SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION FOR AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS APPROVED A JOINT DECLARATION
Washington, D.C., March 4, 2005. The recently appointed Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression for the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), Commissioner Andrew Chigovera, made an official visit to the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS), Mr. Eduardo Bertoni, during the week of February 28 through March 4, 2005. The visit was an opportunity for the two defenders of freedom of expression to discuss common problems facing freedom of expression in both Africa and the Americas, consider ways in which the two mandates can cooperate to address some of these problems, and exchange information about strategies to carry out their individual mandates.
At the conclusion of the visit, the two Rapporteurs approved a joint declaration addressing some of the issues they discussed during their meetings. Specifically, the Declaration reaffirms the importance of freedom of expression in a democracy and expresses concern about the many threats to freedom of expression in both regions. The Declaration notes that reprisals against journalists and others who report critically on matters of public interest are common in both regions. In some cases, such reprisals take the form of threats or physical aggression, including murder, against journalists, media workers and human rights defenders. In other cases, reprisals are carried out through the legal system, by applying laws such as criminal defamation laws with the intent to suppress criticism. The Declaration also highlights the importance of plurality in sources of information as an essential component of freedom of expression and observes that "[s]tate control of media, as well as laws and practices that permit monopolies in ownership of media companies, limit plurality and prevent the public from hearing certain points of view."