Freedom of the Press/International
Is this right enshrined in international and regional human rights treaties?
Multiple human rights regimes at both international and regional levels enshrine the universal freedom of expression in their frameworks, in accordance with the democratic values that these documents uphold. Although in international documents this freedom relates mostly to the unabridged ability of individuals to express their thoughts and opinions, it also protects media and press institutions that disseminate news and information throughout societies.
In the context of international human rights regimes, freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In both documents, freedom of expression is found under Article 19. In the UDHR, the right is listed as such: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” (UN, 2014) Article 19 of the ICCPR is worded very similarly but includes greater specificity, as it explicitly lays out protected ways to consume and impart information, including “...orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of [one’s] choice.” (OHCHR, 2014)
Regional human rights regimes also enshrine freedom of expression in a similar manner. The Organization of American States’ (OAS) Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression is composed of 13 articles that lay out protections of the freedom of expression and nuances of those protections in various contexts, including accessing information, censorship, communication freedoms, and privacy aspects. The American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man includes the freedom of expression in Article 4, with similar wording to Article 19 of the UDHR and the ICCPR. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights protects the right to “receive information,” and the right to “express and disseminate [one’s] opinions within the law.” (AU, 1986) This right is also established in the American Convention on Human Rights in Article 13 and is expanded by Article 14. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights consists of two sections, the first echoing the wording of the UDHR and ICCPR, as well.
Most of the above documents enshrine press freedoms alongside and within the general freedom of expression. However, two more recent regional frameworks, the Amsterdam Recommendations and the Bishkek Declaration, work to specifically define and protect press freedoms in the context of ever-evolving manifestations of the media.
The Amsterdam Recommendations refer to press freedoms in light of the digitization of media and espouses that the freedom of expression be upheld regardless of the “...technical means... used to channel the work of journalists to the public…” (OSCE, Jun. 2003) This human rights regime reaffirms previous declarations made by the OSCE, UN, and OAS in 2001, which laid the foundation for ensuring universal, unlimited access to the Internet and digital frameworks. In light of the heightened possibilities afforded by digitization of media, the Amsterdam Recommendations are split into four focus areas: Access, Freedom of Expression, Education, and Professional Journalism.
The Access portion refers to facets of the Internet and its interaction with the freedom of press and expression - this document establishes the Internet as a tool that allows for a “...free media landscape…” to flourish and is thus essential to the public as well as to journalists. (OSCE, Jun. 2003) The Freedom of Expression section acknowledges that the vast degree of usefulness of the Internet allows for increased freedom of expression and access to information, but it is equally susceptible to misuse via criminal exploitation and illicit activity. This section ultimately asserts that freedom to spread and receive information is a basic human right and should be protected from any form of censorship or limitation. Prosecuting and regulating criminal content should therefore only focus on the content itself and not the Internet, which is only a vessel. (OSCE, Jun. 2003) The Education portion refers to fostering computer and Internet literacy, and setting up training tools in schools and for adults so that the role of the Internet is well understood in civil society. (OSCE, Jun. 2003) Finally, the Professional Journalism portion protects private forms of communication as they present a different way of disseminating information than “classic media,” and also maintains that evolving forms of journalism should require the same degree of protection as “classic media.” This section also calls for the creation of a set of standards for journalists to follow, intended to lay out the responsibilities of “professional journalism.” (OSCE, Jun. 2003)
The Bishkek Declaration is more related to protecting press freedoms from infringement by government bodies. Central to this human rights regime is the protection of the media’s right to preserve diversity of linguistic, cultural, and ethnic representation, and prohibits the dissemination of hate speech. The declaration also calls for the protection of the media’s role of holding government institutions and officials accountable to the public in both economic and political contexts. This provision is expanded by the fourth and fifth points, establishing the responsibilities of governments toward this goal - governments must ensure unlimited access to sources of public information for journalists of both state and non-state media apparatuses, and also must resolve any harassment of the press. The document also calls for the decriminalization of libel, allowing for the accountability role of the media to be adequately fulfilled. (OSCE, Sept. 2003)
The aforementioned international and regional human rights regimes act in conjunction with the Amsterdam Recommendations and Bishkek Declaration to define modern press freedoms, and thereby contribute to the preservation of this fundamental democratic value. References
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. Basic Documents - American Declaration. (n.d.). https://www.cidh.oas.org/basicos/english/basic2.american%20declaration.htm.
Dyer, Andrew. “Freedom of Expression and the Advocacy of Violence: Which Test Should the European Court of Human Rights Adopt?” Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, vol. 33, no. 1, Mar. 2015, pp. 78–107, doi:10.1177/016934411503300105.
European Convention on Human Rights. https://www.echr.coe.int/. (n.d.). https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. OHCHR. (n.d.). https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx.
PLC, A. M. B. F. T. (n.d.). African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Legal instruments. https://www.achpr.org/legalinstruments/detail?id=49.
Organization of American States. Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression. http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/showarticle.asp?artID=26. 2021.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, The Representative on Freedom of the Media, Amsterdam Recommendations. Freedom of the Media and the Internet. OSCE, Jun. 14, 2003, www.osce.org/files/f/documents/4/a/41903.pdf
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, The Representative on Freedom of the Media, Fifth Central Asia Media Conference. Media in Multi-Cultural and Multi-Lingual Societies. OSCE, 2003, www.osce.org/files/f/documents/5/d/42521.pdf
United Nations. (n.d.). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.