LICENSING
WHEREAS
in spite of the opinion of the Inter American Court of Human Rights that licensing and professionalization of journalists is incompatible with the free expression of thought and the American Convention on Human Rights, several nations in the Americas have not repealed licensing laws
some countries that retain obligatory licensing are signatories of the American Convention on Human Rights
THE 49TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IAPA RESOLVES
to condemn those countries that still require journalists to belong to "colegios" or professional journalist organizations
to warn the Venezuelan Congress, which is now considering stronger and more restrictive licensing regulations than presently exist, that it could violate the American Human Rights Convention, and declare that as a result, it would obstruct the efforts of the government to follow an international policy that ensures the spread of democracy in the region
to ask the government of Costa Rica, the country in which the Inter American Court of Human Rights is based, to promote, in a manner consistent with its pro-democracy votes and through the
legal means at its disposal, a favorable vote in the legislature to overturn the law requiring journalists
to belong to the Journalists Colegio in that country.
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Madrid, Spain