Chapultepec Declaration
The Chapultepec Declaration, also known as the Hemispheric Declaration on Free Expression, emerged from a significant conference held in March 1994 at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, focusing on the critical issues of free expression and freedom of the press. The event, sponsored by the Inter-American Press Association, gathered a diverse group of journalists, political thinkers, and legal experts from across the Americas to discuss and advocate for press freedoms. The Declaration articulates essential principles such as the need for a press that operates independently from governmental influence and the importance of safeguarding journalists from violence and intimidation. It firmly asserts that freedom of the press is an inherent right, not merely a privilege granted by those in power. In a notable endorsement, President Bill Clinton signed a Charter of Endorsement in April 1995, joining leaders from several Latin American countries in supporting the Declaration’s tenets. The Chapultepec Declaration serves as a vital framework for promoting and protecting free expression throughout the Americas, reflecting a collective commitment to uphold democratic values. The principles outlined in the Declaration continue to resonate in discussions about media rights and journalist safety in contemporary society.
Chapultepec Declaration
Date: 1994
Place: Mexico City
Significance: The product of a hemispheric conference on journalistic freedom, the declaration is a vigorous manifesto in support of freedom of the press in the Americas
The Chapultepec Declaration, also known as the Hemispheric Declaration on Free Expression, is the product of a conference on free expression and freedom of the press held at the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City in March, 1994. The Inter-American Press Association sponsored the conference, and journalists, publishers, writers, constitutional lawyers, and political philosophers drawn from North, South, and Central America attended the event. The Chapultepec Declaration enunciated principles of free expression, including the necessity of a press free from repression and from the temptation of favorable treatment according to the content of journalism. The Declaration also condemned violence against journalists and insisted that freedom of the press is a right rather than a concession from those who hold political power. In April, 1995, President Bill Clinton signed a Charter of Endorsement for the Declaration of Chapultepec on behalf of the United States, joining with the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay in publicly embracing the declaration’s principles.
