About CJFE

About CJFE

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History of the Organization
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History of the Organization

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression was born in 1981, and parented initially by the Centre for Investigative Journalism (now the Canadian Association of Journalists). Many of the Centre's members were shocked at the life-threatening conditions for journalists working in Latin America during the early 1980s. From 1979 to 1981, some 150 journalists had been killed or disappeared while in the custody of security forces in the region. Moved to action by this violence against their southern counterparts, the CIJ agreed to form a special committee to campaign against the kidnapping, torture and murder of media workers throughout Latin America. It was thus that the CIJ Latin American Committee came into being.

Working groups were formed in several cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Ottawa. Each centre maintained files on violations of freedom of expression for different countries in the region, and a "Red Alert" network was set up to react to reports of attacks.
A few years later, the group changed its name to the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists and, with it, began to work in other parts of the world, not just Latin America.
The past few years have seen another name change - this time to reflect the larger free expression mandate of the organization - as well as a significant expansion of activities of CJFE both in Canada and internationally. Throughout all of the changes that the organization has undergone, it has always been committed to watching over regions of the world where journalists are assaulted, threatened, kidnapped and killed for reporting the news.

"These journalists - our colleagues - are trying to establish the same rights of free expression and press freedom that we so often take for granted. They are courageous people, and they deserve our support. Research shows time and time again that the intervention and support provided by groups such as CJFE does make an important difference."

- Nick Fillmore, CJFE Founding Director

One of the principal activities of CJFE is the management of the world's only freedom of expression clearinghouse, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). With the operation of the network as the centrepiece of its work, CJFE has since become a major player in the field of international advocacy in the area of free expression.