Module: Human Rights

Freedom of Expression and Human Rights

Lecture overview 1. Descriptive Approach: Communication and Human Rights

2. Reconfigurations of the relationship between Freedom of Expression, Human Rights and Communicative Citizenship

3. Some examples of Freedom of Expression using unconventional socio-communicative resources and their link with some contemporary social movements

Freedom of Expression and Human Rights

Descriptive Approach

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 19

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..

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Article 191. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.

2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:

(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order, public health or morals.

European Convention on Human Rights

Article 101.Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

American Convention on Human Rights

Article 131.Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice.

2.The exercise of the right provided for in the foregoing paragraph shall not be subject to prior censorship but shall be subject to subsequent imposition of liability, which shall be expressly established by law to the extent necessary to ensure: 1.respect for the rights or reputations of others; or 2.the protection of national security, public order, or public health or morals. 3.The right of expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or means, such as the abuse of government or private controls over newsprint, radio broadcasting frequencies, or equipment used in the dissemination of information, or by any other means tending to impede the communication and circulation of ideas and opinions. 4.Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2 above, public entertainments may be subject by law to prior censorship for the sole purpose of regulating access to them for the moral protection of childhood and adolescence. 5.Any propaganda for war and any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitute incitements to lawless violence or to any other similar action against any person or group of persons on any grounds including those of race, colour, religion, language, or national origin shall be considered as offenses punishable by law.

African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

Article 91. Every individual shall have the

right to receive information.

2. Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law.

Generation of Human Rights

Second Generation of Rights

FirstGeneration of Rights

Third Generation of Rights

Focus on liberty and participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature: To protect the individual from excesses of the state. For example, Freedom of Speech, the Right to a Fair Trial, Freedom of Religion and Voting Rights.Focus on equality. They are fundamentally economic, social and cultural in nature. They guarantee equal conditions and treatment. For example, right to be employed, right to education, rights to housing and health care and social security.Focus on solidarity. They go beyond political, cultural economic and social rights. Also known as solidarity rights, are collective rights dealing with the principles of brotherhood (fraternité). For example, right to self-determination, right to economic and social development, right to a healthy environment, right to natural resources, right to communicate and communicative rights.

Generation of Human Rights and Communication

FirstGeneration of Rights

Source: Tamayo (2012)

Generation of Human Rights and Communication

Second Generation of Rights

Source: Tamayo (2012)

Generation of Human Rights and Communication

Source: Tamayo (2012)

Third Generation of Rights

Communicative Citizenship and Human Rights

Source: Tamayo (2012)

Fourth Generation of Rights

Electoral Democracy in the World

(Source: Freedom House 2011. http://www.freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-world)

Guarantee    No Guarantee

Freedom of the Press in the World

(Source: Reporters Without Borders 2013. http://en.rsf.org/IMG/jpg/carte2012-2.jpg

Correlation between Freedom of the Press & Democracy Index in the World

(Source: Freedom House 2011 ; Reporters Without Borders 2012)   Free Partly Free Not Free

To sum up, The danger of a Single Story

(http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html)

Freedom of Expression

Memories, Narratives

& Representat

ions

Tool to exercise Human

Rights in the public

sphere

Reconfigurations of the relationship between Freedom of Expression, Human Rights and Communicative Citizenship

Freedom of Expression and Human Rights

First ReconfigurationTransnational Political Action

Example: Movement Where is my vote? Iran 2009

First ReconfigurationTransnational Political Action

Example: Arab Spring in Egypt 2010

Second ReconfigurationCommunicative Direct Actions (Activism)

Example: Campaign Political Prisoners Amnesty International (2007)

Second ReconfigurationCommunicative Direct Actions (Activism)

Example: Campaign ‘Fashion’ - Amnesty International (2010)

Second ReconfigurationCommunicative Direct Actions (Activism)

Example: Campaign ‘Fashion’ - Amnesty International (2010)

Second ReconfigurationCommunicative Direct Actions (Activism)

Example: Campaign ‘Fashion’ - Amnesty International (2010)

Second ReconfigurationCommunicative Direct Actions (Activism)

Example: Campaign ‘It’s Over’ – Greenpeace (2011) http://www.sofreshandsogreen.com/2011/07/04/greenpeace-says-barbie-destroys-rainforests/

Third ReconfigurationExpression of new dimensions of citizenship

Example: Pink TV – France - Sexual Citizenship

Third ReconfigurationExpression of new dimensions of citizenship

Example: Indymedia & Global Actions - Global Citizenship

Some examples of Freedom of Expression using unconventional socio-communicative resources

Freedom of Expression and Human Rights

Contemporary Examples of Freedom of Expression

Doll “protesters” in Russia

“Police in the Siberian city of Barnaul have asked prosecutors to investigate the legality of a recent protest that saw dozens of small dolls – teddy bears, Lego men, South Park figurines – arranged to mimic a protest, complete with signs reading: "I'm for clean elections" and "A thief should sit in jail, not in the Kremlin". (Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/26/doll-protesters-problem-russian-police.) Galley: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2012/jan/26/russia-human rights?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487#/?picture=385070067&index=0

Contemporary Examples of Freedom of Expression

The Association of Organized Women of Eastern Antioquia in Colombia

“The march of light strategy is a symbolic mechanism related to women whose lives have been affected by the armed conflict. It aims to encourage women to externalise the personal effects that the war has had upon them and to transform the “victim condition” into the “citizenship condition”. For this group, the women’s identity is a precondition to “democratize the pain”, create new narratives and other memories of the conflict and reconfigure the social imaginaries of women in Colombia”. (Source: Tamayo, C. (2010) “Communicative Citizenship, another dimension of rights. Nottingham: University of Nottingham)

“The march of light” in Granada town (Eastern Antioquia)

Contemporary Examples of Freedom of Expression

Occupy Movement

“The Occupy Movement is an international protest movement directed towards social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic structure and power relations in contemporary society more fair. Different local groups have different focus, but among the prime concerns is the claim that big corporations and the global financial system control the world in an unstable way that disproportionately benefits a minority and is undermining democracy”. Freedom of expression, Technology & New Mass Media (Source: http://www.the99declaration.org/ ) Map: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/oct/18/occupy-protests-map-world )

Some examples of Communicative Citizenship

Video Journalists of Burma http://www.freeburmavj.org/

Cuban Bloggers http://desdecuba.com/generationy/

The Ushahidi Platform http://www.ushahidi.com/

Independent Media Center http://www.indymedia.org/

Labor News Production (Korea) http://mayday.nodong.net/

Radio Sagarmatha (Nepal) http://www.radiosagarmatha.org/

Some Examples of Freedom of ExpressionVideo Sewa (India) http://www.videosewa.org/

Aarohan Theatre Group (Nepal) http://www.aarohantheatre.org/

Radio Kwizera (Tanzania) http://radiokwizera.com/

Gasaleka & Mamelodi Telecentres (South Africa) http://

www.comminit.com/node/1667

Child Audiovisual School (Colombia) http://escuelaaudiovisualinfantil.blogspot.com/

Wan Smolbag Theatre (Vanuatu) http://www.wansmolbag.org

EpilogueFreedom of Expression, Social Media and Censorship

The ‘social media should be censored’ arguments are:Social media can be used to organise mass violence: instant messaging services fuelled the London riots.

False rumours can spread like wildfire and sow panic. Tweets about gunmen attacking schools in Mexico allegedly led to 26 car crashes.

Parents can choose to block adult websites on a child’s computer, but they can’t currently block pornography on a social network.

The anti-argument says:Authoritarian governments often shut down social networks. If democracies do the same, they can hardly preach to dictators.

Rescue services increasingly rely on social networks for real-time information during emergencies. Any restrictions could cost lives.

Nobody supports blanket censorship for books, films or the press any more. Social media are no different in principle from other media.

Source: “The Economist Debates 2012”. http://www.economist.com/ Video Evgeny Morozov (2009) “The Internet in Society: Empowering or Censoring Citizens? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8x3V-sUgU

Module: Human Rights

Freedom of Expression and Human Rights