(WPFC/IFEX) – The following is a 17 June 2005 WPFC letter to the members of the Constitutional Court: Washington, USA June 17, 2005 Their Excellencies the Members of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala 11 Avenida 9-37 Zona 1 Edificio Independencia Guatemala City, Guatemala Your Excellencies: On behalf of the World Press Freedom Committee (http://www.wpfc.org), an […]
(WPFC/IFEX) – The following is a 17 June 2005 WPFC letter to the members of the Constitutional Court:
Washington, USA
June 17, 2005
Their Excellencies the Members of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala
11 Avenida 9-37 Zona 1 Edificio Independencia
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Your Excellencies:
On behalf of the World Press Freedom Committee (http://www.wpfc.org), an organization comprising 45 press freedom groups throughout the world, I wish to congratulate you for your courageous decision to eliminate provisionally the crime of insult from Guatemala’s Criminal Code.
Your decision suspends articles 411, 412 and 413 of Guatemala’s Criminal Code as a first step toward the permanent elimination of these obsolete, repressive laws that attempt to restrict freedom of the press and expression in your country.
Your decision was prompted by a motion of unconstitutionality submitted to the Court by Mario Fuentes Destarac, chairman of Guatemala’s Journalism Chamber. Your decision is based on the principle that insult laws challenge Article 35 of the Republic’s Constitution, which consecrates freedoms of expression and of the press.
Insult laws, in Guatemala and dozens of other countries that continue to use them, constitute an effective intimidating, repressive weapon against the free flow of ideas and expression. These statues 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 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 Guatemala is a signatory. Ever since the commission issued its recommendation in 1994, only five Latin American countries have eliminated them: Argentina, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay and Peru.
I would also like to extend my congratulations to Mr. Fuentes Destarac for his courageous initiative to submit a motion of unconstitutionality about these backward-thinking laws which allow public officials to shield themselves from public scrutiny.
Clearly, this commitment to press freedom will only be completed when your Excellencies decide the definite elimination of insult laws in your country. We urge you to take such a decision as soon as possible so that Guatemala can take a firm step toward the protection of its citizens’ freedom of expression and join the vanguard of nations respectful of a free and independent press.
Respectfully,
E. Markham Bench
Executive Director
World Press Freedom Committee
