The Pros And Cons Of Human Rights

1771 Words8 Pages
National security, freedom of expression and information are concepts viewed as pulling in opposite directions. On one hand, governments, especially those that feel threatened by external or internal violence, believe that disclosure of "secret" information can undermine the very institutions that protect the security and wellbeing of law abiding citizens. On the other hand, human rights defenders point towards the suppression of speech on national security and related grounds by government as having paved the way for gross human rights violations, insurrections of democracy, and threats to law and order. Although there is an irrefutable tension between national security, freedom of expression and information, a review of recent history suggests that genuine national security interests are, in practice, better…show more content…
The right to freedom of expression is not an absolute right. It may be restricted by the conditions provided for in Article 4 of the ICCPR and the Siracusa Principles, and also in Article 19 and 20 of the ICCPR . Limitations to Freedom of Expression in the ICCPR Under International human rights law, the act of limiting individual rights for the sake of protecting the security of a nation is recognized as necessary. However, it cannot be used as a means of setting rights which ordinarily cannot be suspended aside. Article 4 of the ICCPR provides that; “in a state of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation, a state may take measures derogating from their obligations under the Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation”. The Freedom of Expression is one of the rights, that may be affected in such a way. To invoke Article 4 of the ICCPR, two fundamental conditions must be
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