Document was released at the I Brazilian Congress on Democracy and Law and is signed by entities such as PUC-SP, PNBE, Instituto Palavra Aberta, ABRAJI, ANER and ANJ
The closing of the 1st Brazilian Congress on Democracy and Law, promoted by Pensamento Nacional das Bases Empresariais (PNBE) and the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), featured the launch of the “Manifesto in Defense of Freedom of the Press”.
In the document, the entities argue that “press freedom is not only an essential right for society, but is also a fundamental part of any Democratic State. It cannot, therefore, be subject to actions that involve a threat or effective constraint to its effective exercise, which, unfortunately, has been happening in several parts of the country, a problem that tends to worsen with the proximity of elections in an environment of great polarization”, they affirm.
The manifesto was initially signed by entities such as the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), Pensamento Nacional das Bases Empresariais (PNBE), Instituto Palavra Aberta, Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJ), National Association of Magazine Editors ( ANER), National Association of Newspapers (ANJ) and the Brazilian Press Association (ABI).
View the full manifesto
The civil society entities that subscribe to this document are based on the premise that freedom of the press is not only an essential right for society, but is also a fundamental part of any democratic state. It cannot, therefore, be subject to actions that involve a threat or effective constraint to its effective exercise, which, unfortunately, has been happening in several parts of the country, a problem that tends to worsen with the proximity of elections in an environment of great polarization.
The defense of press freedom must be guided by the following premises:
· The professional exercise of information cannot be subject to any type of limitation, constraint or threat, including that translated through unjustified lawsuits, and the Judiciary, in this case, is responsible for taking special care to assess and sanction bad faith litigation possibly practiced by the applicants.
· Information vehicles and professionals carry out activities of superlative public interest that can only be properly exercised without interference or control of any kind, with possible abuses, provided for by law, as a basis for actions by those who feel affected in their honor.
· The freedom of journalistic information, in addition to being a right of the whole society, is a fundamental guarantee of the Democratic State, because without it, all other freedom rights are no longer respected.
- National Thought of the Business Bases (PNBE)
- Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP)
- Brazilian Press Association (ABI)
- Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI)
- National Association of Magazine Editors (ANER)
- National Association of Newspapers (ANJ)
- Open Word Institute
- Tornavoz Institute
- Associação Paulista Viva
- National Center for Business Modernization (CENAM)
- Brazilian Institute for Consumer Defense (IDEC)
- American Conference of Subnational Electoral Organizations for Electoral Transparency (CAOESTE)
- Electoral Transparency in Latin America
