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WHEREAS Congress is considering various resolutions, including an amendment to the National Election Code restricting freedom of speech by banning the dissemination of election day advertising, opinion polls, press releases or interviews, and a bill concerning election guarantees that extends by 15 days the period prohibiting disclosure of exit poll results WHEREAS Congress is also considering an amendment to the Child Welfare Code, which notwithstanding some modifications, imposes requirements on the media in terms of content, and reestablishes bans and restrictions; moreover, two bills are before it seeking to regulate freedom of information and establishing the possibility of classifying certain information as confidential as a matter of national security, international relations, or for criminal or legal reasons in general WHEREAS a bill has also been introduced to establish rights and obligations for those who issue and receive information, provide guarantees for persons using or the subjects of information, formulate regulatory and self-regulatory mechanisms, regulate the right to require publication of corrections and democratize media ownership, among others; two other pending bills aim to empower the government to regulate notices and disclosure of governmental activities, giving preference to digital media over the print media WHEREAS Principle 5 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states "Prior censorship, restrictions on the circulation of the media or dissemination of their reports, forced publication of information, the imposition of obstacles to the free flow of news, and restrictions on the activities and movements of journalists directly contradict freedom of the press" THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to urge the Colombian Congress to uphold the creation and approval of laws in keeping with the Colombian tradition of respect for freedom of the press, constitutional standards, pluralism in the news, and financial independence of the media.
Copyright © 2003 Inter American Press Association. All rights reserved. . |
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