The Declaration of Chapultepec, drafted during a hemisphere conference in Mexico in 1994, contains 10 principles necessary to guarantee freedom of the press and to support democracy, and has been backed by the majority of the hemispheres governments.
As part of the IAPA campaign, the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, signed the Declaration on May 13. During the ceremony in the capital, Kingstown, the government promised to implement a Freedom of Information Act before the end of the year. St. Vincent and the Grenadines has two main newspapers and numerous privately owned publications.
Meanwhile, in Guyana, President Bharrat Jagdeo, endorsed the Declaration of Chapultepec on May 25, during a ceremony in the capital, Georgetown. The Guyanese leader expressed his satisfaction in signing the document and promised to present a bill that would end the state monopoly on broadcasting.
The President of Suriname, Runaldo Venetiaan, added his name to the list of leaders that endorse the Declaration of Chapultepec, on May 20. During his speech given at the Presidential Palace in Paramaribo, Venetiaan referred to a new respect for freedom of expression in his administration, separating itself from prior governments during which numerous attacks against journalists and the media had occurred.
On May 25, the hemisphere organization also visited the Dutch colonies of the Caribbean. The Prime Minister of Aruba, Nelson Oduber, signed the document in the capital, Oranjestad, and his counterpart from the Netherlands Antilles, Miguel Pourier, signed the Declaration in the government capital, Willemstad. Both leaders seemed to be receptive to promoting laws of access to public information in their respective countries.
The Declaration of Chapultepec was also signed by the Prime Ministers of The Bahamas, Hubert A. Ingraham, on April 29; Dominica, Pierre Charles, on May 17, and of St. Kitts & Nevis, Denzil L. Douglas, on May 24.
The initiative to seek these endorsements started in 1998, by then IAPA President Oliver F. Clarke, The Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica, the first president of the hemisphere organization from the English-speaking Caribbean. During his term, the Prime Ministers of Belize, Grenada, and Jamaica signed the Declaration.
Obtaining the endorsements of the Caribbean leaders was one of the objectives of the 20th Forum on the Declaration of Chapultepec, which took place during the UNESCO-sponsored Fifth Annual Caribbean Media Conference on May 16-18, 2002, in Antigua. The IAPA activity included a panel on the situation of press freedom and the Declaration of Chapultepec in the region, as well as other promotional activities.
Of the 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere, the Declaration of Chapultepec has not been signed by Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Canada, Cuba, Haiti, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela. The Prime Ministers of Antigua & Barbuda and St. Lucia have agreed to sign in the coming weeks. (See attached table)
During the various events, the IAPA was represented by the following members: Alejandro Miró Quesada C., El Comercio, Lima, Peru; Oliver F. Clarke, The Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica; Earl Maucker, Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Harold Hoyte, The Nation, Bridgetown, Barbados; Victor Winklaar, Bon Dia, Aruba; Sonia and Margaret Wever, daughter and granddaughter of the late Sir G. J. Schouten, The News, Oranjestad, Aruba; David de Caires, Stabroek News, Guyana; Craig Reynald, Caribbean Communications Network, Trinidad & Tobago; Julio Muñoz, IAPA Executive Director; Ricardo Trotti, Press Freedom Coordinator; Jairo Lanao, Chapultepec Project Attorney, and Sean Casey, Chapultepec Project Administrator.
For more information on the Declaration of Chapultepec, please contact Sean Casey, at [email protected].
# Country Name Signing Date
1 Argentina Carlos Saúl Menem June 6, 1994
2 Bolivia Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada June 23, 1994
3 The Bahamas Hubert A. Ingraham April 29, 2002
4 Belize Said Musa November 5, 1998
5 Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso August 6, 1996
6 Chile Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle March 3, 1997
7 Colombia Ernesto Samper Pizano September 13, 1994
8 Costa Rica Miguel Angel Rodríguez August 17, 1998
9 Dominica Pierre Charles May 17, 2002
10 Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández Reyna January 28, 2000
11 Ecuador Jamil Mahuad Witt August 3, 1999
12 El Salvador Armando Calderón Sol July 27, 1994
13 Grenada Keith Mitchell June 22, 1998
14 Guatemala Ramiro de León Carpio March 14, 1994
15 Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo May 24, 2002
16 Honduras Carlos Roberto Reina July 28, 1994
17 Jamaica Percival J. Patterson May 1, 1998
18 Mexico Carlos Salinas de Gortari March 12, 1994
19 Nicaragua Violeta Chamorro July 28, 1994
20 Panama Guillermo Endara June 3, 1994
21 Paraguay Juan Carlos Wasmosy June 9, 1994
22 Peru Valentín Paniagua February 12, 2001
23 St. Kitts & Nevis Denzil L. Douglas May 23, 2002
24 St. Vincent & The Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves May 13, 2002
25 Suriname Runaldo Venetiaan May 20, 2002
26 United States Bill Clinton April 5, 1995
27 Uruguay Luis Alberto Lacalle June 7, 1994
# Territory (Country) Name Signing Date
1 Aruba (Netherlands) Nelson O. Oduber May 24, 2002
2 Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands) Miguel Pourier May 24, 2002
3 Puerto Rico (United States) Pedro Roselló September 27, 1994
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