Paper by Andrei Richter: “Since the end of the Second World War, freedom of expression has become internationally recognized as a fundamental human right, important in itself but also for all other rights, as well as for democracy. The opportunities to defend the existence and flourishing of human rights, to expose and challenge flaws in their implementation, and to make petitions and demands on their observance are only possible through freedom of expression, thus placing it at the heart of the modern human rights system worldwide.
Freedom of expression consists of freedom of information, freedom of political debate, freedom of the media, freedom of artistic expression, and freedom of cultural expression, as well as academic freedom of expression. It is, first and foremost, a legal right with sources in the modern international human rights laws and standards that are set by international organizations and international courts. The international organizations in this context are more accurately called intergovernmental organizations, as they are created by states through multilateral treaties to work in good faith on issues of common interest.
In addition to the global United Nations human rights system, there are three generally recognized regional systems or models for the protection of human rights—in Africa, in the Americas, and in Europe. They might vary in terms of their nature, scope of competence and powers, normative underpinnings, and so on, though each of them is based on a regional human rights treaty, and all three also specifically guarantee the right to freedom of expression. Under international law, the right to freedom of expression belongs to everyone…(More)”.
