Adopted at the events celebrating World Press Freedom Day – Santiago, Chile, May 2^nd to 4^th, 2024

We, leaders of international and national journalistic organizations; representatives of national associations of media houses in various nations of Ibero-America, all participants in the events commemorating the World Press Freedom Day of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), held in Santiago, Chile, from May 2^nd to 4^th, 2024, in continuation of the seminar “Media Development and Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean” which adopted the Santiago Declaration 30 years ago in this same city, from May 2^nd to 6^th, 1994;

Considering Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”; United Nations General Assembly Resolution 59 (I) of December 14, 1946, affirming that freedom of information is a fundamental human right, and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 45/76 A of December 11, 1990, on information for the service of humanity;

Considering the values of the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José, Costa Rica), the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (2000);

Considering UNESCO General Conference Resolution 104, adopted at its 25^th meeting in 1989, which particularly emphasizes the promotion of “the free flow of ideas by word and image at the international and national levels,” as well as the Official Resolution adopted by the UNESCO General Conference on November 12, 1997, condemning murders of journalists and demanding that authorities investigate, prevent, and punish those responsible for violence and repair its consequences;

Considering United Nations General Assembly Resolution 48/133 adopted on December 20, 1993, on the occasion of the International Year of Indigenous Peoples, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

Considering the resolution adopted by the Organization of American States (OAS) at its General Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 2, 1998, on “Attacks against the exercise of freedom of the press and crimes against journalists,” the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2013, on “The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity,” and the Medellín Declaration adopted at the UNESCO Conference on “Press Freedom, Safety of Journalists and Impunity,” held in Colombia, for the celebration of the World Press Freedom Day from May 3^rd to 4^th, 2007;

Considering the principles of press freedom and freedom of expression emanating from the Declaration of Chapultepec (1994) and the Salta Declaration on Principles of Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age (2018),

Expressing our gratitude to the Government and people of Chile for their generous hospitality and for contributing to the success of the events celebrating the World Press Freedom Day 2024,

Expressing our appreciation to UNESCO for its initiative to celebrate World Press Freedom Day 2024 in Chile and for sustaining the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize that honors the memory of one of the most emblematic journalists of our region, a victim in a double departure, of organized crime and impunity.

Confirming, as stated in the Santiago Declaration of 1994, in its principle 1, that “freedom of expression is the cornerstone of our democracies. Democracy is a prerequisite for peace and development within and between our countries. Freedom of the press is a key and inseparable part of the freedom of expression.”

Convinced, as affirmed by the Santiago Declaration in its principle 2, that “all States of the region must be encouraged to provide constitutional guarantees for freedom of expression, freedom of the press for all forms of media…,” and that its principle 3 called for “respect for pluralism, cultural, language and gender diversity should be a fundamental factor in our democratic societies and should be reflected through all the media.”

Considering that thirty years later, behaviors denounced in Point 4 of the Santiago Declaration in 1994 persist, regarding the existence of “repression, threats, aggression, murder, arrest, detention and abduction for which the criminals, in many cases, enjoy impunity.”

Stressing that press freedom, independence, and pluralism remain important objectives to ensure information as a public good, a right that all humanity should enjoy to achieve the fulfillment of human aspirations included in the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda,

Recognizing that Spain, Portugal, Latin America and the Caribbean have a vibrant, plural, and diverse ecosystem of highly developed traditional and digital media, it is necessary to support their viability and that of other media with limited resources in rural areas and marginalized urban zones.

Aware that peace, development, and democracy are closely linked and recognizing that the media in Spain, Portugal, Latin America and the Caribbean continue to play an essential role in favor of peace, democracy, and the economic and social development of peoples,

We declare:

Now, as 30 years ago, the traditional values of journalism in society persist, but new opportunities and challenges have emerged with the rise of non-globalized actors in 1994, notably the internet, which laid the groundwork for a dramatic transformation in the consumption of all kinds of content by the population, driving the emergence of new information and communication technologies, major technology companies, social networks, and artificial intelligence developers.

In this context, collaborative efforts involving governments, media, technology companies, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society are necessary to promote free expression as a fundamental human right and cornerstone of democratic and informed societies.

Therefore, we request:

To States:

• Encourage, through public policies based on international best practices, the existence of a free, independent, and diverse media landscape covering both traditional and digital platforms, enacting and enforcing laws and regulatory frameworks that protect and guarantee freedom of expression and the press in light of international human rights principles.
• Provide citizens with access to quality information that allows them to make equally quality decisions in their daily lives in the face of disinformation, hate speech, discrimination, racism, or incitement to violence, among other distortions present in the digital ecosystem.
• Avoid political polarization discourse and narratives, including the stigmatization of journalistic work in its democratic roles related to the flow of information, oversight of elected officials, tolerance for dissenting opinions, and consensus building.
• Protect journalists and media from threats, attacks, and violence, addressing the impunity of crimes against journalists and creating efficient task forces and protection systems to prevent, investigate, and prosecute attacks and repair their consequences.
• Establish mechanisms and public policies to guarantee the free flow of information and unrestricted access to public information; bring defamation cases, where criminal persecution of journalists still persists, to civil courts (not criminal); discourage Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which only seek to intimidate and silence critical voices of journalists and other civil actors, and deactivate regulations that maintain direct or indirect censorship against media and journalists.
• Support the sustainability of media and independent journalism as actors that favor the existence of a democratic regime and, in particular, a public sphere where citizens monitor public affairs, debate diverse ideas, and build consensus.
• Establish regulations that favor citizen-free competition in the permanent innovations of the digital age, with the necessary tools to guarantee their participation in the community and to protect human rights.
• Encourage clear and transparent public policies in a market subjected to asymmetrical characteristics so that there are conditions for dialogue and balanced negotiations between media and technology companies that distribute journalistic content.
• Promote media literacy, digital literacy, and critical thinking skills so that citizens can effectively navigate the digital landscape and distinguish reliable information from disinformation.

To intergovernmental organizations:

• Continue to collaborate with professional organizations and research institutes on the current situation of the media to make policy recommendations to governments that encourage the existence of free, independent, and plural information channels.
• Support projects for the financing and economic sustainability of journalism and media, for creating new media in rural and vulnerable areas, to prevent the spread of so-called “news deserts.”
• Coordinate efforts to create training programs, protection, and security for journalists, as well as refuge and support for persecuted and exiled journalists.
• Encourage governments, digital platforms, and media to create media and digital literacy programs.

To technology companies:

• Transparently disclose their content moderation policies and decisions, with clear and consistent guidelines to minimize the negative impact of harmful content and the distribution of misinformation, as well as to use their artificial intelligence tools to detect and prevent unauthorized use of copyrighted material.
• Promote the existence and deepening of collaborative models with media, exploring new sustainable business models for both parties, combating disinformation and digital literacy of users, ensuring fair compensation for the news content they distribute, and respecting copyright and intellectual property laws.
• Observe principles of competition in the advertising ecosystem and prevent commercial practices that harm media and independent journalism.
• Establish transparency practices regarding the protection of personal data, privacy, and particularly the use of algorithms that classify and recommend content and advertising, in order to avoid biases related to social polarization, race, gender, and political perspectives, and prioritize original content creators.

To media and journalism:

• Maintain independence from political and commercial pressures and resist censorship, self-censorship, and undue influence. Sustain their commitment to seeking truth, quality, transparency, and public interest and reinforce their policies of gender inclusion, race, and diversity of communities in a democratic society.
• Create efficient security protocols to provide journalists and their staff with tools for physical, digital, and emotional protection in situations of violence and coverage of crises and social conflicts.
• Practice quality journalism, including investigation, transparency, and seeking solutions to social problems. Also, defend ethical standards, disclose conflicts of interest, promptly correct errors, and use efficient fact-checking mechanisms to combat disinformation.
• Identify more financial viability tools with sustainable and innovative business models; explore new revenue sources; accelerate their digital transformation; and consider that journalists with robust local coverage are essential for citizen participation and accountability of public servants.

This Declaration reaffirms our commitment to a free press, a vibrant public discourse, and the flourishing of democratic societies in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Signed by

World Association of News Publishers, WAN-IFRA; Inter American Press Association (IAPA); Committe to Protect Journalists (CPJ); Associação Nacional de Jornais (ANJ-Brasil); Asociación de Entidades Periodísticas Argentinas (Adepa); Asociación Nacional de la Prensa (ANP-Chile); Asociación Colombiana de Medios de Información (AMI); Asociación de Medios de Información (AMI-España); Associação Portuguesa de Imprensa (APImprensa); Alianza de Medios Mx (México); Consejo de la Prensa Peruana (CPP) y Asociación Ecuatoriana de Editores de Periódicos (Aedep).