Page 91 - Communication Commerce and Power The Political Economy of America and the Direct Broadcast Satellite

80 Communication, Commerce and Power

the interference of signals, however, have been and continue to be
managed through the ITU's regulation of the radio-wave spectrum,
frequencies and technological standards. To put it generally, custom-
ary international law now facilitates the legal transmission and recept-
ion of radio waves while also recognizing ITU jurisdiction over the
technical parameters of their utilization. Where conventional agree-
ments are lacking, it is necessary to draw on other legal sources to
clarify conflicts in transnational communication. International insti-
tutions such as the ITU and the UN provide forums through which
conventional and customary law are developed. For example, when
deliberations in the UN produce a convention or treaty, these become
legally relevant for all member countries. However, only treaties are
legally binding. Declarations and resolutions, on the other hand, are
directly relevant only once they become part of a customary legal
tradition.
Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for
instance, states that 'Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without inter~
ference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through
any media and regardless of frontiers.' Although this establishes the
right to send information across nation-state borders, Article 29 of the
same Declaration modifies Article 19 as a result of its acknowledge-
ment that only states can provide such rights. 24 Individuals (that is,
people, corporations, unions and so on) therefore enjoy the right to
send and receive information but within the legal parameters
prescribed by nation states. The important question here is what
legal obligation these provisions have on countries and the organiza-
tions and individuals in them. Unless accompanied by complementary
and unambiguous international agreements, the Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights, like all declarations and resolutions, is not
necessarily applicable unless accompanied by a conventional agree-
ment.25
In 1961, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the ITU
as the forum in which the regulatory development of telesatellites
should be pursued. 26 Already in 1962, questions concerning the use
of telesatellites for propaganda purposes were raised by the Soviet
Union. Soviet delegates to the UN proposed a resolution stating that
'the use of outer space for propagating war, national or racial hatred
or enmity between nations shall be prohibited.' 27 One year later, the
Brazilian delegation echoed this proposal using language more in
keeping with the technical terminology used in the ITU. The phrase