Get Involved
AFP Here’s how you can get involved in this important issue: Learn More Be informed. Read about the use of criminal defamation laws as a tool to silence dissent, and learn about the campaign against this criminalization of speech. Read CPJ documents, key legislation, and jurisprudence on the issue. Raise Awareness (English) Use Twitter, Facebook,…
A Regional Consensus
Reuters Court and legislatures in the Americas have increasingly found that defamation should be a civil matter. Here are some key resources in support of free expression. International conventions & declarations The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, adopted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2000, asserts that criminal defamation laws violate…
From the CPJ Archives
Reuters Here are notable reports on defamation from CPJ’s archives: Regional Argentina Brazil Chile Costa Rica Ecuador Mexico Paraguay Peru Regional In 2010, courts in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Chile followed the growing regional consensus against criminal defamation by dismissing criminal penalties against journalists accused of libel and slander. Continue reading » In its 2000 Declaration…
Resource Center
Reuters Here are organizations fighting against the criminalization of speech in the Americas. PEN International is the world’s leading association of writers, working to promote literature and defend freedom of expression around the world. Media Legal Defense Initiative (MLDI) provides legal defense to journalists, bloggers, and independent media across the world. The Inter American Press…
Critics Are Not Criminals
“Freedom of expression in all its forms and manifestations is a fundamental and inalienable right of all individuals. Additionally, it is an indispensable requirement for the very existence of a democratic society.” –Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Principles of Freedom of Expression. A Regional Consensus Courts and legislatures throughout the Americas have increasingly found that…
Nigeria journalists obstructed on World Press Freedom Day
On World Press Freedom Day last week, Nigeria’s Information Minister, Labaran Maku, publicly asserted that the country’s media “is one of the freest in the universe.” On paper, Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution guarantees the freedom of the press to “uphold…the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.” But seven journalists who attempted to put…
In DRC, journalists detained without charge for two days
New York, May 11, 2012–Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo must immediately release two journalists who have been detained without charge since Wednesday over their story criticizing a government official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
CPJ condemns attacks against Honduran journalists
New York, May 10, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about a recent wave of violence and intimidation against journalists in Honduras, including the abduction of a radio journalist and two attacks on television journalists.