Freedom of Expression
Press Release 182/07
PRESS RELEASE
PREN 182/07
EVALUATION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2007: OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDIA AND ANTI-PLURALISM MEASURES
Washington, D.C., October 29, 2007— The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses its concern regarding persistent violence against members of the media in an attempt to silence them. This has been reflected in the murders of at least five journalists and the disappearance of two reporters, as well as in dozens of assaults and threats made against journalists and media outlets between April 1 and June 30 of this year.
At least five members of the communications media were murdered during this period, for motives that might be linked to the exercise of their right to freedom of expression: television correspondent Amado Ramírez and journalist Saúl Martínez Ortega, both in Mexico; radio producer Mario López Sánchez, in Guatemala; reporter Luiz Carlos Barom Filho, in Brazil; and in Haiti, radio announcer and director Alix Joseph. Meanwhile, in
The Office of the Special Rapporteur urges the States to ensure that the aforementioned homicides and disappearances are investigated and motives are determined, including whether or not they were related to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. These human rights violations must not remain unpunished. The Office of the Special Rapporteur also urges the States to take the necessary measures to prevent the violation of the rights of those who have been assaulted or threatened; to adopt any protection measures that they may request; and to investigate these acts in order to bring to justice those who are responsible.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur calls special attention to the situation in
On another matter, the Office of the Special Rapporteur expresses its concern over measures taken against pluralism, which is a fundamental element of freedom of expression and democracy. The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Ignacio J. Alvarez, indicated: "Pluralism requires that different opinions are able to be expressed through different communications media and that these can reach the greatest possible numbers of end users. Democracy requires the free debate of ideas and opinions, even when these are unwelcome or displease the government." He added that "an informed opinionated public constitutes an important means for democratic control of governments."
The States party to the American Convention on Human Rights must fulfill their international obligations in the area of freedom of expression, which include refraining from actions that could affect pluralism as well as adopting positive actions to guarantee it. One situation that affects pluralism is media ownership concentration and monopolies, whether public or private. In that respect, Special Rapporteur Ignacio J. Alvarez, noted: "It would be troubling if other countries of the region were to have the same situation that is currently taking place in
The Office of the Rapporteur considers it important that States adopt measures such as putting into effect antimonopoly laws related to ownership and control of the communications media[1]; adopting legislation establishing an open, public and transparent process to assign radioelectric frequencies; and granting jurisdiction to independent bodies to adopt decisions on this issue.
In the period under examination, progress in regards to pluralism was seen in the region, such us the decision by Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice declaring unconstitutional provisions of the Radio and Television Law that affected pluralism, as well as the approval by Uruguay’s Chamber of Deputies of draft legislation that includes provisions to award frequencies through an open, transparent process, and advances related to community radios.
However, the Office of the Special Rapporteur notes with concern that under the pretext of fostering pluralism, government authority has been utilized in countries of the region to try to silence media who are critical of the government. Such a distorted and abusive use of government authority occurs through threats as well as through arbitrary and discriminatory decisions regarding the administration of television and radio frequencies, and also through more subtle means which nevertheless have the same purpose, such as the allocation of official advertising as a reward or punishment for the media outlet’s editorial stance; criminal and administrative measures taken against journalists and media outlets; verbal disparagement and incitement to violence against journalists; and discrimination in terms of access to information and to official sources.
This quarterly statement, based on the Office of the Special Rapporteur’s daily monitoring of the situation of freedom of expression in the region, seeks to highlight both concerns and positive developments in the area of freedom of expression, with the goal of helping to promote corrective measures that may be appropriate for freedom of thought and expression to have greater effect. Based on the information received in the second quarter of 2007, detailed in the annex to this press release, the Special Rapporteur underscores the following:
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression notes that a court ordered the cessation of broadcasts by the Channel 7 local relay transmitter in the city of
A presidential decree regulating the provision of telecommunications services in rural areas establishes that none of the three branches of governments may operate community radio broadcasting stations, nor may leaders or representatives at any level of political parties or voter groups, trade unions or chambers of commerce, priests, ministers or any church representatives of any faith, cult or sect. The same decree indicates that these community radio broadcasters should refrain from transmitting partisan or proselytizing messages of any kind.
Nevertheless, these provisions do not apply to some thirty recently created community radio stations because these fall under an exception for cultural and educational media, which appears to produce an inequality in legal treatment for these types of broadcasting stations.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur again deplores the murder of the journalist Luiz Carlos Barbom Filho, in the city of
The Office of the Special Rapporteur expresses its concern regarding the number of assaults perpetrated against journalists in the course of their work which for the most part have been attributed to police or military personnel. On another matter, the Office of the Special Rapporteur finds it worrisome that reporters continue to receive threats for their investigative journalism to the point where some members of the media had to abandon their homes or consider leaving the country.
One journalist was arrested and sentenced on the same day to four years in prison for "pre-criminal social danger," a provision in the country’s Criminal Code under which a citizen can go to prison for the supposed threat that person represents to society, even if he or she has not committed a crime. Another journalist was freed on May 9, 2007, after having been arrested in July 2005 during an antigovernment demonstration. The Office of the Special Rapporteur reiterates its concern over the systematic, ongoing lack of respect for freedom of thought and expression in
The Office of the Special Rapporteur expresses its concern regarding a so-called desacato complaint brought by the president of
Freelance journalist Josh Wolf was freed on April 3, 2007, after spending more than 200 days in prison for not wishing to reveal the identity of his sources. Additionally, a group of journalists was attacked by police agents while covering a demonstration in the city of
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression urges the State of Guatemala to investigate the murder of radio producer Mario López Sánchez, who was ambushed and riddled with bullets by three unknown individuals on May 3, 2007. It also urges the authorities to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, and to determine if the reason for the murder was related to the victim’s journalistic activity.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur once again repudiates the murder of the Radio Provinciale director and announcer Alix Joseph, who received at least 11 gunshot wounds on May 16, 2007. It urges the government of
In May 2007, the president of
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression perceives as positive the June 2007 decision of the Supreme Court of Justice declaring unconstitutional articles of the Radio and Television Law that affected pluralism. It also notes as an extremely positive development the fact that the government has put into effect at the federal level the decriminalization of the crimes of defamation and slander, making
However, the Office of the Rapporteur reiterates its alarm over the violence to which many members of the media have been subjected to in
The Office of the Special Rapporteur views as troubling the number of threats received by members of the media, some of which are alleged to have been made by State agents. As an example, two radio journalists reported that they were threatened by agents of the National Anti-Drug Secretariat and that their telephones were tapped.
The high number of assaults and threats against the media reported during the second quarter continue to concern the Office of the Rapporteur, as do the judicial proceedings underway against journalists for articles they have written. The Office of the Rapporteur would also like to call attention to the order that came from State officials to remove drawings by cartoonist Piero Quijano from an exhibition. It notes as a reminder that Principle 5 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression states that prior censorship or direct or indirect interference in or pressure on any type of expression, opinion or information transmitted by any means of oral, written, artistic, visual or electronic communication violates the right to freedom of expression and must be prohibited by law.
The Office of the Rapporteur perceives as positive the sentencing of those responsible for the murders of two journalists, one 32 years ago and the other in 2004. Still, the Office of the Rapporteur is concerned about reports of threats received by members of the media.
The approval by
The government carried out its decision not to renew the concession of Radio Caracas Televisión to broadcast on public airwaves; in addition, on May 25, 2007, the Supreme Court of Justice, through a precautionary measure, granted a new public television channel the use of RCTV’s equipment without any payment whatsoever. Furthermore, on May 27, 2007, the TV concessions of the Venezolana de Televisión and Venevisión channels expired and were renewed by the government with no explanation of the reasons for the difference in treatment given to those stations and to RCTV. [2] The Office of the Rapporteur also expresses its unease regarding different statements made by members of the media indicating that they have been subject to threats, assaults and prior censorship, and regarding legal processes against journalists that were initiated during the second quarter by public officials.
Sources:
The sources taken into account in the preparation of this document are cited in the attached chart. Where available, the direct link to the respective source has been included to facilitate access to more complete information.
States, civil society organizations, the academic sector and individuals are invited to present information to the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of freedom of thought and expression, both as it relates to journalism as well as in other areas, by writing to [email protected].
Please direct questions and requests for interviews to the Office of the Rapporteur’s press and communications coordinator, Leticia Linn, (202) 458-3796 ([email protected]).
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression was created in 1997 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. For more information on the Office of the Special Rapporteur: www.cidh.org/relatoria.
[1] The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expresión, approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in its Principle 12 says: "Monopolies or oligopolies in the ownership and control of the communication media must be subject to anti-trust laws, as they conspire against democracy by limiting the plurality and diversity which ensure the full exercise of people’s right to information. In no case should such laws apply exclusively to the media".
[2] Statements of the Office the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression regarding RCTV may be consulted at:
1) Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Note to the Ministry of Foreign Relations on July 6, 2006, reviewed in Diario El Universal, Caracas, Relatoría de la OEA advirtió sobre amenaza de revocar concesiones, July 7, 2006, available at: http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2006/07/08/pol_ava_08A741085.shtml, and Ministry of Foreign Relations, Comunicado del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela sobre la Nota Emanada el 06 de Julio de 2006 de la Relatoría Especial para la Libertad de Expresión de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Caracas, July 8, 2006, available at: http://buscador.eluniversal.com/2006/07/07/pol_art_07105B.shtml.
2) Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Press Release 144/06, The State of Freedom of Expression in the Region (April – June 2006), July 7, 2006, available at: http://www.cidh.org/relatoria/showarticle.asp?artID=669&lID=1.
3) Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Press Release 161/06, Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression expresses concern over the situation of Radio
4) Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Press Release 162/07, Evaluation of the freedom of expression on the last quarter of 2006: The Special Rapporteur expresses concern for vulnerability of journalists in the region, January 29, 2007, available at: http://www.cidh.org/relatoria/showarticle.asp?artID=689&LID=1.
5) Interview with the Special Rapporteur, Ignacio J. Alvarez at newspaper El Universal, "Se atenta contra la Libertad de expresión", 27 de mayo de 2007, available en: http://www.eluniversal.com/2007/05/27/pol_art_se-atenta-contra-la_300126.shtml