Information Society

WHEREAS the IAPA is actively collaborating in the preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) for the purpose of supporting efforts to close the digital gap by enabling everyone to access the benefits of information technologies WHEREAS furthermore, the IAPA, along with other representative bodies, has repeatedly emphasized the role of a free press in fully asserting democracy in our countries WHEREAS in spite of persistent efforts by the WSIS leadership, other groups are putting forth opposing objectives designed to distort the role of the free press, radio and television and replace them with new attempts to intervene in and control the content and ownership of the media through supposed collective rights to information 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 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to bring before all international organizations participating in the summit, the ITU, UNESCO and the UN, the issue of the possible restriction and/or regulation of the free press in both the Declaration and the Action Plan of the Summit to request the regional support of the OAS before the organizations mentioned in the above paragraph to request that international financial aid organizations refrain from extending lines of credit for plans and programs to implement Summit decisions that compromise the free exercise of press freedom to ask, in this regard, the primary international charitable organizations to withhold their support from organizations or projects that are opposed the existence of a free press to ask all members of the IAPA to actively mobilize around the following: a) taking an active stance before their respective governments and diplomatic representatives at the Summit and participating international organizations b) making contact with with the appropriate bodies in each country in order to make this situation known c) personally attending the World Summit next December in Geneva in order to collaborate and participate in the debates in defense of our principles to continue maintaining coordination with the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB) and other representative bodies in order to take positive steps as part of the Summit.