Special Rapporteurship publishes thematic report on the exile of journalists in the Americas

May 19, 2025

Washington D.C. - The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) releases its thematic report “Exile of Journalists and Freedom of Expression”, a document that examines the rising number of journalists across the Americas forced to leave their countries of origin, as well as the causes, challenges and democratic implications of this phenomenon.

The Office of the Special Rapporteur notes with concern the significant increase in journalists forced into exile in the Americas during the period 2019-2024 due to political persecution, widespread violence and impunity. This trend has been particularly acute in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, where factors such as the systematic weakening of democratic institutions, the instrumentalization of the judicial system and targeted violence against the press have driven hundreds of journalists out of their countries.

The exile of journalists is a form of censorship aimed at silencing critical voices and deprive societies of their right to be informed. It constitutes a human rights violation that transcends individual harm, undermining the social dimension of freedom of expression by hindering access to information of public interest and weakening democratic debate and informational pluralism.

The SRFOE identifies two primary drivers of the forced exile of journalists: on the one hand, the closure of civic spaces through the instrumentalization of the legal system to criminalize journalism, using charges such as threats to national security, defamation and financial crimes, among others; and on the other hand, generalized violence, exacerbated by impunity and the ineffectiveness of protection mechanisms for communicators.

The report details the multiple challenges exiled journalists face, including administrative and bureaucratic barriers to migratory regularization, physical and digital security risks that transcend borders, psychosocial and economic tolls of displacement, and limitations to the sustainability of the media and the continuity of journalistic work. The Rapporteurship warns about the differentiated impacts that exile has on women journalists, who face additional obstacles stemming from structural discrimination and gender-based violence.

The report also develops the international legal framework for protecting exiled journalists, analyzing the complementarity between international human rights law and international refugee law. It examines in detail the obligations of States in terms of protection and the guarantees necessary to ensure the exercise of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, the right of movement and residence, the right to seek and receive asylum, and access to justice, among others.

Based on this analysis, the Rapporteurship issues concrete recommendations to OAS Member States. These include adopting special emergency humanitarian visa programs for journalists at risk and their families, with simplified application procedures and flexible documentation criteria; and recognizing persecution for journalistic work as grounds for granting international protection, incorporating into their regulatory frameworks the specific risks faced by journalists and their families.

The SRFOE is confident that this report will contribute to raising awareness of the phenomenon of journalists’ forced exile in the region and serve as a guide for OAS Member States and the international community in adopting effective measures to protect journalists at risk and safeguard freedom of expression.

To access the full report, please click

The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to encourage the hemispheric defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression, considering its fundamental role in the consolidation and development of the democratic system.

No. R105/25

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