Freedom of Opinion and Expression

A/HRC/RES/44/12No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2020.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2009–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/56/7

2024A/HRC/RES/56/7Freedom of opinion and expressionLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/50/15Freedom of opinion and expressionCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/44/12Freedom of opinion and expressionCompare with previous version
2009A/HRC/RES/12/16Freedom of opinion and expression

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Access to Information Freedom of Expression Freedom of Information

What does this mandate say?

24 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the rights contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in particular the right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art or through any other media of one’s choice, and the intrinsically linked rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, peaceful assembly and association and the right to vote and take part in the conduct of public affairs;

Also reaffirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular the right to freedom of opinion and expression;

Reiterates its continuing concern that violations of the rights referred to in paragraph 1 above continue to occur, often with impunity, and are facilitated and aggravated by the abuse of states of emergency;

Strongly condemns the threats, reprisals and violence against and the targeting, criminalization, intimidation, arbitrary detention, torture, disappearance and killing of any individual, including journalists and other media workers, and human rights defenders, for their advocacy of human rights, for reporting and seeking information on human rights violations and abuses or for cooperating with national, regional and international mechanisms, including in relation to economic, social and cultural rights, which have increased and are not adequately punished, in particular where public authorities are involved in committing such acts;

Recognizes that the free flow of information is an important component of access to information, which is essential for advancing the promotion and protection of human rights, including of women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of human rights and to achieving gender equality;

Underlines that the right to freedom of opinion and expression and access to information are critical for the implementation and achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Stresses that a democratic society depends on respect for human rights, including freedom of opinion and expression, and that undue restrictions on the freedom to seek, receive and impart information undermine democracy and the rule of law by preventing efforts aimed at holding public authorities accountable and exposing corruption;

Calls upon all States:

To promote, protect, respect and ensure the full enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, both online and offline, and to take all measures necessary to put an end to and to prevent violations and abuses of the rights referred to in paragraph 1 above, including by ensuring that relevant national legislation complies with their international human rights obligations and is effectively implemented;

To ensure that victims of violations and abuses have effective remedy, that threats and acts of violence are investigated effectively, and that those responsible are brought to justice in order to combat impunity;

To promote, protect, respect and ensure women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, both online and offline, without distinction of any kind;

To enable everyone, including journalists and other media workers, and human rights defenders, to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, including by taking effective measures to ensure their safety, and to protect in law and in practice the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, including whistle-blowers, in acknowledgement of the essential role of journalists and those who provide them with information in fostering government accountability and an inclusive, democratic and peaceful society;

To respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the media, in particular editorial independence, and to promote a pluralistic approach to information and multiple points of view, inter alia by encouraging a diversity of ownership of media and of sources of information, including mass media, and to refrain from the use of imprisonment or the imposition of fines for offences relating to the media that are disproportionate to the gravity of the offence;

To ensure that any limitations on the right to freedom of expression are only such as are provided by law and are necessary for the respect of the rights and reputations of others, or for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health, including by ensuring that all measures taken to counter threats related to terrorism, violent extremism and public health are in full compliance with international human rights obligations, including the principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality;

To refrain from imposing restrictions that are inconsistent with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including on the free flow of information and ideas, including through practices such as the use of Internet shutdowns to intentionally and arbitrarily prevent or disrupt access to or the dissemination of information online, the banning or closing of publications or other media and the abuse of administrative measures and censorship, and on access to or use of information and communications technology, inter alia radio, television and the Internet;

To adopt and implement laws and policies that ensure the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, including by:

Undertaking all necessary efforts to ensure easy, prompt, effective and practical access to government information of public interest, including online, and encouraging the proactive disclosure of information held by public entities in the broadest possible terms, including on grave violations and abuses of human rights, and ensuring that grounds for refusing the disclosure of information held by public bodies are narrowly defined;

Enacting the necessary procedures to allow equal participation in access to information and to facilitate access to and use of information;

iii

Facilitating and promoting access to and use of communications and digital technologies;

Encourages all business enterprises to meet their responsibility to respect all human rights as stated in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework and in other applicable standards, including by actively contributing to initiatives aimed at fostering a culture of respect for freedom of opinion and expression and by ensuring the greatest possible transparency in their policies, standards and actions that have an impact on the freedom of opinion and expression;

Reaffirms that any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred, both online and offline, that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hatred, hostility or violence, shall be prohibited by law, consistent with the right to freedom of expression;

Stresses the importance of combating, in accordance with States’ obligations under international human rights law, all acts of incitement to discrimination, hatred, hostility or violence, including by promoting tolerance, education and dialogue;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on good practices for establishing national normative frameworks that foster access to information held by public entities, and also requests the Office of the High Commissioner, in the preparation of the report, to seek the views of States, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions and other relevant stakeholders, including the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-seventh session;

Decides to continue its consideration of the issue of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in accordance with its programme of work.

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