IAPA General Assembly
October 21, 2020
Presents Chapultepec Award to Edison Lanza
I wish to introduce the Uruguayan lawyer and journalist Dr. Edison Lanza, former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights - winner of the 2020 Chapultepec Grand Prize.
In Edison - who has just left the office of the Rapporteur since taking office in 2014 - we not only have a rapporteur who, through his efforts to promote freedom of expression, has won the trust of citizens, journalists, and the media, but also the respect of civil society organizations and, especially, of governments of the most varied ideologies in the Americas.
For us, he was more than a rapporteur, he was a friend of our causes, he joined us with his knowledge and experience in various struggles, and even had a leading role in the team that drafted and created the Salta Declaration of 2018 which, like its predecessor, the Chapultepec Declaration, addressed the principles of freedom of expression - only this time applied to the digital ecosystem.
Edison, in addition to being extremely concerned with strengthening inter-American jurisprudence in the hemisphere - as for instance, banning the use of penal law in cases of responsibility for the dissemination of information of public interest or about public officials - has also played a decisive role in all cases of unpunished crimes against journalists that the IAPA has brought to the attention of the inter-American human rights system. Several of these cases have already generated jurisprudence and have prompted state authorities to adopt public policies that provide greater protection for journalists.
As a tireless defender of inter-American causes and principles, he often took the initiative to put together joint declarations with UN, European, and other rapporteurs, thus offering us principles on various topics - which are of obligatory reference in order for us to better focus our work. This award to Edison is for "his dedication and his outstanding and decisive contribution to the protection and promotion of freedom of expression in the Americas."
Thank you very much for all your work in favor of freedom of the press and expression, in short, in favor of democracy.
Congratulations!
