HONDURAS
WHEREAS
there is great concern about a constitutional change called Habeas Data used
by the National Congress which tends to put up obstacles to freedom of expression
and information, disregarding what is stated in the Declaration of Chapultepec,
that freedom belongs to all human beings and not just the rulers
WHEREAS
academically, Habeas Data is “the right to ensure access to information
about the petitioner in registries or databases of government entities or
of public record and, second, for the correction of information when that
cannot be achieved by judicial or administrative procedures”
WHEREAS
bills are also being studied to regulate specific political and social principles
with the intention of incorporating principles that can cause the same restrictions
on the freedom of expression, opinion and information, for example, the law
on political organizations
WHEREAS
the courts are processing and issuing decisions that damage the U.N. Charter,
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the American Convention on Human
Rights and the Honduran Constitution, which is being distorted, and the principles
of the Declaration of Chapultepec
WHEREAS
Principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states, “No people or
society can be free without freedom of expression and of the press. The exercise
of this freedom is not something authorities grant, it is an inalienable right
of the people”
THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
to notify the government of the Republic of Honduras of this concern and to
be permanently and continuously vigilant to guarantee freedoms of expression,
information and opinion in Honduras.
questions
or comments?