ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I GENERAL REPORTS........................................................................................... 5 A. Mandate and Competence of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression ................................................................. 5 B. The Office of the Special Rapporteur’s Principal Activities.................................... 7 1. Promotion and Dissemination Activities..................................................... 9 2. Official visits to countries ......................................................................... 11 3. Presentation to the organs of the Organization of American States.................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER II EVALUATION OF THE STATUS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE HEMISPHERE................................................................ 13 A. Introduction and Methodology............................................................................. 13 B. Evaluation............................................................................................................ 14 C. Status of freedom of expression in the Member States....................................... 16 D. Assassinations of Media Personnel in 2003........................................................ 94 CHAPTER III JURISPRUDENCE.............................................................................................. 97 A. Summary of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on freedom of expression .............................................. 97 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 97 2. Cases under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.................................................... 99 a) Public Order........................................................................................... 100 b) Prior Censorship.................................................................................... 103 c) Defamation............................................................................................ 110 v Page B. Domestic Jurisprudence of the Member States................................................. 123 1. Introduction............................................................................................ 123 2. Democratic criteria for the concession of radio and television broadcast frequencies ........................................................................... 124 a. The right to access public information ....................................... 126 b. Criminal defamation and public officials..................................... 128 c. The ban on prior censorship ...................................................... 132 CHAPTER IV REPORT ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE HEMISPHERE ............... 135 A. Introduction........................................................................................................ 135 B. Adequately Guaranteeing Access to Information .............................................. 138 1. Theoretical framework ........................................................................... 138 2. Implementation of Access to Information regimes................................. 144 3. Exceptions to the Presumption of Publicity ........................................... 147 C. Access to Information in the Member Countries................................................ 152 1. Introduction............................................................................................ 152 2. Laws and Practices on the Right to Access of Information: Information classified by country in alphabetical order.................................................................................. 154 CHAPTER V INDIRECT VIOLATIONS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: DISCRIMINATORY ALLOCATION OF OFFICIAL PUBLICITY ....................... 179 A. Introduction........................................................................................................ 179 B. Official Publicity................................................................................................. 179 C. Discriminatory Allocation of Official Publicity..................................................... 182 D. Inter-American Standards................................................................................. 182 E. The European Experience................................................................................. 183 F. Legal Framework in Member Countries ............................................................ 185 G. Situations in Member Countries ........................................................................ 194 H. Conclusions....................................................................................................... 200 Page vi CHAPTER VI CASES OF FRREDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE INTER AMERICAN SYSTEM............................................................................ 201 A. Cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights..................... 201 1. Cases declared admissible by the IACHR during 2003......................... 201 2. Cases declared inadmissible by the IACHR during 2003...................... 202 3. Precautionary Measures granted by the IACHR during 2003................ 204 B. Cases before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights................................ 207 1. Cases sent to the Court during 2003..................................................... 207 2. Provisional Measures adoapted during 2003 ........................................ 208 CHAPTER VII FINAL CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................... 215 ANNEXES................................................................................................................................. 219 1. Complete text of Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights ........................................................................... 221 2. Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression......................................... 222 3. Declaration of Chapultepec............................................................................... 226 4. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly XXXIII: Access to Public Information: Strengthening Democracy.................................. 230 5. Joint Declaration by the International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression.................................................................... 232 6. Presentation of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Permanent Council ........................................................... 235 7. Press Releases................................................................................................. 248 vii INTRODUCTION 1. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression was created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during its 97th regular session in October 1997. But the Office began its day-to-day operations one year later, when the IACHR determined what the general characteristics and functions of the Office would be and decided to appoint the first Special Rapporteur. 2. At the beginning of 2003, the Office published its fifth annual report, and in October of 2003 the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression completed its fifth year of work for the protection and promotion of freedom of expression in the Americas. The Office's fifth year was a productive one. In 2003, the Office made 3 official visits, participated in more than 10 seminars on freedom of expression, and assisted the Commission in more than 10 individual cases. Additionally, the IACHR published special reports, drafted by the Office of the Special Rapporteur, on freedom of expression in Haiti and Panama. The Office also contributed the chapters on freedom of expression to the IACHR's reports on the human rights situation in Guatemala and Venezuela. These achievements were made possible through the dedication of the Office's staff, as well as the support of a talented group of interns.1 3. On this fifth anniversary of the Office's operation, it is appropriate to say some words about the view of the Office of the Special Rapporteur of the situation of freedom of expression in the hemisphere. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights have long argued that freedom of expression is an indispensable requirement for the very existence of a democratic society. Historically, freedom of expression has been seen as a necessary tool to protect political freedom but the Office considers that we are at the beginning of a more complex understanding about the importance of freedom of expression: this fundamental right could also be seen as an indispensable tool to favor economic development. And economic development is an important means to strengthen democracy. 4. Given the deepening understanding of the fundamental importance of freedom of expression for political, social and economic development, it becomes all the more urgent to address the many challenges facing freedom of expression in our hemisphere. The Office has highlighted some of these challenges repeatedly in the past five years: aggression against, and murder