VENEZUELA

VENEZUELA WHEREAS the new constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela involves a series of dangers for the free exercise of freedom of expression and opinion by establishing the constitutional “right to timely, truthful and impartial information.” WHEREAS the concept of “timely, truthful and impartial information” gives the government of the day the discretion to decide what truth shall be disseminated WHEREAS the principles approved in the Constitution openly contradict the American Convention on Human Rights which guarantees citizens of signatory countries free and unlimited access to “all kinds of information” WHEREAS the government’s dangerous attitude continues along with constant threats and insults by the president against the print media, their publishers, journalists and, repeatedly, the Inter American Press Association WHEREAS publishers and journalists are subjected to court trials, accused of vilification, defamation and libel, with the allegation, used to maliciously extend the trials, that these offenses be described as offending peoples’ good names so there would be no statute of limitations WHEREAS Principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states that “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,” Principle 5 states that “prior censorship, restrictions on the circulation of the media or dissemination of their reports, forced publication of information, the imposition of obstacles to the free flow of news, and restrictions on the activities and movements of journalists directly contradict freedom of the press,” Principle 10 states that “no news medium nor journalist may be punished for publishing the truth or criticizing or denouncing the government” THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to urge the relevant Venezuelan authorities not to use the constitutional concept of “timely, truthful and impartial information” to create a Press Law, which would make it impossible to practice free journalism in an open and democratic society as it is described in the Pact of San José to which Venezuela subscribed to call on the Venezuelan judiciary to exempt from the statute of limitations only crimes considered “atrocious” or as threatening humanity and not those that involve a private action such as insults, defamation or libel.