Jonathan Bock, New Executive Director of FLIP

Fernando Ramírez and Vivian Newman, president and vice president of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Press Freedom, are pleased to share with you the appointment of Jonathan Bock Ruiz as the new executive director of FLIP. We also congratulate Pedro Vaca, who leaves his position as director to assume the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.

On September 15, the IACHR announced the appointment of Pedro Vaca Villarreal as Rapporteur, and mentioned that it took this decision “based on the professional qualities and experience of the candidate, taking into particular consideration his technical capacity, leadership, and ability to work effectively with States, civil society organizations, and other actors in the Inter-American Human Rights System”.

We are infinitely grateful to Pedro for these ten years of hard work. This new path is a clear reflection of his capabilities and dedication in defending freedoms. Because of his tireless work, FLIP grew up in its work team and expanded its mission. First, as a legal adviser, he litigated cases relevant to the guarantee of press freedom in Colombia, and for the search for justice in profoundly serious human rights violations. In 2013 he assumed the executive direction of FLIP, and since then he had not stopped on the search for guarantees for the journalistic activity in the country and justice for the families of victims.

Since FLIP is a user of the Inter-American Human Rights System, in the coming month, together with the outgoing director, we will make public the potential or apparent conflicts of interest both in the period of the new Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, as that of FLIP.

After his appointment as Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, the Board of Directors of FLIP met, and unanimously elected Jonathan Bock Ruiz as the new executive director of the Foundation. Jonathan was serving as deputy director.

This decision was made after evaluating Jonathan's high capacity to take office. Jonathan is a journalist, and holds a master's degree in international relations and journalism from Universidad Complutense of Madrid. He has worked for more than 15 years as a journalist, researcher and columnist for various media outlets. 

In 2012, Jonathan joined FLIP as protection adviser, and from that position he promoted several initiatives to prevent and address violence against journalists in the country. Later, in 2015, he led the Center for Freedom of Speech Studies, from where he promoted projects such as Information Cartography, Visible Advertisement and Consonante Journalism Lab. In addition, Jonathan had already served as executive director in charge during the periods when Pedro was absent for developing academic activities.

We are fully confident that Jonathan will work in favor of press freedom in Colombia, and that his capabilities will reveal new paths for FLIP. We are convinced that Pedro and Jonathan will work hard for freedom of the press in the region and in the country, each from different places and with the same conviction: Freedom of speech is indispensable for democracies.