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When the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was ratified in 1976,
the full realization of Article 19 was constrained by communication technology.
The mass media (television, radio, and newspaper) only provided unidirectional
communication and required considerable resources to produce and distribute;
resources largely confined to large commercial enterprises or governments. Like
no other medium before it, the Internet has altered the media landscape by allowing
individuals to easily express their ideas and opinions to very large audiences
and across all frontiers. Consequently, many human rights organizations now
rely on the Internet to gather and disseminate information in their efforts
to promote and protect human rights and coordinate campaigns.
In response to this new space for maintaining and reinvigorating independent
and diverse thought and dialogue, some governments have sought to impose controls
on the Internet through censorship and the blocking of foreign web sites, while
others have relied on "self-censorship" induced by their surveillance of online
activity. A broad network of civil liberties and human rights organizations
has emerged to challenge such restrictions and to ensure Internet privacy and
free expression online. The work of these organizations is ongoing and critical
for maintaining a free and open Internet. However, another daunting challange
to the realization of Article 19 is the simple fact that that a majority of
the world's population does not have access to the Internet.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (the leading United Nations
agency for information and communication technology), as of September 2007 less
than 18% of the world's population has access to the Internet, largely due to
the high cost of traditional telecommunications infrastructure. In both low-income
and wealthy countries, large numbers of people lack even the most basic access
to the Internet, not to mention high speed broadband.
Article 19 of the ICCPR states that "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 (their)
choice." This right requires that all governments meet their responsibility
to ensure that no one is silenced or excluded simply because they lack access
to communication technology.
(site updated 12/27/2007)
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