SIP-IAB

WHEREAS what is known as the Panama Doctrine, established jointly by the Inter American Press Association and the International Association of Broadcasting in 1952, regards freedom of expression as a right of the people and of a democratic society which must be fully preserved, beyond the technological support on which it rests WHEREAS this doctrine sets out means of cooperation between the two entities, with the objective that they can together tackle common issues and dangers to freedom of expression, both in its regional impact, its technical complexity, its legal precedents and its influence on the various forms of communication WHEREAS there exist in Latin America today processes with certain common characteristics that seek, on the basis of certain discursive and regulatory patterns, as well as the manipulation of other government tools (official advertising, actions of a discretional nature, informational discrimination, etc.) to exercise indirect or subtle censorship of privately-owned media, to undermine their sustainability and generate media systems supporting the government THE IAPA MIDYEAR MEETING RESOLVES to ratify, in conjunction with the International Association of Broadcasting, the renewed validity of what is known as the Panama Doctrine, which was drawn up by the two entities in 1952 to further the joint and cooperative work of the two organizations given the new threats and challenges – political, economic and regulatory – that the media are facing in all areas of technological support to develop new tools to tackle such challenges, inspired by the principles and values of the two entities, in particular in the defense of free speech as a guarantee for democracy.