ECUADOR

WHEREAS One year after the coming into force of the Act on Communications, freedom of expression is being restricted by controlling the contents of independent media and the application of sanctions and fines for the alleged new freedom of expression “crimes”; WHEREAS Such law has installed self-censoring among Ecuadoran journalists WHEREAS The founder and director of Hoy newspaper denounced that such media had to close and that the Superintendence of Companies intervened in the newspaper, as a result of the application of the Act on Communications, the political harassment and the economic and media boycotting of the Ecuadoran government WHEREAS In the so called Superintendence of Communications at least 300 people review the contents of independent media to apply fines and other administrative sanctions against them WHEREAS The Ecuadorian State has not heeded the recommendations formulated by the IACHR and UNO rapporteurs in regard to freedom of expression; WHEREAS A bill seeking to transform the right to communication and expression into a public service in their countries has been submitted to the Andean Parliament; WHEREAS Principle 6 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states the media and journalists should neither be discriminated against nor favored because of what they write or say, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IAPA RESOLVES To urge the Ecuadorian Government and the National Assembly to comply with the Transparency and Access to Information Law, to respect the freedom of expression and to revoke the Ecuatorian Communication Law to ensure the compliance with the international treaties on this matter; To demand that the Ecuadorian Government stop using his powers to manipulate the decisions from the other branches of government; To advise the Andean Parliament regarding the consequences that would result from turning communications into a public service in the countries in the region and attach the comments made to this regard by the IACHR and UNO freedom of expression rapporteurs; To insist and urge the President of the Republic to respond to the request made by Red IFEX and ask the Inter American Commission on Human Rights to issue an advisory opinion regarding the Act on Communications; To urge the European Parliament to demand from the Ecuadorian Government compliance with international standards on freedom of expression.