ECUADOR

ECUADOR WHEREAS the new constitution of Ecuador, which went into effect on August 10, 1998, contains provisions that threaten freedom of expression this threat stems from the constitution's provision that the right of access to sources, to seek, receive, be aware of and disseminate information is granted on the condition that the information be objective, truthful and timely the constitution also requires that journalists and communicators in particular must uphold societal values it also imposes on the media the obligation to participate in the promotion of education and culture and the preservation of ethical values freedom of information and opinion, as all fundamental human rights, cannot be subject to such requirements, no matter how positive they may seem, because each person interprets them subjectively such regulations and restrictions in the hands of those affected by information - and worse yet if authoritarian leaders come to power - can become instruments of repression, and even persecution, against the right of free information and opinion the Inter American Press Association uses the same arguments to oppose the call for the so-called right to truthful information that the 7th Ibero-American Summit, held on Margarita Island, Venezuela, on November 8 of last year, decided not to include in its final declaration Ecuador is a country where freedom of information and opinion traditionally have been respected the press and information in general should not be subject to special regulations and obligations but should be included in a country's normal legislation THE IAPA GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES to express its serious concern about the regulatory and threatening judicial framework in which the new Ecuadorean constitution has legislated the practice of freedom of expression and opinion to call on the honorable National Congress of the Republic of Ecuador to consider repealing these regulations so freedom of expression can be expressed in terms similar to those in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as is consistent with its libertarian tradition and respectful of the rights of Ecuadoreans to remain vigilant that these dangerous regulations do not become the means for limitation or persecution of the exercise of press freedom.