We are urging legislators, judges and leaders in countries with insult laws to repeal the laws and embrace an open and transparent system of government. We did this in Costa Rica, a country considered a leading democracy in the Americas, yet one which still has an insult or desacato law on its books. During our visit to Costa Rica in February, President Rodriguez promised WPFC Chairman James Ottaway that he would seek repeal of the desacato law and reform of other defamation statutes used to restrict the free flow of information there. Through news reporting and editorial columns, journalists can remind readers and leaders that the proper role for a nation's executive, legislative and judicial officers is to serve the people they represent. The idea that public officials deserve protection from public criticism is as out of date as the notion of the divine right of kings.
Today is democracy's day.
Our public officials work for the public, and serve at the will of the people, as expressed in free elections. Press freedom cannot be said to exist in any nation where journalists are jailed. And without press freedom, no nation can call itself a democracy. For officials who are disgruntled over press coverage, plenty of civil legal remedies already exist, in customary libel and slander legislation available to all citizens. Simply put, insult laws must go.