Human Rights Committee

Ninety-eighth Session

2699^th Meeting* (AM)

Monitoring Body for Civil, Political Rights Covenant Continues Read-Through

of Draft General Comment on Article 19, Concerning Freedom of Opinion

The United Nations expert panel monitoring worldwide implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights today continued the work of its ninety-eighth session with a read-through of its draft “general comment” on article 19 of the treaty, which deals with “the right to freedom of opinion and expression”.

Meeting at Headquarters in New York through 26 March, the 18-member Human Rights Committee is mandated to examine compliance reports submitted by countries that are among the 165 States parties to the Covenant, which was adopted in 1966 by the General Assembly.  The Committee also regularly holds thorough discussions on, and eventually publishes its interpretation of, the content of human rights provisions, in the form of general comments on thematic issues.

Leading the discussion, Michael O’Flaherty, expert from Ireland and the Committee’s Rapporteur on the consideration of its general comment on article 19 of the Covenant, said that, as of their last session (held in Geneva this past October), the experts had read through paragraph 9 of the draft general comment, and all the changes they had discussed had now been included up to that point (document CCPR/C/GC/34/CRP.2).

That text contained the proposed structure of the general comment, which would open with general remarks and then highlight the Committee’s observations on such areas as the scope of the right of freedom of expression and limits to that freedom; access to information; restrictions related to counter-terrorism measures; and restrictions regarding so called “memory laws”, or legislation that requires historical events to be described in a certain way.

Recapping the Committee’s earlier discussion, Mr. O’Flaherty reminded the experts that they were still in the “first reading” phase, ahead of proposals on a final draft of the 54 paragraph document.  Since October, he had worked to integrate the agreed suggestions and proposals into the draft, drawing on relevant jurisprudence, as well as the Committee’s own concluding observations on matters regarding freedom of opinion and expression.

He noted that the section on “freedom of opinion”, while short, was proportionate to the length of the former general comment.  Much of its content was dealt with in the draft’s “general remarks”.  He added that one decision the experts had taken in October had been inadvertently dropped from the current text.  The fourth sentence of paragraph 2 of the general remarks would now read: “They constitute the foundation stone for every free and democratic society.”

The experts then began their in-depth read-through by agreeing to delete the beginning of paragraph 10 of the section on “freedom of opinion”, thus making it more direct: “Any form of coerced effort to shape opinion is prohibited.”  That decision was accompanied by a brief discussion of, among others, the importance of integrating relevant international case law in the Committee’s work, and the nuanced but vital differences between the right to freedom of expression and freedom of opinion, and why specific language on the scope and limitation of each right was essential.

As the discussion continued, experts made detailed suggestions on a host of matters critical to the Covenant’s overall implementation, including protections for “offensive speech” -- with Krister Thelin, expert from Sweden, noting his belief that it was important to signal that the main proposition of article 19 “is also the right to insult, if you will” -- cultural or artistic expression, and the impact of limits on journalism and advertising.

Mr. O’Flaherty reminded the group that the overall exercise was not to endorse, but to determine the scope of specific rights under article 19, part II.  Rajsoomer Lallah, expert from Mauritius considered that the article was “a delicate flower”, and asked: “Once you start introducing limitations, where do you stop?”

As the experts worked through the text -- ultimately adopting draft language for paragraphs 10, 11, 12 and 13 -- they raised vital issues concerning, among others, media freedoms and the need for the Committee’s general comment to affirm the “paramount importance” of a free and uncensored press.  While warning that they were not advocating laws governing the activities of the press, two experts agreed that draft language should be crafted to address concerns about the stifling effect of media monopolies.

The Human Rights Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday, 19 March, to continue discussion of its draft general comment on article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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*     The 2698^th Meeting was closed.

For information media • not an official record