III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 211 

Expressing the profound concern of the Senate regarding the transgression 

against freedom of thought and expression that is being carried out 

in Venezuela, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2007 

Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. DODD, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. COLEMAN, 

Mr. OBAMA, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. 

ISAKSON, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mrs. CLINTON, and Mr. KENNEDY) submitted 

the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Relations 

MAY 24, 2007 

Reported by Mr. BIDEN, without amendment 

MAY 24, 2007 

Considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the profound concern of the Senate regarding 

the transgression against freedom of thought and expression that is being carried out in Venezuela, and for 

other purposes. 

Whereas, for several months, the President of Venezuela, 

Hugo Cha ́vez, has been announcing over various media 

that he will not renew the current concession of the television station ‘‘Radio Caracas Televisio ́n’’, also known as 

RCTV, which is set to expire on May 27, 2007, because 

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•SRES 211 ATS 

of its adherence to an editorial stance different from his 

way of thinking; 

Whereas President Chavez justifies this measure based on the 

alleged role RCTV played in the unsuccessful unconstitutional attempts in April 2002 to unseat President Chavez, under circumstances where there exists no filed complaint or judicial sentence that would sustain such a 

charge, nor any legal sanction against RCTV that would 

prevent the renewal of its concession, as provided for 

under Venezuelan law; 

Whereas the refusal to renew the concession of any television 

or radio broadcasting station that complies with legal 

regulations in the matter of telecommunications constitutes a transgression against the freedom of thought 

and expression, which is prohibited by Article 13 of the 

American Convention on Human Rights, signed at San 

Jose, Costa Rica, July 18, 1978, which has been signed 

by the United States; 

Whereas that convention establishes that ‘‘the right of expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or 

means, such as the abuse of government or private controls over newsprint, radio broadcasting frequencies, or 

equipment used in the dissemination of information, or 

by any other means tending to impede the communication and circulation of ideas and opinions’’; 

Whereas the Inter-American Declaration of Principles on 

Freedom of Expression, approved by the Inter-American 

Commission on Human Rights, states in Principle 13, 

‘‘The exercise of power and the use of public funds by 

the state, the granting of customs duty privileges, the arbitrary and discriminatory placement of official advertising and government loans; the concession of radio and 

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•SRES 211 ATS 

television broadcast frequencies, among others, with the 

intent to put pressure on and punish or reward and provide privileges to social communicators and communications media because of the opinions they express threaten 

freedom of expression, and must be explicitly prohibited 

by law. The means of communication have the right to 

carry out their role in an independent manner. Direct or 

indirect pressures exerted upon journalists or other social 

communicators to stifle the dissemination of information 

are incompatible with freedom of expression.’’; 

Whereas, according to the principles of the American Convention on Human Rights and the Inter-American Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, to both of 

which Venezuela is a party, the decision not to renew the 

concession of the television station RCTV is an assault 

against freedom of thought and expression and cannot be 

accepted by democratic countries, especially by those in 

North America who are signatories to the American Convention on Human Rights; 

Whereas the most paradoxical aspect of the decision by President Chavez is that it strongly conflicts with two principles from the Liberator Simo ́n Bolı ́var’s thinking, principles President Chavez says inspire him, which state 

that ‘‘[p]ublic opinion is the most sacred of objects, it 

needs the protection of an enlightened government which 

knows that opinion is the fountain of the most important 

of events,’’ and that ‘‘[t]he right to express one’s 

thoughts and opinions, by word, by writing or by any 

other means, is the first and most worthy asset mankind 

has in society. The law itself will never be able to prohibit 

it.’’; and 

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•SRES 211 ATS 

Whereas the United States should raise its concerns about 

these and other serious restrictions on freedoms of 

thought and expression being imposed by the Government 

of Venezuela before the Organization of American States: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses its profound concern about the 

3 transgression against freedom of thought and ex4 pression that is being attempted and committed in 

5 Venezuela by the refusal of the President of Ven6 ezuela, Hugo Chavez, to renew the concession of the 

7 television station ‘‘Radio Caracas Televisio ́n’’ 

8 (RCTV) merely because of its adherence to an edi9 torial and informational stance distinct from the 

10 thinking of the Government of Venezuela; and 

11 (2) strongly encourages the Organization of 

12 American States to respond appropriately, with full 

13 consideration of the necessary institutional instru14 ments, to such transgression. 

Æ 

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