Activities Of The UN Committee On Human Rights In The Field Of The Protection Of Freedom Of Expression

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the UN Human Rights Committee's work on the protection of freedom of expression. The author states that the Committee is the controlling body of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966. A covenant which in the course of its activities can use such basic mechanisms: 1) consideration of reports of States parties on measures taken by them to implement the provisions of the Covenant; 2) consideration of complaints by States parties regarding the violation of the provisions of the Covenant; 3) consideration of individual complaints about violations by the State party to the rights enshrined in the Covenant. Particular attention is paid to the practice of considering individual cases in the field of freedom of expression as the most effective mechanism of the Committee.

The Committee's practice was analyzed in three categories of cases, namely: general issues related to freedom of expression; freedom of information; on the legality of restricting freedom of expression as such is the most interesting and significant in practice.