(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 16 December 2005 IAPA press release: December 16, 2005 YEAR-END MESSAGE FROM IAPA PRESIDENT Dear Colleagues and Friends of IAPA: As 2005 comes to a close, I thought it would be worth reviewing the accomplishments of the year, together with the work that has yet to be done. Although […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 16 December 2005 IAPA press release:
December 16, 2005
YEAR-END MESSAGE FROM IAPA PRESIDENT
Dear Colleagues and Friends of IAPA:
As 2005 comes to a close, I thought it would be worth reviewing the accomplishments of the year, together with the work that has yet to be done.
Although desacato laws remain on the books of a number of countries in the hemisphere, we are delighted that this past year has seen the repeal of insult laws in Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.
Since the drafting of the Declaration of Chapultepec in 1994, IAPA has been promoting the democratic process by engaging citizens in the area of public information. We are doing this by holding meetings and dialogues with members of the judicial and the legislative branches of government in various countries. Early in November 2005, we held a session in Argentina and had high hopes that a law on access to public records would be passed. Unfortunately, the National Congress failed to pass such a law, but our expectations are that a new bill, with popular support, will be taken up again by the Argentine Congress in 2006.
An area of ongoing concern remains the violence unleashed against journalists and the news media. In recent months, drug traffickers have had a profound effect on the media and journalists on the Mexico-United States border. In Mexico three journalists have been killed and others have disappeared this year. A total of 10 journalists have been murdered in Latin America in 2005.
The violence against journalists comes not only from gangs and drug traffickers, but also from corrupt elements at all levels of government in a number of countries, especially in the rural areas of Peru and Brazil. One way of confronting this form of violence has been through a constant presence and ongoing action before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. For example, this past October, with the intercession of the IACHR, the government of Colombia and IAPA pledged to work together towards an agreement to bring justice in the case of journalist Nelson Carvajal Carvajal, murdered on April 16, 1998.
We have also been working to get laws enacted that will ensure that crimes against journalists are automatically dealt with by federal authorities to ensure greater transparency in the investigation. This year the governments of the Baja California and Chihuahua states in Mexico and the Mexican Foreign Ministry reviewed files in two cases we continue to investigate.
IAPA is helping to attack violence against journalists not only at the governmental level but also through education. During the course of the year, we held seminars in Haiti, Honduras and Mexico, and training courses for Brazilians and Mexican reporters who work in dangerous situations.
Through the IAPA Press Institute, we train not only journalists but also news media executives, photographers and managers. This coming year we will continue forging alliances with leading international press organizations and educational institutions and we hope to undertake more activities with the Investigative Reporting Institute.
Our work for freedom of the press remains as important today as when this organization was founded more than 60 years ago. In 2005 we witnessed the growing instability of the political processes in Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti and Honduras. Twenty-five independent journalists remain in prison in Cuba and there is a renewed intransigency on the part of the Cuban government, limiting even further the free flow of information. No less regrettable are the actions of the Venezuelan government, which in recent months has enacted laws that stiffen the penalties in situations where journalists and the media criticize the government.
We had two outstanding meetings this year in Panama and Indianapolis and our thanks goes out to the host committees of those two venues who helped ensure their success programmatically and financially. Especially important was the program prepared by the new Electronic Media Committee at the Indianapolis General Assembly. And, with the growing importance of electronic media in all our lives, we can expect to see more on this subject at our meetings in the future.
During 2005, many of you worked hard to bring in new members and in December we had a very productive meeting in Brazil to work on strengthening the ties between IAPA and ANJ [National Newspaper Association, Asociación Nacional de Jornais, ANJ].
Similarly, we cannot fail to mention the support that the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation have provided over the years, supporting freedom of the press initiatives in the Americas, combating the impunity surrounding crimes against journalists and promoting the Declaration of Chapultepec, as well as the continued support from The Freedom Forum and Scripps Howard Foundation. We could not have accomplished what we have without the backing of these organizations.
This November the World Summit of the Information Society concluded in Tunis its Phase II, which dealt with the important but controversial topic of governance of the Internet. The discussions on the strategy to be implemented and the Society’s Plan of Action will continue throughout 2006. An important objective was achieved with the inclusion in the final version of the Tunis Commitment of the following text: “freedom of expression and the free flow of information, ideas and knowledge are essential to the Information Society and to development”, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. IAPA worked closely with the Global Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations to accomplish this and many other actions on behalf of freedom of the press worldwide.
I would like to also take this time to remember the work of our staff, without whom none of what was accomplished this year would have happened. This year we welcomed Sally Zamudio, the new Chapultepec coordinator, and Carlos Fernandez, IAPA’s chief financial advisor.
Lastly, I would like to thank each of you. IAPA’s successes are your successes and this organization could not exist without you. I am grateful for all the support I have received from you as I take on the responsibilities of being President of this organization. I look forward to working with you in 2006 on the many issues that still confront freedom of the press in the Americas.
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and a joyous 2006.
Diana Daniels
IAPA President
