The office of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Organization of American States (OAS) was established by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 1997 to monitor OAS member states' compliance with the

American Convention on Human Rights The American Convention on Human Rights, also known as the Pact of San José, is an international human rights instrument. It was adopted by many countries in the Western Hemisphere in San José, Costa Rica, on 22 November 1969. It came into for ...

in the area of

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

. The office analyses complaints of free expression violations received by the IACHR and advises the commission on cases, including requests for "precautionary measures" from OAS member states to protect journalists and others who face threats or the risk of irreparable harm. In cases involving a serious violation of freedom of expression, the Special Rapporteur issues press releases about the information it has received, expresses its concern to the authorities, and makes recommendations for re-instating this right. In other cases, the special rapporteur directly contacts government authorities to obtain further information and/or to request that the government take measures to rectify the harm that has been inflicted. The special rapporteur also makes recommendations to OAS member states to reform laws and regulations that violate free expression rights guaranteed under the convention. The special rapporteur participates in education, training and other activities to promote the right to freedom of expression and support local journalists and

human rights defenders A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing cam ...

, and conducts fact-finding missions to investigate reports of abuses in OAS member states. Each year, the rapporteur issues an annual report detailing the state of press freedom and freedom of expression in each country in the Americas. The OAS Rapporteur is one of the four International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression, the others being the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Chart ...

Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media functions as a watchdog on media developments in all 57 participating member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The representative provides early warning on viol ...

. Each year, they issue a joint declaration calling attention to worldwide free expression concern

Special rapporteurs

* Dr. Santiago A. Canton (Argentina) : 1998-2002 * Dr. Eduardo Bertoni (Argentina) : 2002-2006 * Dr. Ignacio Álvarez (Venezuela) : 2006-2008 * Dr. Catalina Botero Marino, Catalina Botero (Colombia) : 2008- 2014 * Dr. Edison Lanza (Uruguay): 2014 - 2020 * Dr. Pedro Vaca (Colombia): 2020 - present

External links

Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression
Intergovernmental human rights organizations Organization of American States Freedom of expression Human rights in Latin America

Special rapporteurs

See also

External links