5 January 2005
IAPA HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS FOR PRESS FREEDOM
Press freedom made important strides in the Americas in 2004, highlighted by landmark court cases on criminal defamation and the adoption of access to information laws in two countries, observed the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) in its year-end message.
"This year there was greater awareness of freedom of expression and of the press in the Americas," says IAPA.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued two rulings that set important legal precedents for freedom of expression in the region.
In the cases of Costa Rican journalist Mauricio Herrera and former Paraguayan presidential candidate Ricardo Canese, both of whom were charged under criminal defamation laws in their countries after they criticised public officials, the regional court ruled that such laws violated the right to free expression guaranteed under the American Convention on Human Rights (see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61728/).
In other developments, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador adopted access to information laws, giving citizens the right to obtain information held by government departments and public bodies.
In Brazil, the National Congress passed an amendment to the Constitution that places crimes against humanity, including the murder of journalists, under federal jurisdiction.
However, 2004 was also marked by disturbing setbacks, says IAPA. Sixteen journalists were killed during the year, including Mexican editor Francisco Ortiz Franco, while 26 journalists remained imprisoned in Cuba.
In several countries, legal decisions altered the free flow of information and news, including "frightening" court decisions in the United States that have sought the arrest and imprisonment of journalists who refuse to reveal their sources of information, notes IAPA.
In Venezuela, a new media content law and reforms made to the Penal Code were enacted to "protect political leaders and make them immune to criticism."
IAPA says it plans to send delegations to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Haiti and the United States in the coming year to promote access to information and press freedom.
It will also expand its education campaign to raise public awareness of press freedom, provide safety training for journalists in hostile areas and continue to investigate unsolved crimes against journalists.
Visit:
- IAPA: http://www.sipiapa.org/
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/index_ing.html
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