ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I GENERAL REPORTS......................................................................... 7 A. Mandate and competence of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression ........................................................... 7 B. The office of the Special Rapporteur’s principal activities ............................... 7 1. Promotion and dissemination activities ......................................................... 11 2. Country visits ................................................................................................ 13 3. Presentation to the organs of the Organization of American States ........................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER II EVALUATION OF THE STATE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE HEMISPHERE........................................ 17 A. Introduction. Methodology ............................................................................. 17 B. Evaluation...................................................................................................... 18 C. The status of freedom of expression in the member states........................... 21 D. Murders of media personnel.......................................................................... 86 CHAPTER III JURISPRUDENCE............................................................................ 91 A. Summary of the jurisprudence of the inter-American system on freedom of expression.................................................................. 91 1. Introduction........................................................................................ 91 2. Cases under the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man .................................................................. 92 iii 3. Cases under the American Convention on Human Rights ................ 93 a. Violence against or murder of journalists............................... 93 b. Intimidation, threats, and harassment in retaliation for expressions .................................................. 95 c. Prior censorship..................................................................... 96 d. Subsequent liability for expressions....................................... 98 e. Mandatory membership in a professional association for the practice of journalism................................................ 100 f. Indirect restrictions............................................................... 103 g. Right to the truth .................................................................. 104 h. Right to reply........................................................................ 107 4. Admissibility reports......................................................................... |07 5. Precautionary and provisional measures......................................... 111 B. Domestic jurisprudence of the member states ............................................ 115 1. Introduction ......................................................................................115 a. Protection of journalistic sources ......................................... 118 b. The importance of information in a democratic society........ 120 c. Incompatibility of criminal penalties ..................................... 121 CHAPTER IV FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND POVERTY ............................. 127 A. Introduction ............................................................................................. 127 B. Enjoyment of freedom of expression without discrimination on the grounds of social origin or economic position................................... 129 C. Access to public information as an exercise of the freedom of expression of the poor............................................................................. 130 D. Exercising freedom of expression and the right of assembly ...................... 133 E. The exercise of freedom of expression through alternative media channels ........................................................................................... 136 F. Final comments ........................................................................................... 137 iv CHAPTER V "DESACATO" LAWS AND CRIMINAL DEFAMATION ................. 139 A. Introduction ............................................................................................. 139 B. Desacato laws are incompatible with Article 13 of the Covention .......................................................................................... 139 C. Criminal defamation offenses (slander, libel, etc.)....................................... 143 D. Final observations: Slender progress in the repeal Of desacato laws and in legislative reform bills on the offences of libel and slander.................................................................. 147 CHAPTER VI FINAL CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............. 151 ANNEXES........................................................................................................................... 153 1. Complete text of Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights......................................................................................... 155 2. Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression................................... 156 3. Declaration of Chapultepec ......................................................................... 160 4. International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression A Model Freedom of Information Law ......................................................... 164 5. Presentation of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs ...................................... 167 6. Press Releases ........................................................................................... 180 v INTRODUCTION 1. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression is an office established as part of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 1997, although the first Special Rapporteur, Santiago Canton, was appointed the following year. The first change in Rapporteurs occurred in 2002, when the Second Special Rapporteur took office in May. The significance of these dates is that, although this is a relatively new office, it became a benchmark for the protection of freedom of expression in the hemisphere under the leadership of the first Rapporteur. 2. The four reports issued by the Office of the Rapporteur since its creation, the organization of a good team of co-workers, the assistance in IACHR activities in the area of freedom of expression, the constant inquiries and communications received by the Rapporteur from various sectors of society and some States, and the emphasis on including several topics on the agenda to strengthen this right are only a few visible examples of the hard work carried out prior to the time that the new Rapporteur took office. 3. The institutional history built by the Office of the Special Rapporteur in some ways facilitates the continuation of the work, unlike the time when the Office was created in 1998. This Office is now known throughout the hemisphere as the entity in the Organization of American States in charge of promoting and monitoring the observance of the right to freedom of expression. As a result, the expectations regarding the Office of the Special Rapporteur have grown significantly. 4. This increase in expectations gives rise to a new challenge: reinforcing the Office to meet a large part of them. The Office of the Rapporteur was established as a financially independent unit; hence, most of its work is financed with voluntary contributions or donations. Since the beginning of his administration, the Special Rapporteur has spoken with various governments to emphasize the fact that along with the institutional and political support given to the Office since its inception, financial support needs to be a priority, because it is essential to operate and carry out the activities required under its mandate. 5. In this Report, the Rapporteurship would like to thank the States that make voluntary contributions to the office. Among them, contributing for the first time, are Brazil, Mexico and Peru. They have joined the list of previous donors, the United States and Argentina. The Rapporteurship would also like to thank the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for its support and confidence in our performance as well as for its interest in the activities of the Office of the Special Rapporteur, as is reflected by the new financial cooperation agreement both institutions signed this year. 6. Even though there are many projects under way that will enable the Office to increase its activities in the future, the Rapporteur would like to urge the other States in the region to follow the lead taken by the above-mentioned States, in compliance with the commitments made at hemispheric summits. It is important to emphasize that the Plan of Action approved by Heads of State and Government at the Third Summit held in Quebec in April 2001, states that in order to strengthen democracy, create prosperity, and develop human potential, the States “will support the work of the Inter-American Human Rights System in the vi area of freedom of expression, through the IACHR’s Special Rapporteur for