The General Conference,
Recalling that by virtue of its Constitution the purpose of UNESCO is
to "contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the
nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal
respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and
fundamental freedoms" (Art. I, 1), and that to realize this purpose the
Organization will strive "to promote the free flow of ideas by word and
image" (Art. I, 2),
Further recalling that under the Constitution the Member States of
UNESCO, "believing in full and equal opportunities for education for all,
in the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, and in the free exchange of
ideas and knowledge, are agreed and determined to develop and to increase the
means of communication between their peoples and to employ these means for the
purposes of mutual understanding and a truer and more perfect knowledge of each
other's lives" (sixth preambular paragraph),
Recalling the purposes and principles of the United Nations, as
specified in its Charter,
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the
General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 and particularly article 19
thereof, which provides that "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'; and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1966, article
19 of which proclaims the same principles and article 20 of which condemns
incitement to war, the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred and any
form of discrimination, hostility or violence,
Recalling article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1965, and the International Convention on the Suppression and
Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1973, whereby the States acceding to these Conventions
undertook to adopt immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all
incitement to, or acts of, racial discrimination, and agreed to prevent any
encouragement of the crime of apartheid and similar segregationist policies or
their manifestations,
Recalling the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals
of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples, adopted by the
General Assembly of the United Nations in 1965,
Recalling the declarations and resolutions adopted by the various
organs of the United Nations concerning the establishment of a new
international economic order and the role UNESCO is called upon to play in this
respect,
Recalling the Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural
Cooperation, adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1966,
Recalling resolution 59(I) of the General Assembly of the United
Nations, adopted in 1946 and declaring:
Freedom of information is a fundamental
human right and is the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United
Nations is consecrated;
[. . .]
Freedom of information requires as an indispensable element the
willingness and capacity to employ its privileges without abuse. It requires as
a basic discipline the moral obligation to seek the facts without prejudice and
to spread knowledge without malicious intent;
[. . .]
Recalling resolution 110 (II) of the
General Assembly of the United Nations, adopted in 1947, condemning all forms
of propaganda which are designed or likely to provoke or encourage any threat
to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression,
Recalling resolution 127 (II), also adopted by the General Assembly in
1947, which invites Member States to take measures, within the limits of
constitutional procedures, to combat the diffusion of false or distorted
reports likely to injure friendly relations between States, as well as the
other resolutions of the General Assembly concerning the mass media and their
contribution to strengthening peace, trust and friendly relations among States,
Recalling resolution 9.12 adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO
in 1968, reiterating UNESCO's objective to help to eradicate colonialism and
racialism, and resolution 12.1 adopted by the General Conference in 1976, which
proclaims that colonialism, neocolonialism and racialism in all its forms and
manifestations are incompatible with the fundamental aims of UNESCO,
Recalling resolution 4.301 adopted in 1970 by the General Conference
of UNESCO on the contribution of the information media to furthering
international understanding and co-operation in the interests of peace and
human welfare, and to countering propaganda on behalf of war, racialism,
apartheid and hatred among nations, and aware of the fundamental contribution
that mass media can make to the realizations of these objectives,
Recalling the Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice adopted by the
General Conference of UNESCO at its twentieth session,
Conscious of the complexity of the problems of information in modern
society, of the diversity of solutions which have been offered to them, as
evidenced in particular by the consideration given to them within UNESCO, and
of the legitimate desire of all parties concerned that their aspirations,
points of view and cultural identity be taken into due consideration,
Conscious of the aspirations of the developing countries for the
establishment of a new, more just and more effective world information and
communication order,
Proclaims on this twenty-eighth day of November 1978 this 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 I
The strengthening of peace and
international understanding, the promotion of human rights and the countering
of racialism, apartheid and incitement to war demand a free flow and a wider
and better balanced dissemination of information. To this end, the mass media
have a leading contribution to make. This contribution will be the more
effective to the extent that the information reflects the different aspects of
the subject dealt with.
Article II
1. The exercise of freedom of opinion,
expression and information, recognized as an integral part of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, is a vital factor in the strengthening of peace and
international understanding.
2. Access by the public to information should be guaranteed by the
diversity of the sources and means of information available to it, thus
enabling each individual to check the accuracy of facts and to appraise events
objectively. To this end, journalists must have freedom to report and the
fullest possible facilities of access to information. Similarly, it is
important that the mass media be responsive to concerns of peoples and
individuals, thus promoting the participation of the public in the elaboration of
information.
3. With a view to the strengthening of peace and international
understanding, to promoting human rights and to countering racialism, apartheid
and incitement to war, the mass media throughout the world, by reason of their
role, contribute to promoting human rights, in particular by giving expression
to oppressed peoples who struggle against colonialism, neocolonialism, foreign
occupation and all forms of racial discrimination and oppression and who are
unable to make their voices heard within their own territories.
4. If the mass media are to be in a position to promote the principles
of this Declaration in their activities, it is essential that journalists and
other agents of the mass media, in their own country or abroad, be assured of
protection guaranteeing them the best conditions for the exercise of their
profession.
Article III
1. The mass media have an important
contribution to make to the strengthening of peace and international
understanding and in countering racialism, apartheid and incitement to war.
2. In countering aggressive war, racialism, apartheid and other
violations of human rights which are inter alia spawned by prejudice and
ignorance, the mass media, by disseminating information on the aims,
aspirations, cultures and needs of all peoples, contribute to eliminate
ignorance and misunderstanding between peoples, to make nationals of a country
sensitive to the needs and desires of others, to ensure the respect of the
rights and dignity of all nations, all peoples and all individuals without
distinction of race, sex, language, religion or nationality and to draw
attention to the great evils which afflict humanity, such as poverty,
malnutrition and diseases, thereby promoting the formulation by States of the
policies best able to promote the reduction of international tension and the
peaceful and equitable settlement of international disputes.
Article IV
The mass media have an essential part to
play in the education of young people in a spirit of peace, justice, freedom,
mutual respect and understanding, in order to promote human rights, equality of
rights as between all human beings and all nations, and economic and social
progress. Equally, they have an important role to play in making known the
views and aspirations of the younger generation.
Article V
In order to respect freedom of opinion,
expression and information and in order that information may reflect all points
of view, it is important that the points of view presented by those who
consider that the information published or disseminated about them has
seriously prejudiced their effort to strengthen peace and international
understanding, to promote human rights or to counter racialism, apartheid and
incitement to war be disseminated.
Article VI
For the establishment of a new
equilibrium and greater reciprocity in the flow of information, which will be
conducive to the institution of a just and lasting peace and to the economic
and political independence of the developing countries, it is necessary to
correct the inequalities in the flow of information to and from developing
countries, and between those countries. To this end, it is essential that their
mass media should have conditions and resources enabling them to gain strength
and expand, and to co-operate both among themselves and with the mass media in
developed countries.
Article VII
By disseminating more widely all of the
information concerning the universally accepted objectives and principles which
are the bases of the resolutions adopted by the different organs of the United
Nations, the mass media contribute effectively to the strengthening of peace
and international understanding, to the promotion of human rights, and to the
establishment of a more just and equitable international economic order.
Article VIII
Professional organizations, and people
who participate in the professional training of journalists and other agents of
the mass media and who assist them in performing their functions in a
responsible manner should attach special importance to the principles of this
Declaration when drawing up and ensuring application of their codes of ethics.
Article IX
In the spirit of this Declaration, it is
for the international community to contribute to the creation of the conditions
for a free flow and wider and more balanced dissemination of information, and
of the conditions for the protection, in the exercise of their functions, of
journalists and other agents of the mass media. UNESCO is well placed to make a
valuable contribution in this respect.
Article X
1. With due respect for constitutional
provisions designed to guarantee freedom of information and for the applicable
international instruments and agreements, it is indispensable to create and
maintain throughout the world the conditions which make it possible for the
organizations and persons professionally involved in the dissemination of
information to achieve the objectives of this Declaration.
2. It is important that a free flow and wider and better balanced
dissemination of information be encouraged.
3. To this end, it is necessary that States facilitate the procurement
by the mass media in the developing countries of adequate conditions and
resources enabling them to gain strength and expand, and that they support
co-operation by the latter both among them selves and with the mass media in
developed countries.
4. Similarly, on a basis of equality of rights, mutual advantage and
respect for the diversity of the cultures which go to make up the common
heritage of mankind, it is essential that bilateral and multilateral exchanges
of information among all States, and in particular between those which have
different economic and social systems, be encouraged and developed.
Article XI
For this declaration to be fully
effective it is necessary, with due respect for the legislative and
administrative provisions and the other obligations of Member States, to
guarantee the existence of favourable conditions for the operation of the mass
media, in conformity with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and with the corresponding principles proclaimed in the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1966.
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Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva,
Switzerland