(WPFC/IFEX) – The following is a 12 June 2006 WPFC letter to President Alfredo Palacios: June 12, 2006 His Excellency Dr. Alfredo Palacios President of the Republic of Ecuador Presidential Palace Quito, Ecuador Your Excellency: On behalf of the World Press Freedom Committee ( http://www.wpfc.org ) – an organization representing 45 press freedom groups from […]
(WPFC/IFEX) – The following is a 12 June 2006 WPFC letter to President Alfredo Palacios:
June 12, 2006
His Excellency Dr. Alfredo Palacios
President of the Republic of Ecuador
Presidential Palace
Quito, Ecuador
Your Excellency:
On behalf of the World Press Freedom Committee ( http://www.wpfc.org ) – an organization representing 45 press freedom groups from six continents – I urge you to begin the necessary legislating process in order to eliminate the pernicious insult laws, censoring tools public officials use to shield themselves from the scrutiny of the rest of the citizens.
Ecuadorian legislation contains five of these laws – articles 128, 230, 231, 232 and 233 of the Criminal Code – which act as effective intimidating weapons against the press by threatening any journalist with imprisonment because of the mere fact of trying to fulfill his or her duty to keep the public informed.
By virtue of these laws, practically any Ecuadorian public official who feels insulted by press reports or commentary can invoke them and inflict severe imprisonment of economic punishment. These statutes are holdovers from colonial or autocratic eras, whose origins date back to the Roman Empire, which created them in order to shield the emperor from criticism from the rest of the public.
Insult laws constitute a challenge to the Inter-American justice system, which, through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, has declared insult laws “contradictory” to Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, of which Ecuador is a signatory.
After his recent visit to Ecuador to advocate for the elimination of insult laws, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression Dr. Ignacio Alvarez expressed his hopes that you, Mr. President, and the other State agencies empowered to do so, such as the Congressional Human Rights Committee, the Supreme Court, the Public Defender, and the Minister of Foreign Relations’ Office of Human Rights, would take the necessary steps for this elimination process to begin promptly.
Dr. Alvarez also emphasized Principle 11 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, which states: “Public officials are subject to greater scrutiny by society. Laws that penalize offensive expressions directed at public officials, generally known as ‘desacato laws,’ restrict freedom of expression and the right to information.”
After the Inter-American Commission recommended it in 1994, only six Latin American nations have completely eliminated their insult laws, Argentina, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Paraguay and Peru.
We urge you and the other Ecuadorian state agencies to eliminate these five laws thus placing Ecuador at the vanguard of countries respectful of a free and independent press, an essential component of advanced democratic societies.
Respectfully,
E. Markham Bench
Executive Director
