dissertation. I will travel to Mexico and Honduras to carry out 15-20 follow-up interviews to update my data in the light of changes in government and Covid-19-related restrictions and, if necessary, amend my findings. I will then adapt the dissertation as the first ever book-length study on the security and protection of journalist-HRDs for a highly regarded academic publisher; I will also produce one article on the benefits and risks of journalists undertaking activism for their own cause for a top specialist academic journal, and another article for a more general audience. Throughout the year, I will give presentations both at relevant major international academic conferences and to non-academic audiences such as IGOs, policymakers, (I)NGOs, journalists and donors. I will collaborate with CFOM and the UNESCO Chair to help expand their networks/partnerships and potentially develop a collaborative funding proposal for future research. I will also undertake training to further develop my expertise and impact as a researcher.