MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS
MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK BETTER
 
 

Third Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada 2001


 

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Media and Communications
Making Democracy Work Better
 

 


Nothing that access to existing and emerging information and communications technologies has an increasingly significant impact on the lives of individuals and offers important opportunities for democratic development, and that the media has an important role to play in promoting a democratic culture:

  • Ensure the media is free from arbitrary interventions by the state, and specifically, work to remove legal or regulatory impediments to media access by registered political parties including by facilitating, where possible, equitable access during election campaigns to television and radio;

  • Encourage cooperation among public and private broadcasters, including cable operators, and independent broadcast regulatory bodies and governmental organizations, in order to facilitate the exchange of best industry practices and technologies at the hemispheric level, to guarantee free, open and independent media;

  • Encourage media self-regulation efforts, including norms of ethical conduct, to address the concerns of civil society with regard to, inter alia, reducing the dissemination of extreme violence and negative stereotypes of women and ethnic, social and other groups, contributing in this way to the promotion of changes in attitudes and cultural patterns through the projection of pluralistic, balanced and non-discriminatory images;


Quebec Plan of Action (complete version):  English | Spanish | French | Portuguese

Archive of Events that have taken place in the area of Media and Communications
 
       
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Hemispheric Summit of Justice and Freedom of the Press in the Americas
June 20-22, 2002 (Washington DC)
 


The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) organized the Hemispheric Summit of Justice and Freedom of the Press in Washington DC, from June 20-22, 2002. Over forty Supreme Court judges and dozens of journalists participated in the Summit, creating a dialogue between judges and journalists on the issues of freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. The Summit addressed the conflicts that both judges and journalists face when disclosing information and stressed the necessity for both judicial independence and freedom of the press in supporting democracy. The Summit was attended by journalists from throughout the Americas and justices from the Supreme Courts of the following countries: Argentina, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, and Uruguay.


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Political Database of the Americas
 
 


The UPD and Georgetown University have worked jointly to introduce the new Political Database of the Americas. This free access database has information about political constitutions, electoral systems, political parties, and on the three branches of power (executive, legislative and judicial). It can be accessed through the following address: www.georgetown.edu/pdba


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The Press in Latin America
April 4, 2002
 


An editorial in the New York Times on April 4, 2002 highlighted the contributions of the Organization of American States in ensuring the freedom of the press in Latin America.  The article spoke about the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (CIDH) and Court, and the decisions that have been taken to reverse unjust judicial decisions against journalists in their countries.  This topic connects directly to the III Summit of the Americas, which ensures that the media is free from arbitrary interventions by the state, and specifically, works to remove legal or regulatory impediments to media access by registered political parties.  To read this article, please see the website www.nytimes.com/2002/04/04/opinion/_04THU3.html


       
 
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