WHEREAS the Committee on Judicial Affairs of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica is considering the passage of a bill that would reform the Law of Constitutional Jurisdiction to expand the right of rectification and reply with evident damage to freedom of expression and the press; and
WHEREAS the mentioned bill goes far beyond the contents of the pertinent article in the American Convention on Human Rights to include not only information but also opinions, even those expressed in paid spaces; and
WHEREAS the intended configuration of the right of reply also violates international jurisprudence; and
WHEREAS the imposition of contents is just as harmful to freedom of expression and the press as is the suppression of contents through censorship;
WHEREAS the Declaration of Chapultepec says that no news medium nor journalist may be punished for publishing the truth or criticizing or denouncing the government (Principle 10)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
to manifest its concern to the Legislative Assembly and to the government of Costa Rica for the right-of-reply initiative and protests this intended violation of freedom of expression and of the press;
to call on the Committee on Judicial Affairs to reject the proposed law in order to preserve the exemplary conduct of Costa Rica in matters of respect for human rights.
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Madrid, Spain
