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Subject: PEOPLE'S COMMUNICATION CHARTER
From: Michael Eisenmenger <eisenmen@rci.rutgers.edu>
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 19:23:53 +0000

* * * * *

THE PEOPLE'S COMMUNICATION CHARTER

An International Covenant of Standards and Rights

All people share a vital interest in the common cultural environment. As
that becomes increasingly monopolized and globalized, ordinary women and
men lose their ability to control their lives and the socialization of
their children. It is time for individuals and their organizations to
take
an active role in the shaping of their cultural environment.

This Charter aims to bring to cultural policy-making a set of standards
that represents rights and responsibilities to be observed in all
democratic countries and in international law. The development
and ratification of the Charter is a continuing process,
informed by international agreements and documents listed under
"SOURCES."

The originators of this Charter are the Centre for Communication and
Human
Rights (The Netherlands), the Third World Network (Malaysia), the
AMARC-World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (Peru/Canada),
and
the Cultural Environment Movement (USA). This Charter has also been
endorsed by the general members' assembly of Videazimut.

We, the Signatories of this Charter, recognize that:

* Communication is basic to the life of all individuals
and their communities.
* All people are entitled to participate in communication, and in making
decisions about communication within and between societies.
* The majority of the world's people lack even the minimal technological
resources for survival and communication, and, unless resources are
re-allocated, new communication tecnologies tend to further widen the
gap
between the rich and the poor.
* In a growing number of countries, the concentration of commercial
operators displaces public media, erodes the public sphere, and fails to
provide for cultural and information needs, including the plurality of
opinions and the diversity of cultural expressions and languages.
* Massive and pervasive media violence cultivates fear and mistrust,
polarizes societies, exacerbates conflict, and makes people feel more
vulnerable and dependent.
* Media employ stereotypes that misrepresent both women and men; young
as
well as old persons; whites as well as people of color; racial, cultural
and sexual majorities as well as minorities; the rich as well as the
poor;
people who are disabled and physically or mentally ill or so labeled;
and
many other marginalized and stigmatized groups.

Therefore, we assert that:

* All people are entitled to access to the resources they need
to communicate freely within and between their societies;
* All people need to develop their own communication skills, channels,
and
institutions through which they can speak for themselves with dignity
and
respect, and tell their own stories;
* Provisions for all aspects of free, independent and secure
communication
and culture, and mechanisms for their implementation, must be
strengthened.

DEFINITIONS.

"Charter" means a set of guidelines that are voluntarily adopted by the
Signatories and that are used as their common frame of reference
on communication issues.
"Communication" refers to all interactive processes through
which individuals and communities share opinions, information, feelings
and ideas.
"Information" is understood in a very broad sense and includes news as
well
as entertainment in all modes and media.
"Media" refers to publicly or privately owned means for the
mass-dissemination of print or electronic communication.
"Cyberspace" refers to the virtual spaces that are facilitated through
the
use of computer-assisted telecommunications networks through which
people
establish new forms of information sharing and interaction.

STANDARDS

Article 1. Respect
People are entitled to be treated with respect and in accordance with
the
basic human rights and standards of dignity, integrity, identity, and
non-discrimination.

Article 2. Freedom
People have the right to freedom of expression without interference by
public or private interests, and to have communication channels
independent
of governmental or commercial control;

Article 3. Access
In order to exercise their rights, people should have fair and equitable
access to local and global resources and facilities for conventional and
advanced channels of communication. People also have the right to
receive
opinions, information and ideas in a language they normally use and
understand; to receive a range of cultural products designed for a wide
variety of tastes and interests; and to have easy access to facts about
ownership and sources of information. Restrictions on access to
information
may be permissible only for good and compelling reason, as when
prescribed
by international human rights standards or are necessary for the
protection
of a democratic society or the basic rights of others.

Article 4. Independence
The realization of people's right to participate in, contribute to, and
benefit from the development of self-reliant communication structures
requires national and international assistance. This includes support of
development communication and of independent media; training programs
for
professional mediaworkers; the establishment of independent,
representative
associations, syndicates or trade unions; and international co-operation
in the upholding of these standards of policy making, regulation and
management of media.

Article 5. Literacy
People have the right to acquire the skills necessary to participate
fully
in public communication. This requires literacy in reading, writing, and
story-telling; in critical media awareness and literacy; in computer
skills
and education about the role of communication in society.

Article 6. Protection of journalists
Journalists must be accorded full protection of the
law, including international humanitarian law, especially in areas
of conflict. They must have safe, unrestricted access to sources of
information, and must be able to seek remedy, when required, through
an international body.

Article 7. Right of reply and redress
People have the right of reply and to demand penalties for
damage. Individuals concerned shall have an opportunity to
correct, without undue delay, statements relating to them which they
deem
to be false and which they have a justified interest in having
corrected.
Such corrections should be given, as far as practical, the same
prominence
as the original expression. States should impose penalties
for proven damage, or other remedies such as required corrections, where
a
court of law has determined that an information provider has
willfully disseminated inaccurate or misleading and damaging
information,
or has facilitated the dissemination of such information.

Article 8. Diversity of languages
People have the right to a diversity of languages. This includes the
right
to express themselves and have access to information in their own
language,
the right to use their languages in educational institutions funded by
the
state, and the right to have adequate provisions created for the use of
minority languages where needed.

Article 9. Cultural identity
People have the right to protect their cultural identity. This includes
respect for people's pursuit of cultural development and the right to
free
expression in languages they understand. People's right to the
protection
of their cultural space and heritage should not violate other human
rights
or provisions of this Charter.

Article 10. Participation in policy-making
People have the right to participate in public decision-making about the
provision of information, the development and utilization of knowledge,
the
preservation, protection and development of culture, the choice and
application of communication technologies, and the structure and
policies
of media industries.

Article 11. Children's rights
Children have the right to mass media products that are designed to meet
their needs and interests, and foster their healthy physical, mental and
emotional development. They should be protected from harmful media
products
and from commercial and any other exploitation at home, in school, and
at
places of play, work, or business. States should take the necessary
steps
to produce high quality cultural and entertainment materials for
children
widely available in their own languages.

Article 12. Cyberspace
People have a right to universal access to and equitable use of
cyberspace.
With the increasing importance of cyberspace for many social activities,
people's rights to free and open communities in cyberspace, their
freedom
of electronic expression, and the protection of their privacy against
electronic surveillance and intrusion should be secured.

Article 13. Privacy
Media should respect people's private, family and home life, physical
and
moral integrity, honor and reputation. They should avoid publishing
allegations irrelevant to the public interest; unauthorized publication
of
private photographs or other private communication; and the disclosure
of
information given or received in confidence for health or other
professional or religious reasons. However, states should take care that
the protection of privacy does not unduly interfere with the freedom of
expression or the administration of justice.

Article 14. Harm
Media should resist incitement to hate, prejudice, violence, and war.
They
should not present violence as a normal, "manly," and entertaining means
of
resolving conflict but show its true consequences and seek alternative
solutions. Other violations of human dignity and integrity to be avoided
include stereotypic images that distort the realities and complexities
of
people's lives. Media should not ridicule, stigmatize, or demonize
people
on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, language, sexual
orientation, and physical or mental condition, or victimize other
vulnerable groups.

Article 15. Justice
People have the right to demand that media respect standards of due
process
in the coverage of trials. This implies that media should not presume
guilt before a verdict of guilt, or invade the privacy of defendents,
and
may report but should not televise criminal trials in real time while
the
trials are going on.

Article 16. Consumption
People have the right to demand useful and factual consumer information,
and to be protected from misleading and distorted advertising, promotion
disguised as news and entertainment (infomercials, product placement,
children's programs that use franchised characters and toys, etc.), and
from the promotion of wasteful, unnecessary, harmful or ecologically
damaging goods and activities. Advertising directed at children should
receive special scrutiny.

Article 17. Accountability
Media should establish mechanisms, including self-regulatory bodies,
that
account to the general public for their adherence to the standards
established in this Charter.

Article 18. Implementation
In consultation with Signatories and others who support this Charter,
national and international mechanisms will be organized to publicize and
disseminate this Charter to the widest possible audience; to monitor and
assess the performance of media in light of these Standards; to receive
complaints about violations of the provisions of this Charter; to advise
on
adequate remedial measures; and to establish procedures for the periodic
review, development and modification of this Charter.

SOURCES

Although this Charter reflects current interests and concerns of the
Signatories, it has also been informed by and benefited from the
following
international agreements and declarations:

With regard to freedom of information: Article 19 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; UNESCO Resolutions
3.2. of 1983 and 4.1 of 1991 on the Right to Communicate; the provisions
on information of the 1975 Final Act of the Conference on Security and
Co-operation in Europe; the 1991 UNESCO Declaration of Windhoek; and
Article 13 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

With regard to the social responsibility of mass media: The 1978 UNESCO
Declaration on Fundamental Principles Concerning the Contribution of the
Mass Media to Strengthening Peace and International Understanding, to
the
Promotion of Human Rights and to Countering Racialism, Apartheid and
Incitement to War; Article 4 of the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; Article 5 of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women
by the Beijing Platform of Action of the 1995 UN World Conference on
Women;
and Article 17 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

With regard to the development of communication: The UN Declaration on
the
Right to Development of 1986; and the UNESCO Resolution 4.1 of 1991
statement on Communication for Development.

With regard to the protection of cultural and linguistic rights: Article
27
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 27 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Article 15 of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the
1966 UNESCO Declaration of the Principles of
International Cultural Co-operation.

Amsterdam, June 1996.

Forwarded by:

Paper Tiger TV via:
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