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

来自俄罗斯和菲律宾的两名记者获得2021年诺贝尔和平奖，以表彰他们在日益增加的镇压和攻击中自由、独立和基于事实的报道（NYT, 2021），这是国际社会认识到反新闻暴力和记者对社会的重要性的最新迹象，因此，保护他们。自20世纪90年代末以来，这些问题在联合国和区域一级受到了重大关注，特别是自2012年联合国关于记者安全和有罪不罚问题的行动计划（UNPA） （UN, 2012）以来。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，甚至受到质疑，而针对记者的袭击和威胁继续增加，而且基本上没有得到制止。在许多国家，暴力并不是平等地影响所有记者，而是主要针对报道敏感话题的独立和调查性记者，如侵犯人权、腐败和有组织犯罪集团（Waisbord, 2002）。这些记者也可能被视为人权捍卫者，即使他们不认为自己是。大多数袭击没有得到充分调查，甚至没有受到惩罚（UNESCO, 2020； Heyns和Srinivasan, 2013； IACHR, 2013）。在这种有罪不罚的情况下——肇事者不承担法律后果——记者如何在努力继续工作的同时保护自己的安全并为攻击寻求正义？我的博士论文提供了一个定性的、比较的、自下而上的研究，在墨西哥和洪都拉斯这两个拉丁美洲国家，记者如何应对针对记者的暴力不受惩罚的问题，这一问题——就像一般侵犯人权的不受惩罚一样——尤其普遍。2007年至2016年，我为非政府组织国际笔会（PEN International）在拉丁美洲和非洲开展了支持面临风险记者的研究和倡导活动，这是我的灵感来源。通过对这些国家的记者和保护行为者（支持处于危险中的记者的组织）的67次深入采访，我表明，虽然记者经常在国内和国际层面寻求国家的正义和保护，通常是在(I)非政府组织的帮助下，这只是故事的一部分。另一部分，经常被忽视的是自我保护。虽然以国家为导向的寻求正义和保护的方法有一些好处，也是问责制的必要条件，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自我保护的关键因素。我认为，自我保护广泛存在，对记者的安全至关重要，尽管存在风险，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。奖学金的活动主要集中在分享我的博士论文的发现和建议。我将前往墨西哥和洪都拉斯进行15-20次后续访谈，根据政府的变化和与covid -19相关的限制更新我的数据，并在必要时修改我的调查结果。然后，我将把这篇论文改编成有史以来第一篇关于记者人权捍卫者的安全和保护的书式研究，为一家备受尊敬的学术出版商撰写；我还将为一份顶级专业学术期刊撰写一篇关于记者为自己的事业开展行动主义的好处和风险的文章，另一篇则面向更普通的读者。在这一年中，我将在相关的主要国际学术会议上发表演讲，并向非政府组织、政策制定者、非政府组织、记者和捐助者等非学术听众发表演讲。我将与论坛和教科文组织主席合作，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资助提案。我还将接受培训，以进一步发展我作为研究人员的专业知识和影响力。

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.