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Paraguay Union of Journalists Warns Officialist Law Risks Freedom of Expression
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Paraguay Union of Journalists Warns Officialist Law Risks Freedom of Expression

From ABC Color · (19m ago) Spanish Critical tone

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Paraguay's Union of Journalists warns that a proposed officialist law to protect journalists poses a risk to freedom of expression.
  • The union criticizes the bill for excluding human rights defenders and concentrating power within the Ministry of the Interior.
  • They urge lawmakers to reject or postpone the bill, arguing that a flawed law is worse than no law at all.

The Paraguayan Union of Journalists (SPP) has issued a stark warning to the Senate on the eve of Journalist's Day: the government-backed bill intended to protect journalists is, in its current form, a dangerous misstep that threatens the very freedom of expression it purports to safeguard. Santiago Ortiz, the SPP's General Secretary, has implored legislators to reconsider this legislation, emphasizing that it will fail to protect anyone and could instead exacerbate the precarious situation faced by journalists in our country.

apeló a la conciencia de los legisladores para frenar o aplazar el proyecto impulsado por el oficialismo que excluye a defensores de derechos humanos. Asegura que la norma “no protegerá realmente a nadie”.

— Santiago OrtizGeneral Secretary of the Union of Journalists of Paraguay, expressing concern that the bill will not offer effective protection and risks freedom of expression.

Our union's primary concern lies in the bill's exclusionary nature and its flawed structure. The exclusion of human rights defenders, despite explicit recommendations from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, is a critical flaw. Furthermore, the concentration of protective authority within a single Interior Ministry official, rather than an independent, pluralistic mechanism involving civil society, opens the door to arbitrary decisions and potential political manipulation. This is not the comprehensive protection envisioned by international standards; it is a recipe for selective enforcement.

Va a decidir por sí y para sí a quién proteger y a quién no

— Santiago OrtizGeneral Secretary of the Union of Journalists of Paraguay, criticizing the concentration of power within a single official in the Ministry of the Interior.

We at the SPP believe that a bad law is far worse than no law. The current proposal's reliance on limited police protection, which many journalists in the interior distrust, and its omission of crucial elements like safe relocation or guarantees for continued work, render it inadequate. The risk of self-censorship and the potential for the protection system itself to be weaponized are real. Therefore, we stand firm in our call: this bill must be rejected or, at the very least, postponed to allow for genuine dialogue and the development of a truly effective protection mechanism that upholds, rather than undermines, the vital work of journalists and human rights defenders in Paraguay.

Nosotros no queremos cualquier ley. Una mala ley es peor que no tener ley

— Santiago OrtizGeneral Secretary of the Union of Journalists of Paraguay, arguing for the rejection or postponement of the current bill.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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