Paper presented at the WACC-sponsored seminar on "The Right to Communicate, Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Great Lakes Region", Kigali, Rwanda

March 24-26 2003

From the Introduction...

"Communication is 'an ensemble of phenomena related to the possibility, for a subject, to convey information to another by means of an articulate language or other codes'. At a time when communication technologies are being increasingly perfected, information is more and more the central concern of States, organised communities, and public and private institutions in their attempts to set out educational or political strategies, to advocate issues, to lobby and apply pressure. The need to send and receive information quickly is, therefore, a vital challenge to vulnerable people such as refugees, those displaced by war, asylum seekers, etc., who do not know their basic rights, which are frequently violated without anyone taking any notice.

The violation of the rights of refugees is usually encouraged by the total absence of information that has been well researched and chosen, which is easily assimilated and attractive. According to Hedley Burrel, the most immediate criteria for information are, ‘the deeds and acts of official personalities or celebrities, government activities whatever their nature, new and strange events, exciting or shocking revelations, and news about society happenings.' Communication can be seen, therefore, as a useful advocacy tool through its dual function in the defence and promotion of a person's rights. It is, in fact, by means of mass communication, such as the media and reports by organisations defending human rights, that the cry of alarm can be raised in order to prevent or combat serious violations of refugees' rights. It is also by means of information in those same media and by means of the educational work of organisations in civil society that refugees can learn about their rights, duties and obligations, so that they can make legitimate claims in conformity with the internal laws and regulations of the countries that give them shelter."

This paper explores the need for vulnerable people such as refugees to convey information to another by means of an articulate language or other codes.

Click here to read the full paper.

WACC Website

Placed on the Soul Beat Africa site October 23 2003.