democracia participativa y derechos humanos / participatory democracy & human rights

Aug. 8.─ The Secretariat of the World Movement for Democracy, a global network of democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and others engaged in advancing democracy, expresses its grave concern regarding continuing violations of freedom of expression in Ecuador, as documented in reports issued by, among others, Freedom House and the International Committee to Protect Journalists, as well as by the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

On July 20, the 15th District Criminal Court of Guayaquil sentenced three newspaper executives of the news daily, El Universo, and its former opinion editor to three years imprisonment and ordered them to pay US$40 million in damages as the result of a personal libel suit filed by President Rafael Correa in response to a February 6 opinion column in which he was called a "dictator." Given that protecting freedom of expression, including the space for free public debate, is vital for sustaining democracy, the World Movement is greatly concerned that this latest case only adds to a longer-term decline of that freedom in the country. According to El Comercio, a daily news source in Ecuador, since taking office in early 2007, President Correa has systematically attacked journalists and news media critical of his administration. In one example, in 2009, Teleamazonas, a private broadcaster critical of the government, was ordered temporarily off the air for three days for broadcasting a story on the potential effects of natural gas exploration on Puná Island. According to a 2009 report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the government claimed that the story would "incite public disorder."

Reports by the Committee to Protect Journalists also indicate that in recent years the government has gained control over an increasing number of media outlets, especially television and radio stations, including TC Televisión and Gamavisión. More recently, the government won a referendum on a Communications Bill that enables the government to regulate media ownership and content through the creation of a Council on Communication and Information to oversee and punish media that fail to observe guidelines on violence and disseminate information that might be considered biased.

In light of these developments, the World Movement calls upon the Government of Ecuador to adhere to internationally accepted standards regarding freedom of expression, particularly the Declaration on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). As the latter clearly states, "The right of expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or means, such as the abuse of government or private controls over newsprint, radio broadcasting frequencies, or equipment used in the dissemination of information, or by any other means tending to impede the communication and circulation of ideas and opinions."

More immediately, the World Movement urges the Ecuadoran Government to vacate the sentences levied against the journalists and media entities charged with personal libel under the guise of "inciting public disorder" ...

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