21 January 2003
IAPA SENDS PRESS-FREEDOM DELEGATION
Press-freedom attacks in Colombia will be under the spotlight again this week as an Inter American Press Association (IAPA) delegation arrives in the country to meet with senior government leaders, including President Alvaro Uribe.
From 21 to 23 January, IAPA will meet with congressional leaders, cabinet officials and local press groups to voice concerns about attacks on journalists and about proposed laws it says would "damage press freedom." One of the laws calls for mandatory licensing of journalists.
The delegation will hold a press conference on 23 January to publicise its findings.
IAPA says 114 journalists in Colombia have been murdered in the last 14 years, most because of their work.
The IAPA mission is taking place weeks ahead of a conference of local and international press-freedom organisations which will address attacks against journalists and impunity.
Hosted by the Organisation of American States' Special Rapporteur on Free Expression and a coalition of Colombian organisations, including the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para libertad de prensa, FLIP), the conference will be held 19-20 March and focus on strategies and actions to address these problems.
IAPA and other IFEX members, including the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Journalists Against Corruption (Periodistas Frente a la corrupcion, PFC), will be attending. [See IFEX "Communiqu%26#233;" #12-2] ">http://communique.ifex.org/articles.cfm?system_id=5469">IFEX "Communiqué" #12-2]
Visit these links:
- IAPA's October 2002 Report on Colombia: www.sipiapa.com">http://www.sipiapa.com/pulications/report_colombia2003.cfm">www.sipiapa.com
- Report on Free Expression in Arauca: www.rsf.org">http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=4580">www.rsf.org
- Human Rights Watch 2003 Report: www.hrw.org">http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/americas4.html">www.hrw.org
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