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The right to freedom of opinion and expression exercised through the Internet 2011, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- When a cyber-attack can be attributed to the State, it clearly constitutes, inter alia, a violation of its obligation to respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Although determining the origin of cyber-attacks and the identity of the perpetrator is often technically difficult, it should be noted that States have an obligation to protect individuals against interference by third parties that undermines the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This positive obligation to protect entails that States must take appropriate and effective measures to investigate actions taken by third parties, hold the persons responsible to account, and adopt measures to prevent such recurrence in the future.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 66a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight the importance of the references made to the disclosure of information on violations of human rights and humanitarian law, stipulated in section A of principle 10 of the Tshwane Principles, namely:] There is an overriding public interest in disclosure of information regarding gross violations of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law, including crimes under international law, and systematic or widespread violations of the rights to personal liberty and security. Such information may not be withheld on national security grounds in any circumstances;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 66b
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight the importance of the references made to the disclosure of information on violations of human rights and humanitarian law, stipulated in section A of principle 10 of the Tshwane Principles, namely:] Information regarding other violations of human rights or humanitarian law is subject to a high presumption of disclosure, and in any event may not be withheld on national security grounds in a manner that would prevent accountability for the violations or deprive a victim of access to an effective remedy;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 66c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight the importance of the references made to the disclosure of information on violations of human rights and humanitarian law, stipulated in section A of principle 10 of the Tshwane Principles, namely:] When a State is undergoing a process of transitional justice, during which the State is especially required to ensure truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, there is an overriding public interest in disclosure to society as a whole of information regarding human rights violations committed under the past regime. A successor government should immediately protect and preserve the integrity of, and release without delay, any records that contain such information that were concealed by a prior government.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression 2013, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Individuals should have a legal right to be notified that they have been subjected to communications surveillance or that their communications data has been accessed by the State. Recognizing that advance or concurrent notification might jeopardize the effectiveness of the surveillance, individuals should nevertheless be notified once surveillance has been completed and have the possibility to seek redress in respect of the use of communications surveillance measures in their aftermath.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression 2013, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- States should be completely transparent about the use and scope of communications surveillance techniques and powers. They should publish, at minimum, aggregate information on the number of requests approved and rejected, a disaggregation of the requests by service provider and by investigation and purpose.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 132
- Paragraph text
- It is recommended that States take all actions necessary to ensure that representatives of the national and international press have access to all facts and to all places, including zones of internal or international armed conflict, while guaranteeing the protection necessary to safeguard their lives and their physical and mental integrity, together with the full exercise of their human rights in accordance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 118
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to guarantee to all individuals the full enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression through any medium, while ensuring that their human rights are respected and protected. In particular, they should guarantee the full enjoyment of this right to all persons engaged in journalistic activities in places of internal conflict or war, where the nature of their work places them in a position of greater vulnerability; all social communicators are considered to be journalists for this purpose.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Internal institutional and external oversight mechanisms should provide effective and protective channels for whistle-blowers to motivate remedial action. In the absence of channels that provide protection and effective remediation, or that fail to do so in a timely manner, public disclosures should be permitted. Disclosure of human rights or humanitarian law violations should never be the basis of penalties of any kind.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Vague laws and regulations violate the legality requirement (see A/HRC/23/40, para. 50). The Communications and Multimedia Act of Malaysia, for example, permits authorities to order the disclosure of “any communication or class of communications” on “the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety”. The Act does not define the conditions that trigger a public emergency and certification by the King is deemed “conclusive proof on the point”. In Qatar, law enforcement enjoys a broad right to seek access to providers’ customer communications in cases of national security or emergency. These provisions empower authorities to request user data based on a mere assertion of national security. Users are thus unable to predict with reasonable certainty the circumstances under which their communications and associated data may be disclosed to authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- There have been similar information-poor situations involving peacekeeping, whistle-blowing, allegations of fraud, personnel decisions and conflicts of interest for which a comprehensive freedom of information policy for the United Nations would have advanced public understanding of and engagement with global issues and reinforced mechanisms for accountability. A lack of transparency and proper access to information, for instance, has arguably played a role in the lack of accountability on the part of peacekeepers accused of sexual abuse.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression 2013, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- States have access to a number of different techniques and technologies to conduct communications surveillance of a targeted individual's private communications. Real-time interception capabilities allow States to listen to and record the phone calls of any individual using a fixed line or mobile telephone, through the use of interception capabilities for State surveillance that all communications networks are required to build into their systems. An individual's location can be ascertained, and their text messages read and recorded. By placing a tap on an Internet cable relating to a certain location or person, State authorities can also monitor an individual's online activity, including the websites he or she visits.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur considers it necessary to remind States of their obligation to ensure that both the national and the international press have access to all the facts and to all conflict zones and to provide members of the press with the protection due them in accordance with the aforementioned resolution.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- States have long sought to keep secret information that, if disclosed, could undermine efforts to protect the public from grave harms such as terrorism or armed conflict. The protection of confidential information is a necessary by-product of some government activity, and article 19 (3) recognizes the legitimacy of limitations to protect specific interests such as national security. Institutions that operate in national security, such as institutions of defence, diplomacy, internal security and law enforcement, and intelligence, may have a greater claim not to disclose information than other public bodies, but they have no greater claim to hide instances of wrongdoing or other information where the value of disclosure outweighs the harm to the institution. Yet whistle-blower protections are often weak, or simply unavailable, in the area of national security and intelligence. Those who disclose wrongdoing in national security institutions are often subject to retaliation, such as job loss or transfer, denial or revocation of security clearance, and investigation, prosecution and harsh sentencing, and they lack redress because of legal doctrines that support an infrastructure of secrecy. Whistle-blowing’s main function thus loses all force, and while the lack of protection ultimately denies members of the public access to critical information about their Government, national security institutions also lose a tool of accountability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Protection of journalists and press freedom 2010, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur notes that, in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and which is officially and lawfully proclaimed in accordance with international law, a State may derogate from certain rights, including the right to freedom of expression. However, derogations are permissible only to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and only when and for so long as they are not inconsistent with its obligations under international law. Moreover, there are certain non-derogable rights, as outlined in article 4(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Hence, a journalist should never, under any circumstances, be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life, subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, imprisoned merely on the grounds of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation, held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence at the time when it was committed, denied recognition as a person before the law, or denied the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- The set of principles provides also that a people's knowledge of the history of its oppression is part of its heritage and, as such, must be ensured by appropriate measures in fulfilment of the State's duty to preserve archives and other evidence concerning violations of human rights and humanitarian law and to facilitate knowledge of those violations, and that such measures shall be aimed at preserving the collective memory from extinction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 79j
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur proposes the following principles for determining the conditions that must be satisfied in order for a limitation or restriction on freedom of expression to be permissible:] In states of emergency which threaten the life of the nation and which have been officially proclaimed, States are permitted to temporarily suspend certain rights, including the right to freedom of expression. However, such suspensions shall be legitimate only if the state of emergency is declared in accordance with article 4 of the Covenant and general comment No. 29 of the Human Rights Committee. A state of emergency may not under any circumstances be used for the sole aim of restricting freedom of expression and preventing criticism of those who hold power;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The Inter-American Court has repeatedly recognized this right. In addition, the Basic Principles on Reparations and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law include, as a measure of satisfaction, verification of the facts and full and public disclosure of the truth to the extent that such disclosure does not cause further harm to the victims, as well as inclusion of an accurate account of the violations that occurred in international human rights law and international humanitarian law training and in educational material at all levels (General Assembly resolution 60/147, annex, paras. 22 (b) and (h)).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- As observed above, the State has an obligation to disclose information, and in particular, certain types of information, such as that regarding violations of human rights or humanitarian law. This is clearly information of public interest, engaging a high presumption of disclosure. The overriding public interest in the disclosure of information concerning serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, in addition to the obligation of States to take proactive measures to ensure the preservation and dissemination of such information, is generally acknowledged. Limitations to these obligations, especially in situations of transitional justice, can be invoked only under very specific circumstances.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- In a number of instances, States have continued to limit access to information concerning action carried out under previous regimes, even when they took place many years before. In the absence of detailed justification, allegations that information regarding such past violations can affect national security have little credibility. The Special Rapporteur considers that it is difficult to justify a continuing public interest in imposing limitations to information from former regimes. As noted, authorities in countries undergoing a process of transitional justice have a particular obligation to proactively ensure the preservation and dissemination of information on serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law that took place in the past.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Duration and geographical scope may vary, but shutdowns are generally disproportionate. Affected users are cut off from emergency services and health information, mobile banking and e-commerce, transportation, school classes, voting and election monitoring, reporting on major crises and events, and human rights investigations. Given the number of essential activities and services they affect, shutdowns restrict expression and interfere with other fundamental rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
21 shown of 21 entities