The right to communicate affirms and restores human dignity

Communication as a right is a comparatively new concept, although its roots reach deep into the history of human thought. The arguments that underlie it are complex and contested. The first task is, therefore, to identify some of the philosophical and ethical strands that comprise this right. The aim is to provide some grounding for discourse on the right to communicate, which includes many aspects of human life, from the right to be heard to the right to be silent. The second part shows how the right to communicate lies at the very heart of the work of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). It emphasizes, in particular, the intellectual and advocacy role WACC played in the critical promotion of the rationale for the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO). It also touches on WACC's more recent endeavours in coordinating the input of civil society groups to the UN-convoked World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

PDF (2004)