62nd
General Assembly
Mexico City, Mexico
September 29 to October 3, 2006
Camino Real Hotel
Reports and Resolutions
|
VENEZUELA
Resolution of the 62nd General Assembly
Mexico City, Mexico
September 29 – October 3, 2006
WHEREAS
in recent years the Inter American Press Association has issued resolutions
and statements condemning the increasingly severe restrictions on freedom of
speech and on the people’s right to receive information
WHEREAS
the current Venezuelan president’s control over all branches of government,
including the judiciary, has led to the creation of new criminal laws against
dissidence, court rulings imposing prior restraint on news reporting, and the
Law on Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, which gives the government
agency CONATEL the authority to sanction media outlets, up to and including
permanent closure.
WHEREAS
recent months have seen a drastic increase in acts of violence against the independent
media and journalists, including murders, sabotage, and assaults
WHEREAS
prosecutors’ statements against, and the prosecution of, independent media
outlets, their executives and journalists for reporting news and expressing
opinions, curtail free speech and foster self-censorship
WHEREAS
the Venezuelan government discriminates against independent journalists and
media outlets by preventing or restricting them from covering government events,
and this not only denies them the ability to practice journalism freely but
also denies the people their right to receive information
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 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE IAPA RESOLVES
to condemn the Venezuelan government’s repeated violations of the principles
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding freedom of speech and
the right to receive information, which are also established in Articles 57
and 58 of the Venezuelan Constitution
to condemn the murders and violence, assaults, and acts of intimidation, discrimination,
and harassment that are taking place in Venezuela against journalists and the
independent media
to reiterate that the IAPA
supports Venezuelan journalists and the Venezuelan media, and that we will continue
to issue appeals and pursue discussions with the Venezuelan government so that
laws supporting freedom of speech and freedom of expression are upheld.
 questions
or comments? e-mail us
Copyright © 2003 Inter American Press Association.
All rights reserved.
. | 
