MEXICO CITY.-(EFE) The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, inaugurated here a mural advocating this right in Mexico, a country where attacks on reporters have increased in recent years.

The work was created by five young people and three journalists with the aim of showing - through its bright colors, figures and symbols - the different forms of expression.

"It's an example of the different forms by which the press and the country's youth can and should express themselves in Mexico," said La Rue at the unveiling of the work, which is on the side of a U.N. office in the capital.

Figures collected by the Foundation for Freedom of Expression show that from 2000 to date there have been 52 murders of journalists in Mexico, five of them this year.

"I think it's good to talk about protection of journalists because their function, in terms of investigation and publication, can be risky in Mexico, (which is) acknowledged as one of the countries with the highest indices of violence ... and there are many uninvestigated incidents," the U.N. official said Monday.

La Rue also reported that next year he will make an official visit to Mexico to give continuity to the investigations into the murder cases.

He also said he regretted that in Mexico acts of violence against reporters continue to remain unpunished, and he said that journalism in Mexico is "a high-risk profession," adding that "the violation of the human rights of communicators is in an upward trend and there are no guarantees" when doing journalistic work. EFE