The Inter American Press Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending freedom of expression and of the press throughout the Americas. Its main objectives are:
- To defend freedom of the press and freedom of publication, broadcasting and expression.
- To seek recognition of the right of the people to be fully informed.
- To promote and protect at all times the interests of the press and the media in general.
- To promote and maintain the dignity, rights and responsibilities of the journalistic profession and to encourage professional journalism.
- To exchange ideas and information that contribute to the cultural, material and technical development of independent journalism and the media and to their continued welfare.
- To promote an active and open exchange among its members.
- To secure freedom from unjust and illegal actions by governments or de facto powers, including (but not limited to) protection from any government action or legislation deemed irresponsible or illegal.
- Obtain common protection for intellectual property and copyrights.
- To work collectively for the solution of common problems and for the preservation of peace and tranquility in the Western Hemisphere.
- To foster broader knowledge and greater exchange among peoples in support of the basic principles of a free society, democracy and individual liberty.
The Inter-American Press Association periodically, methodically and systematically carries out a wide variety of activities designed to serve its mission of defending and promoting freedom of the press.
Among the most outstanding:
- The constant monitoring of violations of freedom of the press and freedom of expression in each country of the Americas and the publication of biannual reports.
- A daily work of vigilance, denunciation and mobilization of its directors, personalities and institutions in defense of freedom of expression and the interests of the press in the Americas.
- Public campaigns through IAPA member and non-member publications on press freedom issues and the denunciation of crimes against journalists.
- Advocacy work at the level of the branches of government to promote laws on access to public information and the elimination of legislation restricting freedom of the press.
- Pro-active support for the creation and dissemination of supra-national jurisprudence that serves as a precedent favorable to freedom of expression in the hemisphere.
- The organization of emergency forums, made up of international delegations, with the objective of demanding in situ changes favorable to freedom of the press.
- The organization of outreach missions on the fight against impunity in crimes against journalists, through seminars in all countries of the hemisphere.
- The profuse and immediate denunciation and dissemination of violations, threats or aggressions against journalists and the media, through resolutions, press releases, protests and public denunciations.
- The creation and constant updating of a Risk Map for the practice of journalism in the Americas, which serves as a guide for the protection of communication professionals who move around the cities and within the most conflictive countries.
- The mobilization of investigative journalists from the Rapid Response Units in the event of the murder of journalists anywhere in the hemisphere.
- Moral support and solidarity with journalists imprisoned for exercising their profession, either through prison visits or, when unable to do so, through direct support to their families, as in the case of independent journalists in Cuba.
- Emergency visits to countries with cases that threaten freedom of expression and press freedom.
