Towards an interpretation of article 20 of the （第二十条的解释）.pdf

Towards an interpretation of article 20 of the ICCPR: Thresholds for the prohibition of incitement to hatred Work in Progress A study prepared for the regional expert meeting on article 20, Organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Vienna, February 8-9, 2010 1 Thresholds for the prohibition of incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence under Article 20 of the ICCPR INTRODUCTION 1 This paper offers a brief comparative approach to forms of expression that are considered to be “incitement” under national law and by regional human rights systems, notably the European human rights system. This paper will then propose a threshold for expression that meets the criteria of Article 20 of the ICCPR. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS The principle of substantive equality among human beings, including the right to freedom from discrimination, is at the heart of human rights, as highlighted by article 1 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, which states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The principle applies to everyone in relation to all human rights and freedoms. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of a list of non-exhaustive categories such as sex, race, colour and so on, as per article 2 of the UDHR. Article 2 provides for equal enjoyment of the rights and freedoms therein proclaimed, “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, …”. While the UDHR does not specifically provide for prohibitions on hate speech or incitement to hatred, its Article 19 guarantees everyone the right to “seek, receive and impart” both “information and ideas”, through “any me