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

2010] A RIGHT TO MEDIA? 433
Martinez Cobo was appointed Special Rapporteur for the study of the
problem of discrimination against indigenous populations. 12 The
Special Rapporteur’s 1984 Study on the Problem of Discrimination
Against Indigenous Populations (the “Cobo Report”) evidenced the
fact that many indigenous peoples were exposed to discrimination in
a multitude of social, political, economic, and cultural contexts. 13
Contained within the report was recognition of the impact of media
on the lives of indigenous peoples. 14 For instance, the report
documented how in many countries written and electronic
information (such as books, magazines, periodicals, radio, and
television) was inaccessible to many indigenous individuals,
particularly those who could not read or write in the language of the
dominant society. 15 Additionally, there was evidence of radio,
television, and the press being used to exert cultural influences and
pressures as illustrated by the following governmental excerpt:
It is not just the demonstrable usefulness of the products of
the national society that encourages people to consume
them; the values of that society have been introduced
through one of its media . . . into the tribe as standards of
what is good and evil, beautiful and ugly, attractive and
paras. 3–5 (Terje Brantenberg et al. eds., Ctr. for Sami Studies, Pub. No. 2, 1995),
available at http://www.sami.uit.no/girji/n02/en/102daes.html (tracing the history
of the discussion around the protection of indigenous peoples in the United
Nations). In 1969, a report by the Special Rapporteur on the Study of Racial
Discrimination in the Political, Economic, Social, and Cultural Spheres was
presented to the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection
of Minorities. Contained in this report was a chapter on discrimination against
indigenous peoples. See Report from Special Rapporteur on the Study of Racial
Discrimination in the Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Spheres, cited in
id. para. 2. This marked the beginning of a discussion in both the Sub-
Commission and in the Commission on Human Rights regarding the challenges
faced by indigenous peoples. Recognizing the dearth of information on the
subject, ECOSOC authorized a comprehensive study on the subject. See ECOSOC
Res. 1589 (L), para. 7, 50th Sess., Supp. No. 1, U.N. Doc. E/5044 (May 21, 1971).
12. Siegfried Wiessner, Professor, St. Thomas Univ. School of Law, U.N.
Audiovisual Library of Int’l Law, Introductory Note to United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 3,
http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/pdf/ha/ga_61-295/ga_61-295_e.pdf (last visited Feb.
5, 2010).
13. See generally Martinez Cobo June Report, supra note 8 (discussing the
impact and interplay of culture and cultural, social and legal institutions with
indigenous rights); Martinez Cobo Sept. Report, supra note 6 (defining
“indigenous populations”).
14. Martinez Cobo Sept. Report, supra note 6, para. 140.
15. Martinez Cobo June Report, supra note 8, paras. 63, 67.