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Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 79k
- 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:] Any restriction or limitation must be consistent with other rights recognized in the Covenant and in other international human rights instruments, as well as with the fundamental principles of universality, interdependence, equality and non-discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other belief, national or social origin, property, birth or any other status;
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2010
Párrafo
Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Accordingly, the Special Rapporteur considers that, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the right of access to electronic communications and freedom of opinion and expression in general must be guaranteed. It is therefore necessary to reduce the digital divide and the gap in technological progress between developed and developing nations, in line with the recommendations contained in the Millennium Declaration (General Assembly resolution 55/2, para. 20). In particular, target 5 of goal 8 states: "in cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications".
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- N.A.
- Año
- 2010
Párrafo
Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Freedom of opinion and expression and access to communication are tools that can contribute to the eradication of poverty. By exercising this right, poor social groups can obtain information, assert their rights and participate in the public debate concerning social and political changes that would improve their situation. Access to communication is also fundamental to economic and social development because it enables communities to obtain the information they need to run their own activities. Governments should therefore ensure access to communication, in general, and to electronic means of communications, in particular, in order to combat poverty.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2010
Párrafo
Groups in need of attention, limitations to the right to freedom of expression, and protection of journalists 2010, para. 79h (iii)
- 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:] Certain very specific limitations are legitimate if they are necessary in order for the State to fulfil an obligation to prohibit certain expressions on the grounds that they cause serious injury to the human rights of others. These include the following: Article 4 (a) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which establishes the requirement to "declare an offence punishable by law all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination, as well as all acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin";
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Equality & Inclusion
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2010
Párrafo
Protection of journalists and media freedom 2012, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur reiterates that any restriction to the right to freedom of expression must satisfy the three-part test stipulated in article 19, paragraph 3, of the Covenant: (i) the restriction imposed must be provided by law, which is clear and accessible to everyone; (ii) it must be proven as necessary and legitimate to protect the rights or reputation of others; national security or public order, public health or morals; and (iii) it must be proven as the least restrictive and proportionate means to achieve the purported aim.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2012
Párrafo
Protection of journalists and media freedom 2012, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- An attack against a journalist is not only a violation of his or her right to impart information, but also undermines the right of individuals and society at large to seek and receive information, both of which are guaranteed under articles 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights respectively. Indeed, without respect for freedom of expression, and in particular freedom of the press, an informed, active and engaged citizenry is impossible. An attack against a journalist is therefore an attack against the principles of transparency and accountability, as well as the right to hold opinions and to participate in public debates, which are essential for democracy.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2012
Párrafo
The right to access information 2013, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur understands that legitimate national security interests can be protected fully only through the respect of all human rights, including the right to freedom of expression. The most secure nations are those that pay greater attention to their human rights obligations. The importance of respecting all human rights and fundamental freedoms in responses to terrorism, for example, is widely recognized by States (see Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/80). Promoting access to information, besides being an obligation, is a basic requirement for the rapid identification of malpractice and for the consequent enhancement of the work of all public bodies, including those working in the promotion of national security.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2013
Párrafo
The right to access information 2013, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Over the past 20 years, numerous national norms have been adopted with the aim of promoting the right to access information. It is currently estimated that more than 50 national constitutions guarantee a right to information or of access to documents, or impose an obligation on State institutions to make information available to the public. More than 90 countries have adopted national laws establishing the right to request information and procedures for the public to obtain government-held information, thus responding to their human rights obligations.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2013
Párrafo
The right to access information 2013, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The review of national experiences also demonstrates important positive elements in existing laws and practices. It is clear that provisions establishing objective procedural guarantees which detail the processes required to request and obtain information, in addition to the responsibilities of public bodies in these processes, are a central element for the successful implementation of national norms. The establishment of a broad scope for the right to access to information in national laws is central to the success of the norms. The inclusion of pragmatic instructions among principles, such as that of ensuring that access is rapid, inexpensive and not unduly burdensome, is also positive.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2013
Párrafo
The right to access information 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The right to access information has many aspects. It encompasses both the general right of the public to have access to information of public interest from a variety of sources and the right of the media to access information, in addition to the right of individuals to request and receive information of public interest and information concerning themselves that may affect their individual rights. As noted previously, the right to freedom of opinion and expression is an enabler of other rights (A/HRC/17/27, para. 22) and access to information is often essential for individuals seeking to give effect to other rights.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2013
Párrafo
The right to access information 2013, para. 76i
- Paragraph text
- [The core principles include:] Protection for individuals who disclose relevant information (whistle-blowers). National laws on the right to information should provide protection from liability for officials who, in good faith, disclose information pursuant to right to information legislation. Individuals should be protected from any legal, administrative or employment-related sanctions for releasing information on wrongdoing, including the commission of a criminal offence or the failure to comply with a legal obligation. Special protection should be provided for those who release information concerning human rights violations.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2013
Párrafo
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.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2013
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- States must take measures to eliminate the structural, legal and practical barriers to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression. At a fundamental, structural level, economic power enables political influence to be concentrated in, and exercised by, small segments of society, thereby undermining the democratic ideal. Those who own and finance media organizations and outlets are often able to use their economic power and influence to enhance the visibility of certain political candidates or groups, and impede the communication and expression of others. This is particularly the case where national legislative frameworks do not sufficiently provide for free, direct access by political candidates to publicly or privately owned media outlets for campaigning purposes. Even when such provisions are in place, many media organizations are able to use the unequal provision of air time, partisan editorial commentary, or the facilitation of paid political advertising to promote one political candidate or group over another. The situation is exacerbated when media ownership is obscured by complex corporate structures and there is no public transparency as to the corporate and private interests entwined with media coverage. Especially in circumstances in which a State's media ownership is concentrated in only a handful of corporate entities, this can threaten the ability of all political entities to freely and effectively express their positions and platforms, and impede individuals from receiving information about their electoral choices on an equal and impartial basis.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
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. 67
- Paragraph text
- National data retention laws are invasive and costly, and threaten the rights to privacy and free expression. By compelling communications service providers to create large databases of information about who communicates with whom via a telephone or the Internet, the duration of the exchange, and the users' location, and to keep such information (sometimes for years), mandatory data retention laws greatly increase the scope of State surveillance, and thus the scope for infringements upon human rights. Databases of communications data become vulnerable to theft, fraud and accidental disclosure.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2013
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Common and continuing challenges to the promotion and protection of freedom of expression that persist in all aspects of society - censorship, violence against journalists, speech that incites hatred, discrimination and political violence - increase in both frequency and severity during electoral processes. Ensuring an open public debate where all the main stakeholders in an electoral process - namely, the voters, the political leaders and groups, and the media - can freely share information and opinions is a permanent challenge for democratic societies. In some cases, inadequate regulation of communications can unduly restrict the freedom of the media or of political actors. In other situations, the political debate is dominated by powerful political and economic groups that take advantage of poorly regulated and enforced legal frameworks.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The ability of a political party to generate funds to support the various costs related to political communication and campaigning is an additional determining factor as to whether a party is able to participate fully in elections, and is thus a central pillar of ensuring plurality in political and electoral processes. A political party may be indirectly prevented from participating fully in an election if it is unable to raise financing from diverse sources. Poorly regulated political finance has the potential to undermine the integrity of elections by enabling individuals or groups to exert undue influence on political candidates or parties, and may facilitate vote buying or bribery. Equally, restrictions that limit the ways in which a political party may disburse funds raised may also impede full and free participation in political and electoral processes, while unlimited political spending benefits wealthier candidates and parties and undermines political equality.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Freedom of opinion and expression in electoral processes is also threatened when economic power is exerted over the political process through campaign financing and paid political advertising. Wealthy societal segments and corporate interest lobbies can directly exert political influence through exploiting unregulated political finance structures, and opportunities for paid political advertising. In many States neither the donor nor the recipient is required publicly to disclose financial contributions. Wealthy groups and candidates are also disproportionately advantaged when there are no restrictions in place as to how political campaigns can use and disburse campaign funds.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Accordingly, all political parties and candidates should have access to the media in a fair and impartial way. As articulated in the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), States must "ensure that the will of the people serves as the basis of the authority of government" by, inter alia, ensuring "that no legal or administrative obstacle stands in the way of unimpeded access to the media on a non-discriminatory basis for all political groupings and individuals wishing to participate in the electoral process".
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- A pluralistic electoral process is also undermined by the unregulated financing of, and spending by, political campaigns. As the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security (a joint initiative by the Kofi Annan Foundation and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) recognized in 2012, "uncontrolled political finance threatens to hollow out democracy and rob it of its unique strengths". In many countries, the absence of regulations controlling campaign financing and spending creates the conditions for wealthy individuals and groups to exert influence and power over political candidates and groups, and provides an unequal advantage to wealthy political participants. Furthermore, groups of organized criminals are able to exploit unregulated and unenforced political financing regimes to buy political influence and even protection.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Political finance is a key concern when protecting and promoting the freedom of opinion and expression in electoral and political processes are being considered. Restraining campaign spending and creating an equal playing field for political parties and candidates are key to ensuring that citizens have access to a diverse range of opinions and political choices. At the same time, the provision of financial support to a political party may in itself be an act of political expression. A careful balance must therefore be struck by each State, reflecting local political values and legal frameworks, while at the same time conforming with international human rights norms. This would require, at a minimum, that States ensure that there is independent monitoring and oversight of political financing, and that every effort is made to ensure that organized crime is prohibited from using campaign financing as a means to gain political influence.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- To satisfy the principle of proportionality, the relevant institution should also be prepared to show that the harm to the specific legitimate national security interest outweighs the public interest in disclosure. The Tshwane Principles propose that public disclosure should be protected where the internal or oversight mechanism would be ineffective, futile or lack timeliness in the face of a serious threat. Furthermore, reflecting a point of general applicability, the whistle-blower should disclose only the "amount of information that was reasonably necessary to bring to light the wrongdoing" and do so on the reasonable belief that the public interest in disclosure outweighed any harm to any specific and legitimate national security interest. Any disclosures that meet those tests should merit full protection. Those principles should be available to whistle-blowers whether they are claiming protection or defending themselves against investigation or prosecution.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- An essential area of transparency during electoral processes relates to the ownership of, and influence exerted over, the media. The increasing consolidation of media outlets in the hands of fewer and fewer companies is of serious concern in the context of political communication. Given the critical public service role played by the media, this monopolization undermines diversity of opinion, raises the risk that information will be controlled or censored, and creates opportunities for bribery, manipulation or exploitation by powerful political or social groups. Furthermore, with increasing frequency, national media sources are, in part or in full, foreign owned. While foreign ownership of media outlets does not in itself undermine the ability of media sources to promote freedom of opinion and expression, it obfuscates the influence structures and may create mistrust in the voting public.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2014
Párrafo
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The question posed most sharply in the national security area is whether, when individuals assess the balance between public interest disclosure and national security harm, they should lose the protection they would otherwise enjoy if their assessment differs from that of the Government, as is likely. Criminal or civil penalties may advance the Government's interest in concealing certain information, but they do so at a steep cost to the public interest in ensuring that whistle-blowers do come forward to disclose instances of wrongdoing or other information that it is in the public's interest to know.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- All the above recommendations to States apply to the United Nations and other international organizations. In addition, the United Nations and international organizations should adopt effective norms and policies of transparency to enable the public to have greater access to information. Specific norms protecting whistle-blowers should follow similar criteria to those provided in the recommendations to States: wide scope of application, promotion of disclosure of information in the public interest and clarity in the mechanisms for reporting and requesting protection. Particular attention must be paid to the effectiveness and independence of existing reporting and justice mechanisms, given the lack of access of whistle-blowers to any other formal justice system.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Whistle-blowers may reasonably perceive that neither internal nor oversight mechanisms provide effective protection or a likelihood of addressing wrongdoing. They may leave whistle-blowers exposed to retaliation and the absence of redress even if the formal legal framework and the mechanisms appear sufficiently protective. Whistle-blowers often reasonably doubt that such protections will work for them; the more a State can demonstrate that whistle-blowing results in changed institutional behaviour, individual accountability and protection, the more likely it is that whistle-blowers will not go public. When a Government seeks to prosecute or otherwise penalize a publicly disclosing whistle-blower, the burden should be on the State to show that the whistle-blower's perceptions of non-protection or non-redress were unreasonable.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Impunity for reprisals sends a message to all potential whistle-blowers that the institution lacks commitment to their protection, while serious and effective penalties are necessary to overcome the structural and cultural protection of secrecy. Whistle-blower laws should therefore include specific rules that make clear the penalties that those who commit reprisals will face, including civil or criminal repercussions for officials in leadership positions. Zambian law, for example, provides for substantial penalties (fines and imprisonment) against "a person who takes any detrimental action that is in reprisal for a person who makes a protected disclosure".
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo
The use of encryption and anonymity to exercise the rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age 2015, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- First, for a restriction on encryption or anonymity to be "provided for by law", it must be precise, public and transparent, and avoid providing State authorities with unbounded discretion to apply the limitation (see Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 34 (2011)). Proposals to impose restrictions on encryption or anonymity should be subject to public comment and only be adopted, if at all, according to regular legislative process. Strong procedural and judicial safeguards should also be applied to guarantee the due process rights of any individual whose use of encryption or anonymity is subject to restriction. In particular, a court, tribunal or other independent adjudicatory body must supervise the application of the restriction.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- N.A.
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo
The use of encryption and anonymity to exercise the rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age 2015, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Anonymity has been recognized for the important role it plays in safeguarding and advancing privacy, free expression, political accountability, public participation and debate. The Universal Declaration and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights do not address anonymity. During negotiation of the Covenant, it was proposed to include in article 19 (1) the phrase, "anonymity is not permitted". However, this was rejected "on the grounds, among others, that anonymity might at times be necessary to protect the author" and "that such a clause might prevent the use of pen names". The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that "the right to freedom of thought and expression and the right to private life protect anonymous speech from government restrictions". Several States enjoy long traditions of celebrating anonymity in their political cultures, but very few provide general protection in law for anonymous expression. Some States exert significant pressure against anonymity, offline and online. Yet because anonymity facilitates opinion and expression in significant ways online, States should protect it and generally not restrict the technologies that provide it. Several States' judiciaries have protected anonymity, at least in limited instances. For instance, the Supreme Court of Canada recently struck down the warrantless acquisition of anonymous user identity online. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea struck down anti-anonymity laws as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of the United States has consistently protected the right to anonymous expression. The European Court of Human Rights has recognized anonymity as important to the freedom of expression but permits limitations in cases where necessary to achieve legitimate objectives.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo
Contemporary challenges to freedom of expression 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- First, legislation often employs broad terms that grant authorities significant discretion to restrict expression and provide individuals with limited guidance about the lines dividing lawful from unlawful behaviour. For instance, I raised concerns with China about its draft cybersecurity legislation in 2015, noting that the law's proscriptions - for instance, that individuals "observe public order and respect social morality" and not use the Internet to "engage in activities harming national security" or "upset social order" - are so general as to permit officials excessive discretion to determine their meaning.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2016
Párrafo
The protection of sources and whistle-blowers 2015, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Protections against retaliation should apply in all public institutions, including those connected to national security. Given that prosecutions generally deter whistle-blowing, States should avoid them, reserving them, if at all, for exceptional cases of the most serious demonstrable harm to a specific legitimate interest. In such situations, the State should bear the burden of proving an intent to cause harm, and defendants should be granted (a) the ability to present a defence of an overriding public interest in the information, and (b) access to all information necessary to mount a full defence, including otherwise classified information. Penalties should take into account the intent of the whistle-blower to disclose information of public interest and meet international standards of legality, due process and proportionality.
- Organismo
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Tipo de documento
- Special Procedures' report
- Medio de adopción
- N.A.
- Temas
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personas afectadas
- All
- Año
- 2015
Párrafo