This year, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize was awarded to a historic media outlet from Nicaragua, La Prensa – El Diario de los Nicaragüenses (The Newspaper of the Nicaraguans), founded in 1926. Since 2021, following the imprisonment and expulsion of its leaders from the country as well as the confiscation of its assets, La Prensa has continued to inform the Nicaraguan population online, with most of its team in exile and operating from Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico, Germany, and the United States.
The value of human rights awards was once again demonstrated by the reaction of the Nicaraguan Government which withdrew from the UN cultural body. The Nicaraguan authorities justified their decision by denouncing the award as the “diabolical expression of a traitorous anti-patriotic sentiment” of La Prensa, which they accuse of promoting “military and political interventions by the United States in Nicaragua.” The Nicaraguan government denounced UNESCO’s decision, saying it gives prominence to “the traitors, slaves and lackeys of colonialism and imperialism,” adding the organization “totally abandons any sense of objectivity.
About the award: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/8F8DB978-CD89-4CFB-1C26-D5FEE5D54855
UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay said on Sunday that she “regrets” the country’s decision, adding that it would “deprive the people of Nicaragua of the benefits of cooperation, particularly in the fields of education and culture.” The organization is “fully within its mandate” of defending freedom of expression and freedom of the press, Azoulay said.
https://www.dw.com/en/nicaragua-leaves-unesco-after-exiled-newspaper-wins-award/a-72431357
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.