The Kathmandu Declaration

Preamble

As governments, private corporations and international non-governmental organizations met in the world’s banking capital for the Second Preparatory Committee of the World Summit on the Information Society, the General Assembly of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters opened in Kathmandu, Nepal, a country in which only fifteen percent of people have access to electricity. This assembly of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters convened in Kathmandu in 2003 at a moment when our world is grievously threatened by rampant militarism, accelerated privatization of our most basic resources, religious fundamentalism, and extreme capitalism. These collective forces threaten all human rights as defined in the United Nations Charter on Human Rights. We find it inexplicable and indefensible that many nations have failed to sign this document more than fifty years after its creation. Most of the world’s people including those in Asia exist in conditions of abject poverty which can only be rectified by insuring that all people have access to water, food, shelter, the means of livelihood, and that their cultural and linguistic diversity is protected. AMARC considers that all of these rights are underpinned by the right to communicate as defined in Article 19 of the UN Charter on Human Rights which includes the opportunity for a free exchange of information and ideas for all people regardless of borders. This right is in great jeopardy where it is recognized and routinely infringed where it is not recognized, as the consolidation of ownership of mass media leaves the control of these domains in the hands of a few.

Despite these conditions or because of them, there are also many hopeful trends regarding rights of communication. The community radio broadcasting movement is rapidly growing including in areas such as Asia where there has been little development of this sector until now. AMARC and its community radio members and partners have been able to demonstrate the possibilities which the right to communicate embodies. They have directly contributed to progressive social change and social justice by providing access to those marginalized and disadvantaged by the mainstream media; have successfully created legislation for the sector in many countries; and have undertaken training projects which have built capacity and contributed to sustaining community access.

There are also openings for representatives of civil society including grassroots movements and non-governmental organizations to participate in global agenda setting in the communications realm. There are vibrant grassroots movements and popular actions emerging and making their presence felt in all global regions.

In light of all of these things, we, the General Assembly of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters declare the following:

Community Radio

We acknowledge and endorse the African Charter on Broadcasting which defines community broadcasting as that which is for, by and about the community, whose ownership and management is representative of the community, which pursues a social development agenda, and which is non-profit.

We believe that broadcasting spectra constitute a part of the global commons which should not be privatized, rather that only use rights should be given and that community media should have first access.

We call on all nations and governmental authorities, particularly those in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa to create legislation which would provide access to all the electronic, especially to community radio in equal opportunity for all, with particular attention to the rights of women and children, and to provide the necessary support and training to make it viable.

We call upon all nations, governmental authorities and community radios to ensure access and ownership of all means of communications for women.

We call for regulation of frequency spectra for community radio such that it favors the development of this medium for the use of local communities.

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and Beyond

We consider the WSIS that is taking place in Geneva Switzerland in December 2003 and in Tunis, Tunisia in 2005 to be an important venue for highlighting the role of community media in the overall struggle for social justice and people’s empowerment.

We, along with other progressive media sectors and civil sector actors, abhor the threat to an open internet or the infringement of rights to privacy in the name of ‘national security’ or a ‘war on terrorism’, and call on all governments and all social forces to oppose these threats whether corporate or governmental.

We consider that it is an established fact that community media, particularly community radio, have given communities the means of cultural expression, news and information, and local dialogue. Radio is the most widespread electronic communications device in the world and a unique means of reaching the world’s poorest communities. Community radio broadcasting is increasingly recognized as a bridge across the digital divide between those who have access to the world’s information resources and those who do not. We, therefore, urge all the participants in the WSIS process to recognize and support the role of community media in providing spaces for peoples’ voices to be heard in the formulation and implementation of national, regional, and international policies on information and communication technologies and in the construction of an information society which is globalized for the many rather than the few. Further, this approach must extend beyond the WSIS into the foreseeable future.

The Role of Community Media in Progressive Social Movements

We consider the emergence of social justice movements such as the World Social Forums to be essential in achieving the goals stated above and commit AMARC’s resources to continued participation in them as a critical conduit for information about such events and actions. However, we regret that such movements have often tended to marginalize community broadcasting to the same degree that has existed in the governmental and corporate sectors.

We, therefore, call on the organizers of these movements to recognize and support the role of community media in providing spaces for people’s voices to articulate the ways in which they imagine that another world is possible, and to open a seat at the planning table for representatives of community broadcasters.

Conclusion

The General Assembly of AMARC is committed to the realization of the Right to Communicate in its broadest, most inclusive sense. We pledge to work to protect our members and those they serve from any infringement of this right and thereby to contribute to the securing of all the rights included in the United Nations Charter on Human Rights and those rights which have been ratifies since its establishment. We will do so in the open, transparent and accountable manner which we demand from the other sectors with which we interact.

AMARC International Charter of Community Radios

Drafted and ratified by participant community radio broadcasters members of AMARC during its 8th General Assembly in Kathmandu, Nepal, February 26, 2003

We call upon AMARC International and AMARC members to strengthen all efforts in the following areas:

• Exercise the human right to communication and facilitate the full and equal access of all social sectors to radio and television, and other media, including new information & communication technologies (ICTs).
• Share to mission to democratise communications in order to guarantee freedom of expression and to contribute to equitable and sustainable development.
• Express the aspirations of civil society, especially those excluded from decision making, by age, gender and from the economic arena.
• Promote socio-cultural and linguistic heritage, independent from commercial and governmental interests, partisan political and religious proselytise.
• Represent the interests of all communities.
• Assist them to define themselves as non-profit civic organisations and to seek sufficient diversity in their financing, to prevent the compromise of their objectives.
• Offer quality programming services that is informative, educational, entertaining and are subject to community participation and evaluation.
• Operate as a platform for citizen’s participation, where their voices and perspectives can be heard and where diversity is encouraged.
• Defend fundamental human rights, gender equality, resist discrimination and promote the spirit of peace and mutual understanding.
• Maximise the use of available technologies by community media centres to enhance the capabilities of their participants.
• Practice participative democratic governance and transparent administration, respecting the rights of both their personnel and the community being serviced, including persons with disabilities as well as women and children.
• Guarantee participation of women at all levels, including those of decision-making.
• Act to promote harmony, co-operation and communication within our heterogeneous membership.
• Recognise the power of community radio and work to ensure that our members use it responsibly, particularly in conflict.