The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) are to join forces to together fight crimes against journalists and violence reigning in Mexico, staging an international mission here on September 22 and 23 in which the leaders of the two organizations will meet with Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón and other federal officials of the executive and legislative branches of government.

The two organizations will have a busy work day on the issue of press freedom at the Casa Lamm Cultural Center, where in a number of panel discussions participants will present their views, analyses and suggestions regarding legal reforms needed in Mexico to combat violence and impunity, as well as the need for creation of an effective system of protecting and safeguarding news media and journalists coming under attack.

So far this year nine Mexican journalists have been murdered and another eight have gone missing.

The CPJ’s Mexico focus will be in a work titled “Silence or death in the Mexican press: Crimes, violence and corruption are destroying the country’s journalism.”

For its part the IAPA will present its report headed “Geography of Risks,” an investigation carried out by its Rapid Response Unit (RRU) containing an updated map of the most dangerous places to work as a journalist in Mexico.

On September 24 the IAPA mission will travel to the northern Mexico city of Monterrey in Nuevo León state, where it will host a forum with local editors and publishers to look into the latest acts of violence occurring in that border region.