ARGENTINA II

WHEREAS  over the past decade, those who have wielded political power in Argentina have carried out a systematic campaign to delegitimize the work of professional journalists WHEREAS this escalation has manifested itself in verbal attacks on media outlets and journalists by high-level officials, in banners and protests in public places, in the use of government agencies as tools of intimidation, and in the stigmatization of critical voices in state-owned and state-affiliated media outlets WHEREAS this violence has turned physical on several occasions, such as in the latest gubernatorial elections in Tucumán, where journalists and camera operators were brutally attacked for reporting on irregularities WHEREAS the country is also being hit hard by violence against journalists stemming from organized crime and, in particular, from drug trafficking; in recent months this has included serious injuries to, and threats against, journalists who are investigating these crimes WHEREAS the government’s intolerant stance toward criticism has also manifested itself in the harassment of media outlets not aligned with the government; this harassment has included attempts to criminalize these outlets, to issue specific regulations to govern them, to persecute them through government agencies, to discriminate against them in the placement of advertising and in licensing, among others WHEREAS these actions violate Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which states that freedom of expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or means, and they are also contrary to Principle 10 of the Declaration of Chapultepec, which states: “No news medium nor journalist may be punished for publishing the truth or criticizing or denouncing the government.” THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES To reject the actions taken by the government against journalists and media outlets insofar as they constitute acts of hindrance, reprisal, or intimidation to the detriment of freedom of expression To urge the government and public officials to adopt a more tolerant stance toward the work of journalists and toward journalistic criticism To request that the three branches of government implement measures to ensure the safety of media outlets and journalists vis-à-vis the attacks stemming from organized crime To ask the authorities that are elected in this year’s Argentine elections to adopt a different stance toward the right of journalists to carry out their work freely, thereby ensuring that freedom of expression is fully upheld, without reprisals or harassment.