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

472 COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW [41:429
without discrimination or, more precisely, that there be no
individuals or groups that are excluded from access to such media.” 158
One final regional example is the League of Arab States’
Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, which recognizes the
freedom of expression and its connection to culture and language.
Article 3 of the Charter states that State Parties will ensure that
individuals will be able to enjoy the rights and freedoms within the
Charter without “distinction on the grounds of race, colour, sex,
language, religious belief, opinion, thought, national or social origin,
wealth, birth or physical or mental disability.” 159 Article 25 states
that groups shall not be denied the “right to enjoy their own culture,
to use their own language and to practice their own religion.” 160 In
Article 32, the Charter guarantees the right to “information and to
freedom of opinion and expression, as well as the right to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas through any medium,
regardless of geographical boundaries.” 161
Most of the regional instruments discussed above do not
articulate a per se right to media. They do, however, touch upon
many facets of media that promote diversity of ideas and opinions.
These facets include freedom of expression and dissemination of
ideas through media, the right to seek and receive information
through media, the right of access to media without discrimination,
and the right to open, independent, and autonomous media. As
detailed below, these regional norms, along with international law,
are helping to shape domestic law and practice with respect to
indigenous peoples’ access to, and development of, media.
C. Domestic Practices: Case Studies
“Indigenous media” is a general term used to refer to the
wide range of media made by indigenous peoples or targeted at the
indigenous community, “often with the goal of offering alternative
media representations, identity positions and participation
practices.” 162 Thus, the aim of indigenous media is to educate,
empower, and reinvigorate indigenous communities through
158. Compulsory Membership, supra note 24, para. 34.
159. League of Arab States, Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights art. 3,
para. 1, adopted May 22, 2004 (entered into force Mar. 15, 2008).
160. Id. art. 25.
161. Id. art. 32, para. 1.
162. Sari Pietikäinen, Broadcasting Indigenous Voices: Sami Minority
Media Production, 23 Eur. J. Comm. 173, 174 (2008).