It’s a HUMAN RIGHT (4 minutes video from TEDEd on human rights)
Defined and protected by 1948’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (read the full Declaration in over 500 languages):
Article 19 - Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. (Simply explained here)
Other international treaties that protect freedom of speech:
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
- ILO Convention N° 135, Workers' Representatives Convention
HOW IS IT PROTECTED INTERNATIONALLY?
What is a human rights treaty body? (1.5 minutes video by OHCHR)
What are the most important ones? (for an overview of Charter bodies and treaty-based bodies)
- Universal Periodic Review … Do you remember this? It’s the one in which China accepted formally to protect freedom of expression in its territories and including Hong Kong!
And these are the procedures to file a complaint!
However, appeal to such bodies is regulated through the condition of “prior exhaustion of local remedies”: this means that the first step is always to appeal your own state when seeking protection.
… how about when the state is the offender? How about dictatorial states in which the judicial system is not independent? Or how about local regulations that are not aligned with international standards?
Exceptional cases are welcomed if it can be demonstrated that “local remedies” are unavailable.
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