27 April 2005
DEFAMATION LAWS, ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS THREATEN FREE EXPRESSION: OAS EXPERT
Violent attacks against journalists and criminal defamation laws in the Americas continue to pose a threat to freedom of expression in the region, says a new report by the Organization of American States' (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression.
In 2004, 11 journalists were killed because of their work in the Americas, four more than in 2003, according to the report, published by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Mexico led all countries with the most murders - three - while Brazil, Nicaragua and Peru each registered two killings.
In the case of Mexico, the journalists were killed for reporting on organised crime (see:
http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/showarticle.asp?artID=426&lID=1).
Special Rapporteur Eduardo Bertoni says judicial actions in many countries, including the use of criminal defamation and insult ("desacato") laws also cast a chilling effect on freedom of expression. "Criminal proceedings against those who criticise matters of public interest, whether by using laws on desacato, or those on slander, libel, or criminal defamation, persist in the hemisphere," says Bertoni.
Many countries still have these laws, including Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Grenada, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
On a positive note, Bertoni says major progress was made in some countries to decriminalise "desacato" and defamation offences. Honduras' Supreme Court ruled in favour of abolishing the country's "desacato" law while a new government in Panama introduced a bill to eliminate the crime of insult from the statutes.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights also made two important judgments on criminal defamation laws last year, ruling that such laws in Costa Rica and Paraguay violated the American Convention on Human Rights (see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61727/).
Bertoni's report includes a survey of access to information in 24 countries, an assessment of media concentration and a legal analysis of hate speech in the context of the American Convention on Human Rights.
Bertoni is visiting Colombia this week to assess the state of free expression in the conflict-ridden country. He will be meeting with government officials, journalists and civil society representatives in various regions, including Arauca.
To read the Rapporteur's report, visit: http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/docListCat.asp?catID=39&lID=1
For more information about the work of the Rapporteur, visit:
- OAS Rapporteur: http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/showarticle.asp?artID=52&lID=1
- IACHR: http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/2004eng/toc.htm
- OAS: http://www.oas.org/main/english/
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