During the Cordoba, Argentina 24th annual meeting of the Inter American Press Association it was decided that Punta Cana would host the 81st general assembly in 2025. Persio Maldonado, president of the Dominican Association of Newspapers, made the announcement during the closing of the event held in Argentina. This year the delegates met to discuss freedom of information and the challenges of artificial intelligence.
Upon making the announcement, Miguel Franjul, the Vice President of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) Committee on Freedom of the Press, expressed the Dominican Republic’s continued pride in hosting the IAPA. Looking ahead to the upcoming Assembly, Franjul emphasized the hope that the Caribbean nation would have a modern and comprehensive freedom of expression law in place. Franjul has complained repeatedly of the impact on freedom of the press of the billions the government in the Dominican Republic spends on propaganda.
“Unfortunately, this legislation, which has been drafted, documented, and agreed upon by all sectors of Dominican society, has not yet been introduced to Congress as announced by President Luis Abinader,” Franjul said. “So, we hope that when you arrive in Punta Cana next October, we can proudly showcase this new, protective legislation, a new safeguard for press freedom in the Dominican Republic. We look forward to welcoming you all.”
The event looked into the challenges of press in the region. IAPA reported that freedom of expression and press freedom are facing widespread restrictions across the Americas, according to the 2024 Chapultepec Index of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). The average of the 22 nations analyzed in the fifth edition, covering the period from August 2, 2023, to August 1, 2024, falls below the mid-range classification, marking a decline for the second consecutive year.
Carlos Jornet, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, while presenting the findings of the Index during the organization’s 80th General Assembly in this city, pointed out that no country ranked in the “with freedom of expression” category, unlike the previous three years, when up to two countries were classified in this category.
The Dominican Republic is quite near the top of the Chapultapec Index, which measures the freedom of the press in all of the countries in Latin America. However, local headlines see this as something negative, because last year the DR was at the top of the list, ahead of Chile, which heads this year’s list. None of the countries on the Index were able to score a grade of 100, and Chile led this year’s numbers with a 79.65, followed by the Dominican Republic’s 77.25. Apparently, the Inter-American Press Society, currently celebrating its 80th anniversary in Cordoba, Argentina, felt that the DR was lacking on governmental actions regarding violence and impunity against journalists. Some of the proposed sections of the new legislation regarding the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI) were also brought into the evaluation.
The Dominican Republic is ranked in the “low restriction” category of this year’s Chapultepec Index of Freedom of Expression and Press. The index is published by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). This is the 2004 average of the 22 nations analyzed for the fifth edition that covers 2 August 2023 to 1 August 2024. Other countries in this category are Chile, Canada, the US, Brazil, Uruguay, Jamaica and Panama.
The DR is ranked second in the Chapultepec Index – Chile (79.65%), Dominican Republic (77.25%), Canada (75.78%), United States (68.53%) and Brazil (66.55%).
During the annual meeting held in Cordoba, Argentina, Dominican investigative journalist Nuria Piera was reelected to preside the subcommittee for the Chapultepec and Salta declarations that seeks to guarantee that the countries in the Americas have the conditions for freedom of press.
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Chapultepec Index
21 October 2024