IAPA's Mission
IAPA's mission is to work tirelessly to promote freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
IAPA is convinced -as stated in the Declaration of Chapultepec- that without freedom of the press and freedom of expression, individual and social life atrophies, interaction between people is curtailed, progress is distorted, the possibility of change is halted, justice is distorted and human development becomes a mere fiction.
IAPA is committed to defending and promoting freedom of the press and freedom of expression by investigating and denouncing acts of repression and threats against journalists and the media. IAPA also defends against laws that infringe on privacy, limit access to public information, control the Internet and punish journalists through insult laws.
The digital age has changed the way users discover, communicate and connect with the world around them. In an effort to embrace the new digital age, in addition to the creation of the Salta Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age, IAPA has partnered with organizations to guide media outlets in navigating the future through transformative ideas, sustainable business models and new revenue generation strategies.
IAPA is convinced that freedom of the press and freedom of expression cannot exist without independent media. Ultimately, stability and justice cannot be achieved without these rights.
What is IAPA?
It is an organization made up of more than 1,300 print media, television, radio and digital natives, press associations, service providers and individuals. It receives contributions from its members, donations from third parties and generates funds through its events.
It has made more than 700 visits and missions to 22 countries, mobilizing more than 2,200 members to work in favor of press freedom, against dictatorships, totalitarian governments and power groups of any political orientation, from Perón to Maduro, from Castro to Pinochet.
It has contributed to the decriminalization of defamation, the elimination of the crime of contempt, compulsory membership and other restrictive press regulations.
He has achieved the enactment of laws on access to information, professional secrecy and distribution of official advertising, as well as protection mechanisms for the practice of journalism and judicial decisions to counteract impunity in crimes against journalists.
Since 1950, it has trained thousands of executives, journalists and other media personnel through seminars, conferences, in-person and virtual workshops, in addition to providing university scholarships to more than 400 professionals.
It has promoted numerous campaigns to raise public awareness about the importance of press freedom, violence against journalism and the value of independent journalism in democratic life.
Actions
Holds three permanent conferences a year: General Assembly in October, Mid-Year Meeting in March and SiPConnect in July, an event on digital technology and new business models.
Sends international delegations to countries to investigate in situ and advocate with governments, regardless of ideology, on violations of press freedom.
Monitors the press freedom situation in all countries through regional delegates and evaluates it twice a year by issuing reports and resolutions and monitors it in real time through SIP Bot, an Artificial Intelligence tool.
Interacts with the Inter-American Human Rights System and with governments regarding violence and unpunished crimes against journalists. Presents Amicus before international courts and national tribunals.
Rates countries according to their level of press freedom in legal and judicial matters through its Chapultepec Index.
Promotes press freedom through education campaigns and signing ceremonies of the Chapultepec Declaration, endorsed by more than 80 heads of state.
Organizes regular international or regional conferences with legislators, magistrates, judges, students and journalists on laws and decisions affecting press freedom.
Participates in activities, events, conferences and discussions before intergovernmental organizations. Empowers and works with national and regional peer institutions.
Trains professionals through face-to-face workshops, webinars, seminars and online diploma courses.
Encourages journalism with an annual awards competition for excellence and highlights individuals or institutions that promote the values of the Declaration of Chapultepec.
Administers CLAEP, an accreditation system dedicated to fostering and promoting excellence in university journalism education.
Publishes books, papers and essays on press freedom; an app and website in three languages; a digital magazine, Hora de Cierre; and a daily online newsletter with information on press freedom and the news industry.
Key documents
1950 - Credo on the Ethics of Journalism. Adopted in New York.
1950 - Charter on Freedom of the Press. Adopted in New York.
1994 - Declaration of Chapultepec on Principles of Press Freedom. Adopted in Mexico City.
2008 - Charter of Aspirations on the responsibilities of journalism. Adopted in Madrid, Spain.
2018 - Salta Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age, on rights and duties of citizens, governments, media and intermediaries. Adopted in Salta, Argentina.
Struggles and history
1923 - The Fifth Inter-American Conference in Santiago, Chile, agrees to hold the first Pan American Press Congress.
1926 - Under the auspices of the Pan American Union, the First Pan American Congress of Journalists is held in Washington, D.C.
1942 - First National and Pan American Congress of Journalists, Mexico City. It is considered the first General Assembly.
1949 - Fifth National and Pan American Congress, Quito and Guayaquil. A president is elected for the first time: Carlos Mantilla Ortega.
1950 - Sixth Assembly of the now called Inter-American Press Association in New York, where it establishes its headquarters. Statutes are adopted, it becomes independent of governments and only publications are members.
1951 - Perón in Argentina confiscates La Prensa and its director moves to Montevideo, where the Annual Assembly is held. After the fall of Perón in 1955, the newspaper returned to its owners.
1954 - It creates the Scholarship Fund and then, in 1957, the Technical Center. It moves its offices to Miami, in the Diario Las Américas building.
1963 - President John F. Kennedy addresses the 19th General Assembly in Miami Beach, three days before his assassination in Dallas.
1968 - Official missions are born. They are sent to Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Panama and Paraguay.
1973 - Sponsors the creation of the World Press Freedom Commission (WPFC).
1976 - Succeeds in neutralizing the New World Information Order.
1977 - Elects the first woman president: Argentina Hills.
1981 - Holds the first Mid-Year Meeting in Barbados.
1985 - At the initiative of the IAPA, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issues Advisory Opinion 85, opposing compulsory membership.
1992 - The first General Assembly outside the Americas is held in Madrid.
1997 - Promotes the creation of the OAS freedom of expression rapporteurship, from its Hemispheric Conference on Unpunished Crimes Against Journalists in Guatemala.
2000 - Purchases headquarters with a contribution from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Creates the Latin American Council for the Accreditation of Education in Journalism and Communication.
2001 - Holds conference in Mexico on access to public information and Chapultepec inspires the IACHR Declaration on Freedom of Expression.
2001 - Agrees to accept cyber media and then, in 2012, to accept radio and television stations as active partners.
2002 - Holds hemispheric conferences with magistrates, judges, legislators and journalists in Washington, D.C. and Santo Domingo and San José, in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007.
2018 - IACHR Court rules in favor of Nelson Carvajal, case of murdered journalist brought by the Impunity Project.
2019 - Celebrates its 75th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the Declaration of Chapultepec.
2020 - The first report of the Chapultepec Index, an annual ranking of press freedom in the Americas, is released.
2021 - Leads a group of regional and global press associations to demand intellectual property rights for journalistic content.
2021 - SIP Bot, an Artificial Intelligence tool that monitors press freedom in the Americas, begins operating.
2022- The 78th IAPA General Assembly was held in October in Madrid, Spain. It was the first face-to-face meeting of the IAPA after three years of virtual meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
2024 - In view of the accelerated technological changes and new challenges in the digital sphere that impact communication, journalism and freedom of expression and press freedom, IAPA updates its Salta Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age and calls it Salta II. It is approved by its 80th General Assembly meeting in Córdoba, Argentina.
2025 - IAPA officially launches the Latin American Network of Journalists in Exile (RELPEX) to assist journalists and media outlets in the Americas who work in exile, have been displaced or forced to move due to persecution because of their work.
