PARIS, May 6, 2026 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) was elected on Wednesday as the first vice president of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) at the Federation’s Centenary World Congress in Paris.
PJS President Naser Abu Baker, who attended the IFJ’s congress, hailed the election of the PJS to this position as a culmination of the efforts of the Palestinian delegation participating in the IFJ’s congress, which featured extensive discussions on the conditions of journalists in conflict zones and ways to strengthen international protection for media workers, in addition to issues of press freedom and international union solidarity.
Abu Bakr affirmed that Palestine’s re-election to the position reflects renewed international confidence in the PJS’s role and strengthens its presence within global union frameworks, while noting that this achievement will help amplify Palestinian journalists’ voice in international forums and push for increased pressure to ensure their protection and hold perpetrators of violations accountable, particularly amid the rising targeting of journalists in the Palestinian Territory.
Zuliana Lainez Otero, a Peruvian journalist and the president of the Asociación Nacional de Periodistas del Perú (ANP), was elected president of the IFJ.
Otero is also the vice president of the Federation of Journalists of Latin America and the Caribbean (FePALC) and a former senior vice president of the IFJ.
According to an IFJ press statement, the newly elected IFJ President Otero, said: “We are in a challenging period for journalism around the world. In recent years, we have seen a staggering number of journalists killed in Palestine, Ukraine, Lebanon, Sudan and Latin America, which is unprecedented in history. The levels of impunity for these crimes are also unprecedented. As a global organisation, it is our duty to ensure that these crimes are prosecuted in international courts.”
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