The importance of the human right to communication

We are honoured to write the foreword for this special issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. This issue celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and highlights the importance of the human right to communication.

Humans cannot live or thrive in isolation. We are inherently social. As such, communication is essential to our humanity.

It is important to our expression and self-determination as individuals, our sense of belonging within a community, our inclusion and participation within society, and in acknowledging the meaning and value of ourselves and others.

The right to freedom of expression and opinion is like air, food or water: we take it for granted until it is denied to us. The right to freedom of expression can be violated in many ways. Sometimes the state prohibits or punishes the expression of a person’s views. There are all too many examples of this brazen form of rights violation. Tragically, recent reports of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders show that these are not confined to history.

Yet there are also other, subtler restrictions on freedom of expression. These can be just as insidious and do not apply to all people equally. Instead, such restrictions can disproportionately affect people with disability, particularly those with communication disabilities.

If we fail to make adequate efforts to ensure that all members of our community can understand and participate in matters that affect them, this prevents people from speaking and being heard. Similarly, where no reasonable accommodation is made to enable a person with disability from having their voice heard, this can deny that person’s freedom of speech just as effectively as a law that openly restricts expression.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948) was one of the first contemporary expressions of the right to communication. It provides that everyone “has the right to freedom of opinion and expression”, which includes “freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

Since 1948, our understanding of this right has evolved. International human rights law, and our own national laws, have evolved to protect freedom of expression in some of the many contexts in which the rights is engaged in practice.

At the same time, we have seen great changes in the technologies by which we communicate and receive information. The growing ubiquity of communication by phone, the advent of email and the rise of online communication present challenges and opportunities in expanding freedom of expression to all people everywhere.

Since its inclusion in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to freedom of opinion and expression has been protected in all of the relevant international human rights treaties. In international law, freedom to express opinions and ideas is considered essential at both an individual level, insofar as it contributes to the full development of a person, as well as being a cornerstone of a truly democratic society. Free speech is a necessary precondition to the enjoyment of other rights, such as the right to vote, free assembly and freedom of association, and is essential to ensure freedom of the press and media.

This special issue of the International Journal of Speech–Language Pathology provides creative insight into the right to communication through four perspectives – the communication rights of all people, the rights of people with communication disabilities, the rights of children, and communication rights relating to choice of language. This right is investigated and explored across a broad range of interpretations, drawing on divergent perspectives across the world, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Shetland, South Africa, Sweden, Syria, the United Kingdom and the USA.

For freedom of expression to mean something useful to people beyond the halls of the United Nations in Geneva and New York, the right must escape the dusty pages of international human rights law textbooks. A commitment to this right should be at the heart of the contemporary debates that animate our world. For instance, it should help us to ensure that modern communications technology is accessible to people with disability. It should also help to make the tools of democracy available to, and operable by, all people regardless of their wealth, social or other status.

This special edition of the Journal reflects our vision.

While Frances Bacon famously wrote, “knowledge is power”, the right to communication, and freedom of expression and opinion, can be limited by individuals’ access to information. For people with disability, a crucial barrier to the right to freedom of expression and opinion is the availability of information and services in accessible formats. This practical challenge extends to accessing media, educational materials, the arts, sports, new technologies and a host of providers of goods, services and facilities, especially where these are available online.

Article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006) acknowledges the importance of people with disability being able to exercise their right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas on an equal basis with others, and through all forms of communication of their choice.

An essential element of making this right real is for countries to genuinely take all appropriate measures and steps to provide information in accessible formats, and to accept and facilitate the use of sign languages, Braille and all other accessible modes of communication.

With the growth of technology, the right to freedom of expression now also includes the role that new technologies play in facilitating or hindering the rights of people with disability to communicate and participate freely in society.

The role of organisations in making services and information accessible is also specifically referred to in Article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Article 21 specifically requires state parties to encourage private entities and the mass media to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities, including through the Internet.

Part of the challenge, or the “frontier”, in ensuring that a greater number of people with disability can enjoy the right to freedom of opinion and expression, is raising broader awareness about the importance of accessibility. This includes raising awareness on a practical level of what adjustments are required by countries, organisations and individuals, in order that people with disability are able to exercise this right with ease, and contribute to wider discussions to their full potential.

Another component of this challenge includes countries considering whether mandated standards of accessibility are required in order that all people are able to access this right on an equal basis.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a right that applies to everyone. As with all human rights, it is universal, indivisible and inalienable. It resonates across rivers, mountains, deserts, towns and cities – across every home, community, language and nation in the world.

The universality of this right is canvassed in these pages, with examples drawn from almost every continent. As you read these stories and thoughtful analysis, we hope you are also stirred to consider the many times that you have been able to exercise this right in your own life without restraint – and of all that you can do to encourage others towards the same enjoyment of this right.

Alastair McEwin and Edward Santow are, respectively, the Disability Discrimination Commissioner and the Human Rights Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission

Declaration of interest

There are no real or potential conflicts of interest related to the manuscript.