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

450 COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW [41:429
The Colombo Declaration on Media, Development and
Poverty Eradication, issued in May 2006, highlights the role that a
“free, pluralistic and independent media” can play in promoting
human rights and public debate. 80 In particular, the Colombo
Declaration calls on states to “develop national policies that address
access to, and participation in, information and communication for
people living in poverty . . . including access to licenses and fair
spectrum allocation,” expanding the reach of communications
“especially to poor and marginalized populations;” and developing
“national policies and supportive legal frameworks that enable and
encourage community media.” 81
Thus far, the Article has focused on the contours of a right to
media under international law, which include two well-established
international norms: freedom of expression and the distinct, but
related right to information. 82 Part IV offers further analysis on how
this right to media might be recognized and promoted domestically.
What remains to be explored is the intersection of media rights with
the rights of indigenous peoples under international law.
The right to media under Article 16 of the U.N. Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is consistent with
these well-established international norms of freedom of expression
and the right to seek and receive information through media. Article
16 highlights access to media as an indispensable prerequisite for
achieving these rights. Yet, it does so within the particular historical
and contemporary experiences of indigenous peoples. If the UDHR,
ICCPR, and other international documents are the broad brush
strokes used to outline large shapes, Article 16 of the UNDRIP is the
small brush applied to the painting’s details. This next section
analyzes some of these details within existing international human
rights law.
80. World Press Freedom Day Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 1–2,
2006, Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility.
81. Id.
82. There are a number of other questions surrounding this right that
require future exploration, such as a state’s ability to limit or derogate from this
right. Many of the answers to these questions can be found in existing
international instruments and commentary, such as Article 19 of the ICCPR and
the related comments and views of the U.N. Human Rights Committee.