WBO and Partners Discuss Principles for Protecting Artistic Freedom
WBO Press release
November 6 2023
● Organizations discuss standards and parameters for the sector with the Special Rapporteurs of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
● The objective is to combat censorship, promote artistic freedom and the rights of cultural professionals at international legal and political levels
The Washington Brazil Office (WBO), the Special Rapporteurship on Freedom of Expression, the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Cultural and Environmental Rights, Article 19, Brazilian Movement on Freedom of Artistic Expression (Mobile), PEN Internacional, ARC/ PEN América, IFEX Global and the Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression, Samambaia.org, National Foundation of the Arts (FUNARTE) and other partners will hold a seminar on November 6 and 7 in Washington to discuss the adoption of protection parameters for freedom of artistic expression and the human rights of cultural professionals in the Americas.
The event still has room for in-person participation, and is also open to remote participation in addition to having simultaneous translation into Portuguese, English and Spanish. Registration requests can be made by email at jade.alves@article19.org.
At its current stage, the initiative helps facilitate the exchange of information, the reporting of violations, and the formulation of paths that lead to the adoption of inter-American principles to politically and legally protect artists, cultural professionals, and groups and collectives that express themselves in this field in countries of the region.
Among the threats detected in the sector are state censorship, political and moral strangulation of public resources directed toward financing the sector, and public campaigns of persecution and defamation of cultural professionals by political parties, groups, religious organizations, and individuals from civil society.
“Artistic and cultural expression must be a field of broad freedom. For this to happen, it is necessary to adopt parameters that establish and protect the sector in the face of harassment that has occurred, especially with the emergence of new authoritarian governments,” stated Paulo Abrão, executive director of the Washington Brazil Office, the only think tank that is located in the United States and specializes in Brazil in addition to also acting as an institution in order to support and facilitate the interaction between Brazilian civil society organizations and international interlocutors – in this case , with the Inter-American System of the Organizations of American States (OAS).
“Freedom of artistic and cultural expression is one of the pillars of democracy and critical thinking. However, in recent years, it has suffered setbacks in various ways, being one of the preferred targets of conservatism and authoritarianism that have grown in strength in the region”, says Raísa Cetra, co-executive director of Artigo 19 Brasil e América do Sul.
The Workshop
The workshop will be divided into two parts: (1) mapping the state of the arts of freedom of artistic expression and cultural rights in the IAHRS and diagnosing the current situation of these rights in the region by identifying patterns of violations and emblematic cases; (2) discussion of the central structuring axes for the construction of a proposal for Inter-American Principles and the methodology required to do so.
Registrations
If you are interested in participating, we will send you the session link or instructions for in-person access after your registration is finalized. Please write to jade.alves@article19.org informing us of how you plan to participate (remote or in person), full name, name of the institution where you work, email and contact telephone number.
PROGRAMMING (subject to change)
November 6
6pm – Opening Comments
Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño - IACHR
José Luis Caballero Ochoa - IACHR
Raísa Cetra - ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America
Paulo Abrão - Washington Brazil Office
Maria Marighella - President of FUNARTE
Luz Elena Baños - Ambassador of Mexico to the OAS
Carmem Montón - Ambassador of Spain to the OAS
6:30 pm – Main regulatory frameworks and inter-American standards on Freedom of Artistic Expression and other Human Rights of Artists and Cultural Professionals
Chair of the Session: José Luis Caballero Ochoa - IACHR
Pedro Vaca - Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE/IACHR)
Javier Palummo - Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA/IACHR)
Jorge Meza - Deputy Executive Secretary for the IACHR Case System
7pm – Patterns of violations of freedom of artistic expression and the right to culture: emblematic cases in the Americas
Chair of the Session: Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitino - IACHR
Alicia Quiñones - PEN International
Claudia Ordoñez - ARTICLE 19 (Mexico and Central America)
Celeste Fernandes - ACIJ/Regional Alliance Committee for Free Expression and Information
Wesley Gibbings - Consejo de IFEX/Association of Caribbean Media Workers
Ana Lidia Garcia - Colectivo +Voces
Antonio Grassi - 342 Arts/Mobile
Jake Neuberger - Artists at Risk Connection (ARC)/PEN America
Representative of Color Afro Xingu/Coletivo Pai D’égua and Coletivo Tinta Preta - Brazil
Kric Cruz - AMPARAR - Brazil
8pm – Debate with participants
8:30 pm – Closing and cocktail
***
November 7th
6pm – Structuring Principles of Freedom of Artistic Expression: protection for all forms of culture and artistic expression, freedom of content and style, non-discrimination, prohibition of censorship and persecution, protection against State interference, proportionality of restrictions, tolerance and pluralism, autonomy of the artist, freedom of movement in the face of threats, protection of the expression of culture and territories of historically discriminated groups and others
Chair of the Session: Pedro Vaca - Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE/IACHR)
Claudia Ordoñez - ARTICLE 19 (Mexico and Central America)
Guilherme Varella - MOBILE (Brazil)
Jake Neuberger - Artists at Risk Connection (ARC)/PEN America (USA)
Alicia Quiñones - PEN International
Raísa Cetra - ARTICLE 19 (Brazil)
Ana Lidia - Coletivo +Voces (Cuba)
7pm – Structuring Principles on the Rights of Artists and Cultural Agents: gender equality, race and diversity, copyright and intellectual property, rights in relation to artificial intelligence and other new technologies, professional and union rights, inviolability of the creative space, freedom of association, preservation of cultural identity, guarantee of cultural diversity, participation and equal opportunities in public cultural policies, preservation of cultural heritage, social protection of artists, protection against repression of non-state agents, and security of artists and others
Chair of the Session: Javier Palummo - Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA/IACHR)
Raquel da Cruz Lima - ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America
Maria Marighella - FUNARTE
Sarahi Salvatierra - FUNDAR (Mexico)/Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information
7:40 pm - Proposal for a methodology and schedule for the construction of the Inter-American Principles and next steps
Chair of the Session: José Luis Caballero Ochoa - Representative of the IACHR
Tania Reneaum - Executive Secretary of the IACHR
Javier Palummo - Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA)
8pm – Debate with participants
8:30 pm – Closing
Proposing organizations:
• ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America
• ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America
• Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information
• International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX Global)
• Special rapporteur on Freedom of Expression (RELE/IACHR)
• Special rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA/IACHR)
• Washington Brazil Office (WBO)
• Brazilian Movement on Freedom of Artistic Expression (MOBILE)
• International Poets, Essayists and Novelists (PEN Internacional)
• Poets, Essayists and Novelists of America (PEN América)
• Samambaia.org
• Artists at Risk Connection (ARC)
• National Arts Foundation (FUNARTE)
