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

2010] A RIGHT TO MEDIA? 455
racism and discrimination. 93 Second, take steps to ensure that the
workforce is diverse and reasonably representative of society. 94
Finally, “ensure that reporting in relation to specific communities
promotes a better understanding of difference and at the same time
reflects the perspectives of those communities and gives members of
those communities a chance to be heard.” 95
These suggestions fall in line with Article 16’s call for access
to media for indigenous peoples and for the representation of
indigenous peoples’ cultural diversity in state- and privately-owned
media. The issue of ensuring that indigenous cultural diversity is
represented in media takes on even more importance in light of the
facts that informed the 1995 Resolution on the Prevention of
Incitement to Hatred, Particularly by the Media by the Sub-
Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities. The resolution categorically condemned the “role played
with increasing frequency by some printed or audiovisual media in
inciting genocidal hatred.” 96
Some states may express concern with the duty under Article
16 of the UNDRIP to take “effective measures . . . without prejudice
to ensuring full freedom of expression [to] encourage privately owned
media to adequately reflect indigenous cultural diversity,”
particularly when one considers the longstanding tradition in
international law of limiting the role of the state in controlling
privately owned media. 97 However, these two obligations to promote
freedom of expression as well as cultural diversity in media are not
mutually exclusive as various provisions of the ICCPR and CERD
demonstrate.
As earlier discussed, Article 20(2) of the ICCPR (similar to
Article 4 of CERD) has long precluded any advocacy of national,
racial, or religious hatred that “constitutes incitement to
discrimination, hostility or violence,” regardless of whether the aims
of such incitement are internal or external. 98 Such prohibitions have
93. Id.
94. Id.
95. Id.
96. ECOSOC, Sub-Comm’n on Prevention of Discrimination & Prot. of
Minorities, Prevention of Incitement to Hatred, Particularly by the Media, para. 5,
U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/L11/Add.2 (Aug. 18, 1995).
97. UNDRIP, supra note 20, art. 16.
98. Human Rights Comm., General Comment 11: Article 20 Prohibition of
Propaganda for War and Inciting National, Racial or Religious Hatred, paras.
1–2 (July 29, 1983). Article 13(5) of the American Convention on Human Rights