Fundación LED (Libertad de Expresión + Democracia) is proud to submit its first Annual Management Report.
These first year´s achievements fill us with pride, especially considering that Freedom of Expression and the right to exercise it fully have been and are being steadily jeopardized in our country.
We are grateful for being able to reach out to all of you. Indeed, this leads us to an even greater commitment to defend rights which are elemental in a democratic society.
When we set out to walk this path we set ourselves certain core goals which today we feel we have more than met. There always is, however, more to be done, and that is why in 2013 we propose to enhance all our work and aim at new challenges, for which we count on your greatly esteemed support.
Among this year´s achievements we are particularly proud of our Draft Report on Freedom of Expression inArgentina, submitted on December 28, 2011, and of our Midyear Report on Limits to Freedom of Speech inArgentina, submitted in July as a consequence of the outstanding increase of cases reported which were surveyed by us.
Indeed, we did not just accomplish the objectives we had set ourselves but also achieved goals we simply had not imagined possible. In April our Foundation filed a report with the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on the limits to Freedom of Expression in Argentina. We also filed an Amicus Curiae brief supporting the report filed by a group of Argentine journalists with the Organization of American States.
A special comment should be made about the bonds we have set up internationally with other organizations which are kin to us, such as FUNDAMEDIOS from Ecuador, or Asociación Naval dela Prensafrom Bolivia, as well as with multilateral institutions such as Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP) or Asociación Internacional de Radiodifusión (AIR).
In short, after an intense year it is safe to say that Fundación LED is actively present in the institutional life of our country and of the region, that we are certainly moving on, and that we shall keep walking in this direction, never giving up but rather struggling day by day to guarantee the full effectiveness of our originating principles.
Please find attached Fundación LED´s (Libertad de Expresión + Democracia) 2012 Managemet Report.
Silvana Giudici – President
December 28, 2011 – Submission of Draft Report on Freedom of Expression – Argentina, 2011
This report, prepared by Fundación LED at 2011 year end, details some of the main events which involved journalists and/or the media and which, in one way or another, whether directly or indirectly, affected the rights of access to information and of freedom of expression.
The information contained in this instrument was broken down according to the following criteria:
- Enforcement of Law 26522 on Audiovisual Communication Services
- Discretional increase and allocation of Government funds for advertising
- Delay in addressing rules governing the access to public information and the allocation of official advertising
- The TV Show “Fútbol para todos” (Football for Everybody)
- Rules passed which are scarcely constitutional
- Blockings to newspaper and magazine printing plants and distribution centers
- Premises of different media searched with the assistance of the National Border Patrol
- Threats, aggression and attacks on journalists and media
December 30, 2011 – Complaint Filed with the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States
A complaint was filed with the OAS by Representatives Patricia Bullrich, Federico Pinedo, Paula Bertol, Jorge Triaca, Laura Alonso, Eduardo Amadeo and Ramona Pucheta, all of them from different political parties represented at the Argentine Congress, and Silvana Giudici, the head of Fundación LED, in order to make the Special Rapporteur aware of the new events jeopardizing the full effectiveness of freedom of press and expression in our country.
March 14, 2012 – Complaint filed with Ms. Catalina Botero, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States
A complaint was filed with Ms. Catalina Botero, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, by Silvana Giudici, as President of Fundación LED, to make the Special Rapporteur aware of the new acts of censorship against journalists during February,2012 in the Argentine Republic, in the framework of protests against opencast mining in the province of Catamarca.
April 9, 2012 – Submission for the 14th Session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) – Argentine Republic
The UPR is a periodic process run by the High Commissioner of Human Rights under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council. Its purpose is to promote and improve Human Rights in each of the 193 UN member states.
Under this mechanism, the human rights situation of all UN Member States is reviewed every 4,5 years (42 States are reviewed each year during three UPR sessions dedicated to 14 States each). The result of each review is reflected in an “outcome report.”
Fundación LED submitted a report under the UPR framework listing the restrictions to freedom of expression which have taken place in theArgentineRepublicsince 2003 to date.
April 24, 2012 – Organization of the Debate Sessions on “Internet Regulation. Freedom of Expression v. Intellectual Property?” at the Emar Acosta room of the Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation
The following panelists were present at the debate: Raúl Martínez Fazzalari, Ricardo Sáenz and Henoch Aguiar; Silvana Giudici, President of Fundación LED; National Senator Luis Naidenoff and Congresswomen Paula Bertol and Patricia Bullrich. The debate was moderated by Daniel Ríos, Executive Director of Fundación LED.
June 26, 2012 – Participation in the Public Conference “Freedom of Expression in Argentina – Media Law Challenges and Opportunities for Democracy and Freedom of Expression”
The conference was organized by Senators and Congressmen at the Jorge L. Borges room in the National Library.
Representatives from the following organizations were also present: FOPEA, APTRA, ARPA, ATVC, FATPREN, FARCO, Silvana Giudici and de Wladimir Gaston Constanze Lima, President and Treasurer of Fundación LED, respectively. Congressman Juan Pedro Tunessi acted as coordinator.
July 12, 2012 – Presentation of Fundación LED´s Midyear Report
Fundación LED´s report, which was submitted at the ViaSui Hotel in the City of Buenos Aires, accounts for 161 events all over the country constituting restrictions on the exercise of Freedom of Expression during the first semester in 2012.
In the report events were broken down by categories, resulting in the following percentages:
- Attacks, physical aggression, institutional threats or intimidation against journalists or the media: 56 cases, 35%
- Journalists who were arrested or deprived of their freedom or harassed at Court: 5 cases, 3%
- Physical attacks and/or aggression on journalists: 35 cases, 22%
- Journalists threatened or intimidated: 13 cases, 8%
- Restricted access to public information, acts of censorship: 28 cases, 18%
- Attacks against media facilities, antennas or broadcasting stations: 7 cases, 4%
- Complaints filed and/or statements made by domestic and international agencies concerning freedom of expression in the Argentine Republic: 15 cases, 9%
- Breaches to the Law on Audiovisual Communication Services: 2 cases, 1%
August 22, 2012 – Amicus Curiae Brief Filed Supporting the Public Hearing Requested by a Group of Argentine Journalists before the Honorable Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Fundación LED formally filed an Amicus Curiae brief supporting the request of a public hearing made by a group of Argentine journalists before the Honorable Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States in order to complain formally about being hunted down in the Argentine Republic by the Administration.
September 13, 2012 – Visit of the President of the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB) to the Argentine Parliament
Luis Pardo Sainz, President of the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB), visited the House of Representatives of the Argentine Nation for an exchange with different parliamentarians in connection with the situation of the media and freedom of expression in Argentina. The following Representatives were present: Patricia Bullrich (Unión Por Todos), Paula Bertol, Cornelia Schmidt-Liermann (Pro), Roy Cortina (Socialista Party), Omar Duclos (GEN), and Carlos Brown (Frente Peronista) and Fundación LED´s President and Executive Director, Silvana Giudici and Daniel Ríos, respectively.
October 10, 2012 – Participation in the Public Conference “The Media and the Controverted Media Law”
Organized by Fundación Cívico Republicana at Universidad del Centro de Estudios Macroeconómicos de Argentina (UCEMA), Fundación LED was present at the Conference through its President, Silvana Giudici.
October 22, 2012 – Participation at the Open Meeting “The Status of Public Information in Argentina: Production, Conservation, Access and Publicity”
Organized by Representatives from different political parties: Laura Alonso (PRO), Manuel Garrido (UCR), Graciela Camaño (Frente Peronista), Gerardo Milman (GEN), Graciela Ocaña (UDESO) and Gustavo Ferrari (Frente Peronista), at the House of Representatives of the Argentine Congress, an open meeting was held on “The Status of Public Information in Argentina: Production, Conservation, Access and Publicity”. Several stakeholders were present and Fundación LED was represented by its President, Silvana Giudici.
November 16, 2012 – Exchange of information with a German Parliamentarian, Herr Reiner Deutschmann, at Fundación F. Naumann
Organized by Fundación F. Naumann, Fundación LED was present at a meeting organized to exchange information with the German Parliamentarian, Herr Reiner Deutschmann.
November 27, 2012 – Participation in a Conference on the Media Law at the Rosario Bar Association, in the Province of Santa Fe
The Conference on the Media Law took place at the Auditorium of the Rosario Bar Association, in the Province of Santa Fe. Fundación LED was represented by its President, Silvana Giudici, who was one of the speakers.
December 7, 2012 – Meeting at the Senate of the Argentine Nation with a Mission from the Inter-American Press Association (SIP-IAPA)
There was an exchange at the Arturo Illia room of the Senate of the Argentine Nation between an SIP-IAPA Mission and journalists, senators and congressmen representing different political parties at the Argentine Parliament and civil society stakeholders. The subject addressed was freedom of press and of expression in Argentina vis-á-vis the emblematic day set by the Federal Government of Argentina for the enforcement of the Media Law. Fundación LED expressed its view in the presentation delivered by its President, Silvana Giudici.
December 10, 2012 – Book Launch – El negocio de los Derechos Humanos (The Human Rights Business) by journalist Luis Gasulla, published by Editorial Sudamericana
Fundación LED´s President, journalist Ceferino Reato, Miriam Aquino (Villa Cartón spokesperson) and Gisela de Vincenzo (from the Association “Búsqueda de la Identidad” (A Pursuit of Identity) were the panelists at the book launch of Luis Gasulla´s El negocio de los Derechos Humanos (The Human Rights Business), published by Editorial Sudamericana. The book was launched at the Emar Acosta Auditorium of the Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation.
December 10, 2012 – Delegation from the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB) at the House of Representatives of the Argentine Republic
Gathered at the House Annex, congressmen and women from different political parties welcomed an IAB Delegation and discussed with it the situation of the media and of freedom of expression in Argentina. Fundación LED´s President, Silvana Giudici, expressed our Foundation´s views.
December 12, 2012 – In Recognition of the Work Done to Defend the Right of Freedom of Expression
The Asociación de Entidades Periodísticas Argentina (ADEPA) (the Argentine Press Association) in the framework of the activities commemorating its 50th Anniversary recognized Fundación LED´s President, Silvana Giudicci, for her outstanding work at the Legislature while presiding over the Commission on Freedom of Expression of the Honorable House of Representatives of the Argentine Republic. The ceremony took place at the Salón Dorado of the Casa dela Cultura(La Prensa Building), at Av. de Mayo575, inthe City of Buenos Aires.
Last but not least, looking forward to the coming year as a source of rights and guaranteed liberties, we wish you the very best for 2013.
27/12/2012