Conflict of rights and interests

In two segments of the MOOC created by Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, Agnès Callamard focuses on a legitimate restriction to freedom of expression, the so-called incitement speech. In this first segment, Callamard first reviews the various provisions related to incitement speech, but also related to its close cousin, called hate speech. Because both provisions on incitement and hate speech, may be brought together under the same provision. Dr. Callamard discusses those various provision, what they mean, and their differences, if not contradiction. She then briefly discusses how regional convention and national systems have addressed incitement and hate speech, focusing in particular on the U.S. First Amendment. Dr. Callamard ends the segment by trying to make sense of this very difficult and imprecise area of law.

In two segments of the MOOC created by Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, Agnès Callamard focuses on a legitimate restriction to freedom of expression, the so-called incitement speech. In this second segment, Dr. Agnes Callamard will first explain why it is a form of expression that is particularly egregious and dangerous as compared to other kinds of hate speech or extreme speech. Dr. Callamard will then highlight some of the key jurisprudence decisions related to incitement speech and to a lesser extent to some form of hate speech. And in conclusion, Dr. Callamard will extract from the jurisprudence some of the key element which are constitutive of incitement speech in order to ground the determination of whether or not we are dealing with incitement speech on firmer basis given the lack of precision and the contradiction of international provisions.

In 2011 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights organized expert workshops on the prohibition of incitement to national, racial or religious hatred. This document is Tad Stahnke's contribution to the expert meeting held in Santiago, Chile.

"Systematic monitoring of compliance by governments with commitments made in respect of protection of fundamental rights is an important part of ensuring that the necessary protections are indeed provided.  This paper discusses some issues related to monitoring in the context of an Africa regional workshop convened by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).  The workshop seeks to examine links between article 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) with regard to freedom of expression and incitement to hatred.  The objective is to improve the effectiveness of prohibitions of incitement to national, racial and religious hatred without derogating from the equally important right of freedom of expression."

In 2011 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights organized expert workshops on the prohibition of incitement to national, racial or religious hatred. This document is Ambassador Ömür Orhun's contribution and speaking notes for the event. 

Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Countering Violent Extremism.

On 30 April 2020, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Representative on Freedom of the Media, and the Organization of American States Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression published the Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Elections in the Digital Age. The Declaration enumerates recommendations regarding communication during elections for both, State as well as non-State actors. In pursuance of the publication of this Declaration, Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, noted, “The Joint Declaration breaks new ground in several respects…Some key areas it addresses include extending certain types of rules which apply to legacy media, such as on spending and transparency, to digital media, respecting the right to privacy when using personal data to micro-target messages and, for digital actors, avoiding measures which limit the diversity of information available to users or the ability of certain parties and candidates to disseminate messages.”

In 2011 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights organized expert workshops on the prohibition of incitement to national, racial or religious hatred. The Special Rapporteurs on freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and the Special Rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, presented a joint submission. In this written submission, the Special Rapporteurs "first explore some legislative and judicial practices in the region of the workshop, i.e. in Europe, as well as policies conducive to effectively prohibit and prevent advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (chapter II). [The Special Rapporteurs] then provide some concluding remarks concerning the protection of individuals against incitement to national, racial or religious hatred (chapter III).

This toolkit for judicial officials in Africa on international and regional standards on freedom of expression "encompasses a broad variety of issues, which should be considered by judi-cial actors in the course of their work to protect human rights. It covers legal standards of freedom of expression according to international and regional instruments and core texts and surveys pertinent jurisprudence on freedom of expression from regional and sub-regional courts or quasi-judicial bodies that deal with human rights issues.

The toolkit explicates conditions under which speech can be legitimately restricted, while also giving prominence to the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, the latter representing one of the main obstacles to guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of information. Finally, the toolkit also addresses recent challenges to freedom of expression on the internet, including on social media, which have become vital means for sharing information and expressing views. The question of gender representation in media content and careers, and gender-specific threats for women journalists, are also addressed.The protection of freedom of expression requires the active efforts of a great variety of actors. While this toolkit has been conceived primarily for judges, prosecutors, trainers of judges, lawyers and other legal experts, it is my hope that civil society actors, members of security forces and media professionals will also find its contents of great value to their work. Given the importance of freedom of expression as a foundational value of free societies, I believe the toolkit’s material and messages will be of relevance to all concerned stakeholders — that is to say, to all individuals everywhere."

Released by the Council of Europe (CoE) Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression, this guide outlines the risks of imposing criminal sanctions on particular forms of expression. The manual reviews relevant human rights standards, namely the European Court of Human Rights’ case law, policy guidance of the CoE bodies, and the European Commission for Democracy through Law. It then zooms in on the criminalization of hate speech, defamation and insult, the dissemination of confidential information, speech that threatens national security and public order, and disinformation. CoE Consultant Peter Noorlander prepared the guide within the Project Enhancing Institutional Capacities on Freedom of Expression and Information in Bosnia and Herzegovina.