COMMENTS

  1. Freedom of Expression, a Fundamental Human Right

    Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But around the world, there are governments and those wielding power who ...

  2. Freedom of expression and opinion

    Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, enshrined in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, there are governments and individuals in positions of power around the globe that threaten this right. A number of freedoms fall under the category of freedom of expression. Freedom of the media is under attack in ...

  3. Freedom of speech

    Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, ... L'esercizio di un diritto. Giuffre Milano. Shaw, Caroline. "Freedom of expression and the palladium of British liberties, 1650-2000: A review essay".

  4. Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression

    In 1993, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights established the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. After replacing the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council decided to extend the mandate for another three years in March 2008 (resolution 7/36).

  5. Freedom of speech

    Freedom of speech, right, as stated in the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, to express information, ideas, and opinions free of government restrictions based on content. Many cases involving freedom of speech and of the press have concerned defamation, obscenity, and prior restraint.

  6. Rising trend of violating freedom of expression and political rights

    GENEVA (29 February 2024) - The UN Human Rights Committee found that the number of individual complaints brought before them has reached an all-time high, with increasing patterns of violations of freedom of expression and political rights. The Committee anticipated a further surge in such cases this year, the biggest election year in history. There are currently 1,321 individual complaints ...

  7. What is freedom of speech?

    Wrong. 'Freedom of speech is the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, by any means.'. Freedom of speech and the right to freedom of expression applies to ideas of all kinds including those that may be deeply offensive. But it comes with responsibilities and we believe it can be legitimately restricted.

  8. Full article: Protecting the human right to freedom of expression in

    Free speech is a necessary precondition to the enjoyment of other rights, such as the right to vote, free assembly and freedom of association, and is essential to ensure press freedom. However, there is a clear and worrying global trend, including in western democracies, of governments limiting vibrant discussion and debate within civil society ...

  9. Freedom of Expression

    Freedom of speech. Freedom of speech, or freedom of expression, applies to ideas of all kinds, including those that may be deeply offensive. While international law protects free speech, there are instances where speech can legitimately restricted under the same law - such as when it violates the rights of others, or, advocates hatred and incites discrimination or violence.

  10. Freedom of Speech

    For many liberals, the legal right to free speech is justified by appealing to an underlying moral right to free speech, understood as a natural right held by all persons. (Some use the term human right equivalently—e.g., Alexander 2005—though the appropriate usage of that term is contested.)

  11. Why Is Freedom of Speech an Important Right? When, if Ever, Can It Be

    One of the founding principles of the United States that Americans cherish is the right to freedom of speech. Enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of speech grants all ...

  12. First Amendment

    The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual's religious practices.It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely.

  13. Freedom of Speech

    Freedom of speech—the right to express opinions without government restraint—is a democratic ideal that dates back to ancient Greece. In the United States, the First Amendment guarantees free ...

  14. Freedom of the press under attack worldwide

    Disinformation, hate speech and deadly attacks against journalists are threatening freedom of the press worldwide, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, calling for greater solidarity with the people who bring us the news. The appeal comes in his message ahead of World Press Freedom Day, celebrated annually on 3 May, in line ...

  15. Here's what you can and can't say under the First Amendment

    The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, and yet, what that means has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the court "has ...

  16. Freedom of speech Definition & Meaning

    The meaning of FREEDOM OF SPEECH is the legal right to express one's opinions freely.

  17. Freedom of Opinion and Expression

    Freedom of expression embraces free speech, the sanctity of an individual's opinion, a free press, the transmission and receipt of ideas and information, the freedom of expression in art and other forms, the ability to receive ideas from elsewhere, and the right to silence. ... However, in a general comment on Article 19, the Office of the ...

  18. A/HRC/53/25: Sustainable development and freedom of expression: why

    In this report, the Special Rapporteur explores the linkages between the right to freedom of expression, including the right to information, and sustainable development. While recognizing important progress made in normative standards for access to information, the Special Rapporteur highlights that more is needed to ensure that the voices of those most disadvantaged in society are heard.

  19. Amid campus crackdowns, Gaza war triggers freedom of ...

    "The Gaza crisis is truly becoming a global crisis of the freedom of expression," said Ms. Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. "This is going to have huge repercussions for a long time to come.". Demonstrations around the world have been roundly calling for an end to the war, which began in October following ...

  20. 'Access to information is the basis of democracy'

    On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, UN Women interviewed Miriam Jemio, an independent environmental journalist from La Paz, Bolivia. The freedom and safety of journalists reporting from the front lines of the climate crisis is critical. This year, World Press Freedom Day is focusing on the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the face of the environmental crisis.

  21. Amid campus protests, college leaders struggle to balance free speech

    Columbia University initially sent police to quell the protests. University President Minouche Shafik announced on Friday the school has no plans to call police to campus to respond to the ...

  22. World Press Freedom Day

    03 May 2024. Message on World Press Freedom Day by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres. The world is going through an unprecedented environmental emergency which poses an existential threat to this and future generations. People need to know about this - and journalists and media workers have a key role in informing and educating them.

  23. The UN Strategy and Plan of Action

    This approach to coordinating efforts across the UN system to identify, prevent and confront hate speech is grounded in international human rights standards, including the right to freedom of ...

  24. Universities Need To Recover the True Meaning of Academic Freedom

    Nor is free expression identical to academic freedom. Columbia president Minouche Shafik wrote in an April 16 op-ed that she sought to balance the "free-speech rights of pro-Palestinian protestors ...

  25. Freedom of speech is not freedom to spread racial hatred on social

    The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, recently penned an open letter to Twitter CEO Elon Musk which emphasised that free speech is not a free pass to spread harmful disinformation that results in real world harms. As he underlined Human rights law is clear - freedom of expression stops at hatred that incites discrimination ...

  26. Palestinian journalists covering Gaza awarded 2024 UNESCO/Guillermo

    About the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize . Created in 1997, the annual UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize honours an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger. It is the only such prize awarded to journalists within the UN System.