Freedom of Expression

Freedom of Expression

Freedom of Expression

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) affirms that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

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Announcing the Every Human Has Rights Media Awards

19/07/08

30 journalists from around the world will be selected by a professional international jury and awarded an all expenses paid trip to Paris in December 2008, where they will meet Human Rights leaders and receive a prize for their contribution to illustrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with powerful and eye-opening stories.

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Bitter Outcomes of Political Violence in Zimbabwe

1/07/08

Men, women, and children across Zimbabwe have suffered the bitter outcomes of political violence. On June 23rd, the New York Times online showed a photograph of six men with sticks and iron bars beating unidentified victims at the site of a planned political rally. Just one picture of thousands too many.

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Q&A: Righting Human Wrongs

25/06/08

Does Every Human Have Rights?

"...We need to change how people think about human rights. We need to broaden that thinking, so that everybody who feels marginalised, excluded or fearful feels that they have human rights on their side. We haven’t quite gotten there yet. The Every Human Has Rights campaign is a people-power way of re-centering."

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Freedom of Expression

Everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas without fear or interference.

There are a wealth of individuals and organizations around the world seeking to uphold and promote these rights.

They speak truth to power, when governments use 'national security' as an excuse to stifle political opposition and criticism. In recent years, heightened fears about terrorism and security have been invoked to justify increased repression of individuals and groups exercising their right to free expression.

They work on behalf of thousands of prisoners of conscience - people imprisoned and oppressed because of their political, religious or other conscientiously held beliefs, ethnic origin, sex, skin-color, language, national or social origin, sexual orientation or more...

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Every person makes a difference!

Pledge to stand up for our Freedom of Expression!

International PEN

PEN's work and advocacy was fully developed by the time the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was declared and adopted by the United Nations in 1948. It has been argued that PEN helped to define the concept of freedom of expression that is now enshrined under Article 19 of the Declaration, a right that is as important today as it was when it was defined in the aftermath of World War Two.

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Want to Learn More About our Rights to Freedom of Expression


Living the principles of the Universal Declaration

Here are a few profiles of people who uphold the principles of the Universal Declaration through their work protecting the Freedom of Expression. If you have a story about the Freedom of Expression from your community, please share it with us here.

Abeer Kilaney

Getting Real, Local News to Palestinians - standing up for human rights
Abeer Kilaney is director of Gama TV in Nablus, president of the West Bank Sada TV network and coordinator for MIFTAH, an organization that promotes transparency, accountability and the uninhibited flow of information. During the first intifadah, as Israeli soldiers took residence on the roof of her home for surveillance of Nablus, Kilaney realized that the only source of information available to Palestinians was from satellite television channels mainly out of Israel and the UAE. Kilaney began operating Gama TV out of her home, producing programs that were made for and by her community and freely discussed the issues affecting them.

Anna Politkovskaya

Human Rights Journalist Assassinated for Her Work - standing up for human rights
As the principal voice for the victims of Russia's war in Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya continued to report from the war's frontlines, even after death threats forced her to flee Moscow several times. In October, 2006, she was gunned down in the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow. Not only did she write regular articles exposing the torture and abductions common in the 'dirty war'

Otto Saki

Legal Advocate for the Dispossessed - standing up for human rights
Since organizing a boycott while following the death of a student protester, Otto Saki has defended human rights in Zimbabwe. He represents human rights activists: students, women, union members who face harassment, intimidation and arrest when they protest the government's growing repression. Despite police threats and intimidated judges, he also assists shantytown dwellers whose settlements are being bulldozed by the government, helping thousands of families apply to the High Court to prevent the demolitions and seek restitution.