A Right to Media? Lorie M. Graham - Columbia Law School

2010] A RIGHT TO MEDIA? 443
In further explaining the scope of these rights, the Special
Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom
of Opinion and Expression has stated that freedom of expression is:
[B]oth a civil right, in its capacity of protecting this sphere
of life of the individual against undue infringements of the
State, and a political right, in its capacity of guaranteeing
the participation of the individual in political life, including
that of State institutions. As such, the right to freedom of
expression can be described as an essential test right, the
enjoyment of which illustrates the degree of enjoyment of
all human rights enshrined in the United Nations Bill of
Rights. 46
All peoples and marginalized populations in particular,
require the protections provided by the right to freedom of expression
in order to participate in political, civil, cultural, and economic
development. Historically, state infringement of indigenous peoples’
freedom of expression has prevented them from enjoying such
development. Moreover, state actions which circumscribe a peoples’
ability to communicate and share ideas and news, such as
destruction of language through subtractive education, strike at the
heart of both civil and political rights.
The Special Rapporteur has similarly highlighted the
linkages between freedom of expression and the right to information,
by stating that “because of the social and political role of information,
the right of everyone to receive information and ideas has to be
carefully protected . . . [as] this is not simply a converse of the right
to impart information but it is a freedom in its own right.” 47
Thus, the right to information is central to the concept of
freedom of expression, but stands alone as its own important right. 48
freedom of information. Resolution 59(I) stated in part: “Freedom of information
is a fundamental human right and is the touchstone of all freedoms to which the
United Nations is consecrated. Freedom of information implies the right to
gather, transmit, and publish news anywhere and everywhere without fetters. As
such it is an essential factor in any serious effort to promote the peace and
progress of the world. Freedom of information requires as an indispensable
element the willingness and capacity to employ its privileges without abuse. It
requires as a basic discipline the moral obligation to seek the facts without
prejudice and to spread knowledge without malicious intent.” G.A. Res. 59 (I), at
95, U.N. Doc. A/RES/1/59 (Dec. 14, 1946).
46. Human Rights During Imprisonment, supra note 25, para. 14.
47. Id. paras. 34–35.
48. The focus of this Article is on the right to information and the distinct
but related right to freedom of expression, both of which are component parts of a