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Judicial schools will include freedom of expression in their initial and in-service training programmes

UNESCO is cooperating with judicial schools in 21 Ibero-American countries to integrate freedom of expression into the initial and in-service training of judges.

24 March 2023

Starting in June, 130 trainers from judicial schools in 21 countries in Ibero-America will be trained on freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists, in the framework of the project that UNESCO will develop this year together with the (RIAEJ), with the support of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).

The initiative aims to advance the defense of freedom of expression, access to information and journalists' safety and put an end to impunity for crimes against them, by increasing the capacity of judicial actors to interpret the law in these areas, in line with regional and international standards.

This training is expected to reach professionals from 21 RIAEJ member countries: 19 from Latin America and the Caribbean - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela -, Spain and Portugal.

This project will strengthen knowledge of international standards and the role of the judiciary in countering attacks on freedom of expression and violence against journalists. It will also address the new challenges posed by digital contexts and will create a network of contact points in each school to continue working on this issue. These networks will allow sharing good practices and methodologies in the application of standards for the protection of freedom of expression and to strengthen justice for the benefit of society as a whole.

After the training, the 130 trainers will be able to replicate the training and train judges, prosecutors, public defenders and other legal operators in their countries, foreseeing a multiplier effect.

The project also foresees the development of a massive online course that offers the possibility of self-learning, as well as the incorporation and standardisation of these contents in the curricula of each training centre in the Ibero-American countries.

RIAEJ

The is "a liaison community for cooperation, agreement and reciprocal support between the Judicial Schools and Public Judicial Training Centres of Ibero-America, which contributes to the exchange of information on judicial training programmes, methodologies and systems, facilitates the coordination of activities between its members and plans joint training activities".

Among other issues, RIAEJ is committed to ensuring healthy communication environments, both for citizens and for those who perform public functions, especially in the judicial sphere. It therefore advocates for the protection and promotion of freedom of expression, plurality of opinion, visibility and citizen participation, as well as press freedom, which is especially necessary to address disinformation, fake news and other threats.

Over the last decade, UNESCO, together with RIAEJ and leading international partners, has contributed to this task in a sustained manner with the implementation of massive online courses (MOOCs) and the publication of the (in Spanish), and its , which have enabled the training of more than 17,000 justice operators in the Americas.