In light of South Africa's racial and discriminatory history, particularly the Apartheid era, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 precludes expression that is tantamount to the advocacy of hatred based on some listed grounds. Under apartheid, freedom of speech was curtailed under apartheid legislation such as the Native Administration Act 1927 and the Suppression of Communism Act, 1950. See also: Internet censorship in South Africa and Protection of State Information Bill In adopting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Australia and the Netherlands insisted on reservations to Article 19 insofar as it might be held to affect their systems of regulating and licensing broadcasting. Freedom of speech is granted unambiguous protection in international law by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which is binding on around 150 nations. Furthermore, whilst some of its provisions are considered to form part of customary international law, there is dispute as to which. Technically, as a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly rather than a treaty, it is not legally binding in its entirety on members of the UN. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, provides, in Article 19, that:Įveryone 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. The following list is partially composed of the respective countries' government claims and does not fully reflect the de facto situation, however many sections of the page do contain information about the validity of the government's claims alongside said claims. Censorship has also been claimed to occur in other forms and there are different approaches to issues such as hate speech, obscenity, and defamation laws. In many nations, particularly those with authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced. Nonetheless, the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. "Speech" is not limited to public speaking and is generally taken to include other forms of expression. A map of nations which have Lèse-majesté laws as of September 2022įreedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of government censorship or punishment.
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