Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression

Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

Purpose of the mandate

Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of democracy, which allows individuals and groups to enjoy several other human rights and freedoms. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was created by the Human Rights Council to protect and promote freedom of opinion and expression, offline and online, in light of international human rights law and standards.

About the mandate

In 1993, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights established the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 　
After replacing the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council decided to extend the mandate for another three years in March 2008 (resolution 7/36). The mandate was renewed again for an additional three years in March 2011 (HRC resolution 16/4), March 2014 (resolution 25/2), March 2017(resolution 34/18), March 2020 (resolution 43/4) and March 2023 (resolution 52/9).

Learn more about the mandate

Current mandate holder

Irene Khan

Irene Khan was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression in June 2020 and is the first woman to hold this mandate. An internationally recognized advocate for human rights, gender equality and social justice, she was Secretary-General of Amnesty International from 2001 to 2009 and Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) from 2010 to 2019. Ms. Khan is affiliated with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and has been Consulting Editor of the Daily Star, Bangladesh’s largest English newspaper.

Read Ms. Khan’s full biography

Calls for Input

Visit of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression to the Philippines

Deadline:

15 January 2024

Call for input – country visit to Honduras

Closed - see submissions

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Latest thematic reports

A/78/288: Gendered disinformation and its implications for the right to freedom of expression – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

In this report, the Special Rapporteur analyses the concept of gendered disinformation, which she finds is both a strategy to silence the free expression of women and gender nonconforming persons and a threat to their safety and health, as well as a possible form of online gender-based violence. Stressing that there can be no trade-off between women’s right to be safe and their right to speak, the Special Rapporteur promotes a “gendered response” to online threats, including by addressing the underlying factors that drive gendered disinformation and gender-based violence

A/HRC/53/25: Sustainable development and freedom of expression: why voice matters – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

In this report, the Special Rapporteur explores the linkages between the right to freedom of expression, including the right to information, and sustainable development. While recognizing important progress made in normative standards for access to information, the Special Rapporteur highlights that more is needed to ensure that the voices of those most disadvantaged in society are heard. She argues that only when both access to information and the effective participation of youth, Indigenous communities, the media, human rights defenders, civil society actors and others are fulfilled will the promise to leave no one behind be realized.

Latest country reports

A/HRC/50/29/Add.1: Country visit to Hungary - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

10 Jan 2022

A/HRC/44/49/Add.1: Country visit to Ethiopia - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

29 Apr 2020

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Contact Information

Ms. Irene Khan
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneve 10, Switzerland

Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: [email protected]

Former mandate holders

Mr. David Kaye (United States of America)
August 2014 - July 2020

Mr. Frank William La Rue (Guatemala)
August 2008 - July 2014

Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo (Kenya)
August 2002 - July 2008

Mr. Abid Hussain (India)
April 1993 - July 2002

Activities

Joint declaration on media freedom and democracy
2 May 2023

Replies from the ICC Prosecutor regarding the Situation in the State of Palestine
26 April 2023 and 12 May 2023

32 UN experts issue a joint letter to the ICC Prosecutor regarding the Situation in the State of Palestine and Annex
23 March 2023

Statement on overcoming gender-based barriers to freedom of opinion and expression
26 September 2022

Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Gender Justice, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day

2021 #JournalistsToo – Women Journalists Speak Out
“16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence”
24 November 2021

External links

UNESCO and freedom of expression

OSCE The Representative on the Freedom of the media

Organization of American States (OAS). The Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression

Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information

Council of Europe, Protecting media freedoms

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