633 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "The system for ballot access should not discriminate against new parties. While parties that won mandates or a minimum percentage of votes in the previous election may be automatically eligible to be placed on the ballot, there must also be fair, clear and objective criteria for the inclusion of new parties."
- "In order to secure a diverse and pluralistic political process which is hospitable to candidates and parties from across the political spectrum, States should: (…) (c) Put in place measures to ensure that all political candidates and parties have direct access to State-owned broadcast media services for specific times on an equal basis, which access is determined either on the basis of the previous performance of a given party or candidate or through a ballot process, and that they are treated fairly and equitably by those services."
- "The obligations to promote the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression require that States guarantee the transparency of all aspects of political and electoral processes, and should particularly put in place measures to: (...) (b) Put in place measures to ensure that, in all circumstances, paid political advertising is identified as such and not disguised as news or editorial coverage, and that the origin of its financial backing is evident."
- "Companies should recognize that the authoritative global standard for ensuring freedom of expression on their platforms is human rights law, not the varying laws of States or their own private interests, and they should re-evaluate their content standards accordingly."
- "States have resorted to disproportionate measures such as Internet shutdowns and vague and overly broad laws to criminalize, block, censor and chill online speech and shrink civic space. These measures are not only incompatible with international human rights law but also contribute to amplifying misperceptions, fostering fear and entrenching public mistrust of institutions."
- "State regulation of social media should focus on enforcing transparency, due process rights for users and due diligence on human rights by companies, and on ensuring that the independence and remit of the regulators are clearly defined, guaranteed and limited by law."
- "Companies are obliged to respect human rights under international human rights law. Although digital platforms are private actors, they have a far-reaching impact on human rights in the public space. As such, they are accountable not only to their users but to society at large."
- "Users must have proper recourse. Companies should establish internal appeals mechanisms for a broader range of content moderation decisions and types of content, such as coordinated inauthentic behaviour."
- "In addition to the advantages attached to PR systems generally, List PR makes it more likely that the representatives of minority cultures/groups will be elected. When, as is often the case, voting behaviour dovetails with a society’s cultural or social divisions, then List PR electoral systems can help to ensure that the legislature includes members of both majority and minority groups."
- "PR electoral systems are almost always more friendly to the election of women than plurality/majority systems. In essence, parties are able to use the lists to promote the advancement of women politicians and allow voters the space to elect women candidates while still basing their choice on other policy concerns than gender. As noted above, in single-member districts most parties are encouraged to put up a ‘most broadly acceptable’ candidate, and that person is seldom a woman."
- "Again, electoral systems which use reasonably large district magnitudes encourage parties to nominate candidates from minorities on the basis that balanced tickets will increase their electoral chances. A very low threshold, or the complete elimination of a formal threshold, in PR systems can also facilitate the representation of hitherto under-represented or unrepresented groups. In plurality/ majority systems in particular, seats are sometimes set aside in the legislature for minorities and communal groups."
- "Reserved seats can be used to ensure the representation of specific minority groups in the legislature."
- "Wherever possible, whether in divided or relatively homogeneous societies, the electoral system should err on the side of including all significant interests in the legislature. Regardless of whether minorities are based on ideological, ethnic, racial, linguistic, regional or religious identities, the exclusion of significant shades of opinion from legislatures, particularly in the developing world, has often been catastrophically counterproductive."
- "Business enterprises should respect human rights. This means that they should avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved."
- "The responsibility to respect human rights requires that business enterprises: (a) Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur; (b) Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts."
- "The responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights applies to all enterprises regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure. Nevertheless, the scale and complexity of the means through which enterprises meet that responsibility may vary according to these factors and with the severity of the enterprise’s adverse human rights impacts."
- "In order to meet their responsibility to respect human rights, business enterprises should have in place policies and processes appropriate to their size and circumstances, including: 15 (a) A policy commitment to meet their responsibility to respect human rights; (b) A human rights due diligence process to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their impacts on human rights; (c) Processes to enable the remediation of any adverse human rights impacts they cause or to which they contribute."
- "In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse human rights impacts, business enterprises should carry out human rights due diligence. The process should include assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking responses, and communicating how impacts are addressed."
- "In order to account for how they address their human rights impacts, business enterprises should be prepared to communicate this externally, particularly when concerns are raised by or on behalf of affected stakeholders. Business enterprises whose operations or operating contexts pose risks of severe human rights impacts should report formally on how they address them."
- "As part of their duty to protect against business-related human rights abuse, States must take appropriate steps to ensure, through judicial, administrative, legislative or other appropriate means, that when such abuses occur within their territory and/or jurisdiction those affected have access to effective remedy."
- "Article 29 does not provide for any reasonable restriction or exception for any group of persons with disabilities. Therefore, an exclusion of the right to vote on the basis of a perceived or actual psychosocial or intellectual disability, including a restriction pursuant to an individualized assessment, constitutes discrimination on the basis of disability, within the meaning of article 2 of the Convention."
- "Accordingly, the Committee concludes that article XXIII, paragraph 6, of the Fundamental Law, which allows courts to deprive persons with intellectual disability of their right to vote and to be elected, is in breach of article 29 of the Convention, as is article 26, paragraph 2, of the Transitional Provisions of the Fundamental Law."
- "Accordingly, the Committee is of the view that, by depriving the authors of their right to vote, based on a perceived or actual intellectual disability, the State party has failed to comply with its obligations under article 29 of the Convention, read alone and in conjunction with article 12 of the Convention."
- "In general: the State party is under an obligation to take measures to prevent similar violations in the future, including by: (…) (ii) Enacting laws that recognize, without any “capacity assessment”, the right to vote for all persons with disabilities, including those with more need of support, and that provide for adequate assistance and reasonable accommodation in order for persons with disabilities to be able to exercise their political rights."
- "People with disabilities should therefore be able to exercise their right to vote and participate in political and public life as elected representatives on an equal basis with other citizens."
- "The application of universal design principles and direct and/or indirect participation of the user in all design stages are effective means for improving the accessibility of polling stations and election procedures to cast one’s vote and for getting access to information on elections."
- "The principle of “equality of opportunity must be guaranteed for parties and candidates alike” (The Code, item I.2.3.a). The application of this principle should be extended to include equality of opportunity for people with disabilities who stand for elections."
- "Persons with disabilities should be enabled, freely and without discrimination, particularly of a legal, environmental and/or financial nature, to: - vote and stand for election at all levels; - have access to communication, information, procedures and facilities related to their political rights; - have equal access to public duties; - meet, join or found associations; - meet, join or found political parties; - express their opinions; - be closely consulted and actively included in the development and implementation of legislation and policies, and in other decision-making processes concerning issues that affect them."
- "Member states should take steps to ensure that information on public affairs and political activities (including electoral programmes) are available in various forms (including sign language, Braille, audio, electronic and easy-to-read and understand versions)."
- "Accessible ballot papers and facilities should be available at the time of voting. Information about accessibility of voting procedures, ballots and facilities, through communications in easy-to-read and to understand formats, should be largely disseminated in advance, in order to encourage citizens to participate in political and public life."
- "All persons with disabilities, whether they have physical, sensory, or intellectual impairments, mental health problems or chronic illnesses, have the right to vote on the same basis as other citizens, and should not be deprived of this right by any law limiting their legal capacity, by any judicial or other decision or by any other measure based on their disability, cognitive functioning or perceived capacity. All persons with disabilities are also entitled to stand for office on an equal basis with others and should not be deprived of this right by any law restricting their legal capacity, by any judicial or other decision based on their disability, cognitive functioning or perceived capacity, or by any other means."
- "Member states should ensure that their legislation is devoid, at all levels, of provisions depriving persons with disabilities of the right to vote or stand for election."
- "Persons with disabilities and/or their representative organisations should be involved in the whole policy cycle: programming, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies that affect persons with disabilities. "