REDESCA and SRFOE urge the guarantee of the right to access information regarding free trade zones and other special regimes in the Americas

January 23, 2025

Washington D.C. - The Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) and the Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression (SRFOE) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) emphasize the importance of access to information as an enabling right for the protection of all human rights that may be impacted by the implementation of atypical regulatory initiatives, such as the so-called special economic zones. Ensuring access to information is essential to promote transparency, accountability, and the evaluation of whether the objectives underpinning fiscal incentives and special tax regimes, such as free trade zones, are being met across the Americas.

This issue was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) during its 191st Period of Sessions, in the hearing titled “Impact of Special Economic Zones and Low-Transparency Financial Jurisdictions on Fiscal Justice and Climate Change,” held on November 14, 2024.

In this context, the lack of access to information on indicators such as investment and employment within these regimes significantly limits the ability to transparently assess their economic and social impact. This lack of transparency raises concerns about the possibility that fiscal incentives may become undue privileges, perpetuating structural inequalities and contravening States' international human rights obligations.

Access to information is not only an essential tool to ensure that these policies are effective, proportionate, and compatible with international human rights standards. Adequate transparency also helps prevent their misuse as mechanisms to facilitate corruption, tax evasion, money laundering, or the perpetuation of practices that violate the labor, environmental, and social rights of affected communities.

Special economic zones are being implemented in the region, and the Rapporteurships have received alarming reports about their potential impacts on human rights. For this reason, they urge the democratic institutions of States to fully guarantee the right of access to public information in accordance with international standards. They also call for the deployment of all the capacities of the rule of law to ensure that all stages of special economic zones –from their design to their implementation and evaluation– respect and protect economic, social, and cultural rights.

In this context, they emphasize the importance of embedding access to information within a comprehensive accountability framework that promotes transparency in the management of fiscal resources allocated to special regimes, such as free trade zones. This is crucial to ensuring that such policies are sustainable, effective, and aligned with human rights principles. These mechanisms must include processes for the collection, systematization, and proactive dissemination of key data, ensuring that the information is accessible, comprehensible, disaggregated, and up to date, in compliance with inter-American standards.

The Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights is an office created by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to strengthen the promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights across the Americas, leading the Commission's efforts in this area.

The Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression is an office established by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to promote the hemispheric defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression, recognizing its fundamental role in the consolidation and development of democratic systems. 

No. R021/25

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