Chile
The following Justice Initiative projects are underway in, or relevant to, Chile:
Freedom of Information (FOI)
Human Rights Commission Asked to Uphold Right to Information in Chile
Four rights groups argue Chile violated the American Convention on Human Rights
New York, February 23—The Open Society Justice Initiative and three partner organizations Tuesday urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to uphold the right to information in a case against Chile.
The case, Claude and Others v. Chile, involves a government agency's refusal to release information requested by an environmental NGO regarding a major logging project, known as the Condor River project. In December 1998 a number of South American rights groups filed a petition with the Commission on behalf of the requestors. This is the first case before the Commission involving the right of general access to state-held information.
The Justice Initiative and three other groups—ARTICLE 19, Libertad de Información México (LIMAC) and the Lima-based Press and Society Institute (IPYS)—filed jointly a "friend of the court" brief in support of the case, which will be heard by the Commission in its regular winter session that started Tuesday. The four organizations are committed to promotion of the right to information in the Americas and beyond.
"This case gives the Commission an opportunity to uphold the right of people throughout the Americas to know what their governments are up to," said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Justice Initiative, which led the effort. "A ruling in favor of the right to information would be a ruling for democratic accountability and good governance throughout the hemisphere," Goldston said.
The brief filed by the four groups argues that Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights guarantees everyone's right to access information held by public authorities. The brief goes on to assert that the Chilean government has failed to give effect to this right in domestic law, and violated the requestors' Article 13 rights in the case at issue.
The information requestors, who were affiliated with the Santiago-based Terram Foundation, asked the Chilean Foreign Investment Committee to provide information collected by the Committee on the environmental and general track record of the company behind the Condor River project. The request went unanswered by the Committee and the requestors' appeals to Chile's courts were summarily dismissed.
Please click here for full text of the brief
International: The Access to Information Monitoring Tool
In 2004, the Justice Initiative is measuring levels of government transparency in 16 countries worldwide, including four in Latin America: Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Partner NGOs (including journalists and small business groups) have been trained in a common methodology; they began filing requests on April 19. In each country, ten requestors will file a total of 140 requests with 18 different public institutions. Questions are designed to elicit three kinds of information— characterized as “routine”, “difficult” and “sensitive”—and include requests on issues of relevance to OSI's work generally.
Regional: litigation strategies
A March 2004 meeting in Buenos Aires brought together partners from across Latin America to discuss and seek opportunities for litigation and advocacy at the regional (Latin American) level to promote and deepen FOI norms. The meeting focused on the use of litigation to further standard setting, particularly before the Inter-American Commission and Court on Human Rights. Partners are now defining national litigation strategies—a Mexican draft strategy already exists. Two cases from Chile have been identified for pursuit at the Inter-American level, one of which has been submitted to the Commission and may benefit from a Justice Initiative amicus brief.
Freedom of Expression
International Media Lawyers’ Association
The Justice Initiative’s summer program training lawyers from around the world in litigating on behalf of media freedom enters its third year in 2004. For the first time, participants from Latin America will take part. The program, carried out in cooperation with Oxford University, combines broad examination of media freedom issues with a sharper focus on regional issues and mechanisms.
Mexico: Community Radios Broadcasting
In many parts of Latin America, the rights of community radio broadcasters have long been denied through arbitrary, discriminatory and exclusionary licensing practices. Mexico is no exception. In Mexico, a number of local community radio stations have for years struggled without success to obtain a license. Some applications have been consistently ignored. Other applicants have been routinely harassed by the authorities, accused of clandestine activities, and in some cases closed down. The Justice Initiative has supplied technical and legal assistance to some Mexican stations in challenging licensing refusals, resubmitting applications, negotiating with government licensing authorities and preparing for the possibility of litigation, should all other avenues of recourse prove unsuccessful.
Regional: Documenting the Chilling effect of defamation laws
We are discussing with the Inter-American Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression a project to document the effects of criminal defamation laws on journalists and media outlets. Such a report will be used in advocacy work for law reform, and will complement the recent judgment of the Inter-American Court in the Herrera vs. Costa Rica case.