The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders global media freedom watchdog has announced that it is deeply saddened by the death of its secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, following a battle with cancer. He was 53.
Christophe Deloire, who died last Saturday, had held the post since 2012 and for 12 years transformed the association, marked by renewed growth and impact, into a global champion for the defence of journalism.
Founding president of the Forum on Information and Democracy since 2018 and appointed general delegate of the États Généraux de l’Information in 2023, Christophe Deloire was a tireless defender, on every continent, of the freedom, independence and pluralism of journalism, in a context of information chaos.
Journalism was his life’s struggle, which he fought with unshakeable conviction, said RSF in a statement.
Many of those media freedom defenders working in the Asia-Pacific region, including Pacific Media Watch, met him at a regional collaboration in Paris in 2018.
Under Deloire’s leadership, RSF had stepped up advocacy for media freedom in the Pacific.
Pacific Media Watch joins Reporters Without Borders in extending its deepest condolences to Deloire’s wife Perrine, his son Nathan, his parents, and all those close to him.
For Pierre Haski, chairman of RSF’s board of directors, said: “Christophe Deloire led the organisation at a crucial time for the right to information.
“His contribution to defending this fundamental right has been considerable. The board of directors shares in the grief of his family and friends.”
