69th General Assembly to begin next week in Denver, Colorado
Miami (October 10, 2013)—The future of the Inter-American Human Rights System, initiatives for legalization of marijuana in the United States and its impact on Latin America, and the way Facebook is used to spread and consume the news are the focus of discussion of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) during its General Assembly, to be held October 18-22 in Denver, Colorado.
Bill Richardson, former ambassador to the United Nations and former U.S. Energy Secretary, will speak on October 19 about the importance of the Inter-American Human Rights System for the defense of freedom of expression in the Americas and, the Office of Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, which has been the target of attacks from some Latin American governments in recent years.
Last year Colorado and Washington states passed bills to regulate the production and use of marijuana. The legal counsel of the Colorado Governor’s office, Jack Finlaw, will talk about the scope of the law and how it conflicts with federal legislation.
Meanwhile, Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of Drug Policy Alliance, an NGO headquartered in New York, will outline new positions on how to combat drug trafficking at the national level in Latin America.
Another discussion will focus on the effectiveness for media of using social networks, particularly of Facebook. Amy Mitchell, investigative reporting director of the Pew Research Center, will give details of the results of her most recent study into Facebook as a medium for spreading the news.
All these issues will be an addition to the traditional evaluation of the state of press freedom in the Americas. At this General Assembly in Denver the increase in journalist’s murders, invasion of privacy through unlawful spying by governments, economic obstacles and press laws that restrict the work of the news media will be relevant subjects of discussion.
For more information on the IAPA General Assembly go to the following link: http://www.sipiapa.org/en/asambleas/denver-2013en/.
