Freedom of Expression
Principal Activities of the Office in 2002
1. Promotion and Dissemination Activities
The following are the principal promotion and dissemination activities carried out by the Office of the Special Rapporteur in 2002:
In February 2002 the Special Rapporteur-in-Charge, Dr. Santiago A. Canton, was invited to attend the Meeting on Freedom of Expression and The African Commission held in Cape Town, South Africa. The Rapporteur explained the mandate of his Office, its principal activities, and its contributions to the development of inter-American jurisprudence.
On April 22 and 23, 2002, the Special Rapporteur-in-Charge, Dr. Santiago A. Canton, and the Special Rapporteur-Elect, Dr. Eduardo A. Bertoni, traveled to Miami where they were invited to the meeting of the Inter-American Dialogue on “Advancing Democracy through Press Freedom in the Americas ”. This was the third meeting held in the framework of a joint project with the Office of the Special Rapporteur. Both explained to the participants at the meeting the current and projected activities of the Office of the Special Rapporteur. In November 2002, Special Rapporteur Bertoni participated in the presentation of the final report of the project in Washington, D.C.[1]. The central issue addressed was the importance of freedom of expression as an instrument for development.
Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur-in-Charge, Dr. Santiago A. Canton, took part as a panelist in the 20th Annual Journalists' and Editors' Workshop on Latin America and the Caribbean held in Miami, Florida, from April 25 to 27, 2002.
In July 2002, Special Rapporteur Bertoni was invited to a meeting organized by the McCormick Tribune Foundation in Chicago, USA. The Rapporteur gave a presentation on the challenges for the protection of freedom of expression in the Americas and the possibilities of the Office for confronting them.
In August 2002, the Special Rapporteur traveled to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, to take part in the conference of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) on Drug Trafficking: Journalists at Risk. At the meeting, the contribution of the inter-American system for protection of human rights to the protection of journalists through the issuance of precautionary measures was underscored.
Next, he traveled to Costa Rica to attend the 115th Special Session of the IACHR. During his stay in Costa Rica he had occasion to hold meetings with the Executive Director of ILANUD (UN Latin American Institute for Crime Prevention and the Treatment of Offenders) and with officials of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH). These meetings served to present the proposed activities of the Office of the Rapporteur in addition to those already underway.
On October 10, the Rapporteur was invited to attend the presentation of the Cabot Prizes awarded annually by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Also in October 2002, the Special Rapporteur traveled to Peru to attend the 58th General Assembly of the IAPA. He then traveled to Costa Rica to take part as a member of the educational staff in the Third Inter-American Course on Civil Society and Human Rights organized by the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights. During his stay in Costa Rica , the Rapporteur also gave a lecture at the UN University for Peace and an open conference on the state of freedom of expression in Latin America.
On November 6, 2002, the Rapporteur was invited to give a conference on Freedom of Speech in the Inter American System of Human Rights at Columbia University Law School, New York, sponsored by the university's Human Rights Institute.
Also in November 2002, the Special Rapporteur participated in the Regional Workshop-Seminar on Access to Information in Latin America organized by Article 19, where he gave a presentation on "The Importance of Laws on Access to Information in the Hemisphere."
Next he traveled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to attend the Writers in Prison Committee – 4th International Conference organized by the NGO International PEN. He gave two conferences at the event: the first, on protection of freedom of expression in the inter-American system; the second, on problems of impunity in murder cases.
In December 2002 the Office of the Special Rapporteur was invited to the Annual Meeting of the Three Rapporteurs of intergovernmental organizations, which was held in London. A declaration was issued at the end of the meeting, which is attached as an appendix to this report.
The Special Rapporteur also traveled to Argentina on December 11 and 12 to take part in the meeting on Access to Information in the Americas. The Rapporteur presided over the inauguration and closing of the event, where the importance of having a generally accepted instrument that brings together the fundamental principles that a law on access to information should contain was underscored.
2. Country visits
In February 2002 the Office of the Special Rapporteur took part in the visit of the IACHR to Venezuela, in order to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the situation of freedom of expression in that country.
On February 18 and 19, 2002, the Office of the Special Rapporteur visited Haiti with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the situation of human rights in that country.
In May 2002, the Commission conducted an on-site visit to Venezuela, in which Dr. Eduardo A. Bertoni took part as the Special Rapporteur-Elect for Freedom of Expression.
In August 2002, the Commission conducted an on-site visit to Haiti, and the Special Rapporteur also took part in it. He met with government officials and media representatives.
On December 16 and 17, he traveled to Chile to interview government officials and organizations devoted to freedom of expression in order to evaluate the situation of freedom of expression in that country.
3. Presentation to the Organs of the Organization of American States
On October, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Eduardo Bertoni, presented to the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs of the Permanent Council of the OAS a report in compliance with resolution AG/RES. 1894 (XXXII-O/02). The report is attached as an appendix.[2]
According to the official summary of the meeting of the Committee,[3] the Special Rapporteur, gave an overview of the current status of the topic of freedom of thought and expression in the Americas, with emphasis on the following:
The inconsistency between some provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights and the domestic law of states;
The inconsistency between the exercise of freedom of expression and censorship with the threat of criminal punishment;
The obligation of states to protect the right of access to public information;
Contributions made by the exercise of freedom of thought and expression to the fight against corruption (in favor of strengthening democracies).
In conclusion, the Special Rapporteur clarified that his Office was not interested exclusively in the rights of journalists in the Americas but in the rights of all vulnerable groups in this regard, including human rights defenders. The complete text of his presentation may be found in document CP/CAJP-1972/02.
The delegations thanked Dr. Bertoni for his presentation and made the following comments:
They expressed their appreciation and respect for the work of the IACHR, and especially the Special Rapporteur, in that area.
They underscored the importance of continuing this type of dialogue between the CAJP and the IACHR.
They asked the IACHR to provide advice to member states promoting change in their domestic laws to make them reflect commitments made in this field at the international level (including the Third Summit of the Americas).
Further, they insisted on the need to harmonize the efforts of the organs of the inter-American system to protect the right to freedom of thought and expression.
They agreed that freedom of expression was important as a basis for the exercise of other freedoms of citizens.
In their statements, they expressed the following:
They recognized the importance of advocating such ideas as the responsibility assumed by the media for the information they publish rather than the establishment of government mechanisms for prior censorship.
They said that governments must protect the victims of violations of the right to freedom of expression, help those living in terror for the same reasons, and lastly take action to prevent those situations.
Other delegations were of the view that the states had made the international commitment to protect the right of freedom of expression and that they were therefore solely responsible for preventing violations thereof and promoting its respect.
The delegation of Venezuela asked to have the official text of its statement distributed. It would be submitted for publication as a Committee document.
The proposals made by the delegation of Venezuela on that topic follow:
That the CAJP continue to exchange views on the matter with the IACHR;
That the IACHR consider how to develop a mechanism for correlating duties and rights in the area of freedom of expression, taking into account Articles 13, 1, 2, 11, 14, 24, 29, and 32 of the American Convention on Human Rights; and
That the mandate issued by the Third Summit of the Americas be carried out with regard to self-regulation of the media, including rules of ethical conduct, with activities conducted with the media themselves.
In concluding its statement, the delegation of Venezuela showed the Committee a video of some of the events of April 11, 2002, in the city of Caracas.
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[1] See http://www.thedialogue.org/programs/policy/politics_and_institutions/press_freedom.asp
[2] OEA/Ser.G. CP/CAJP-1972, 19 September 2002, Original: Spanish.
[3] OEA/Ser.G CP/CAJP/SA.382/02 16 October 2002 Original: Spanish