698 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "The participating States...recognize the need to make further peaceful efforts concerning human rights, democracy and the rule of law within the context of security and co-operation in Europe, individually and collectively, to make democratic advances irreversible and prevent any falling below the standards laid down in the principles and provisions of the Final Act, the Vienna Concluding Document, the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe and the present document."
- "They reaffirm the particular significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant international instruments of their joint and separate efforts to stimulate and develop universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; they call on all participating States to act in conformity with those international instruments and on those participating States, which have not yet done so, to consider the possibility of acceding to the covenants."
- "The national legal framework is expected to provide a basis for the conduct of an electoral process that is in accordance with international standards for genuine and democratic elections and should include guarantees for the exercise of fundamental freedoms and political rights associated with elections."
- "Any conditions which apply to the exercise of the rights protected by article 25 should be based on objective and reasonable criteria. For example, it may be reasonable to require a higher age for election or appointment to particular offices than for exercising the right to vote, which should be available to every adult citizen. The exercise of these rights by citizens may not be suspended or excluded except on grounds which are established by law and which are objective and reasonable. For example, established mental incapacity may be a ground for denying a person the right to vote or to hold office."
- "The national electoral law must also protect the political process from corruption, official misfeasance, obstruction, undue influence, personation, bribery, treating, intimidation and all other forms of illegal and corrupt practice. Prosecutions, procedures and penalties must respect international standards for human rights in the administration of justice."
- "The right to a remedy for violation of human rights is itself a human right, while sanctions against those who infringe the provisions of the electoral law are implicitly required in any effective system of implementation."
- "States shall promote the full and equal participation of women in the political structures of their countries as a fundamental element in the promotion and exercise of a democratic culture."
- "States parties are under an obligation to take all appropriate measures, including the enactment of appropriate legislation that complies with their Constitution, to ensure that organizations such as political parties and trade unions, which may not be subject directly to obligations under the Convention, do not discriminate against women and respect the principles contained in articles 7 and 8."
- "Ensure that effective remedies as well as full information about them are available to those who claim that their human rights and fundamental freedoms have been violated; they will, inter alia, effectively apply the following remedies."
- "We reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law."
- "Take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination against individuals or communities on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, political, economic, social and cultural life, and to ensure the effective equality between believers and non-believers."
- "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice."
- "1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to speak, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice. 2. The exercise of this right may be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; or (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (order public), or of public health or morals."
- "State Parties recognize the important function performed by the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access to information and material from a diversity of national and international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health. To this end, State Parties shall: (a) Encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material of social and cultural benefit to the child and in accordance with the spirit of Article 29; (b) Encourage international co-operation in the production, exchange and dissemination of such information and material from a diversity of cultural, national, and international sources; (c) Encourage the production and dissemination of children's books; (d) Encourage the mass media to have particular regard to the linguistic needs of the child who belongs to a minority group or who is indigenous; (e) Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines for the protection of the child from information and material injurious to his or her well-being, bearing in mind the provisions of Articles 13 and 18."
- "Migrant workers and their families shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art or through any other media or their choice."
- "Adopting procedures or regulations allowing members of the general public to obtain, where appropriate, information on the organization, functioning and decision-making processes of its public administration and, with due regard for the protection of privacy and personal data, on decisions and legal acts that concern members of the public."
- "Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures to give effect to the right of access to any information that is required to assist in the fight against corruption and related offences."
- "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas by any legal means without interference by a public authority and regardless of frontiers."
- "The Parties undertake to recognize that the right to freedom of expression of every person belonging to a national minority include the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas in the minority language, without interference by public authorities and regardless of frontiers. The Parties shall ensure, within the framework of their legal systems, that persons belonging to a national minority are not discriminated against in their access to media."
- "For the purposes set forth in Article 2 of this Protocol, each State Party undertakes to adopt measures, which will create, maintain and strengthen: (d) mechanisms to promote access to information to facilitate eradication and elimination of opportunities for corruption."
- "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."
- "Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others: (a) To know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including having access to information as to how those rights and freedoms are given effect in domestic legislative, judicial or administrative systems."
- "…Respect the right of everyone, individually or in association with others, to seek, receive, and impart freely views and information on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights to disseminate and publish such views and information."
- "We reaffirm the importance of independent media and the free flow of information as well as the public's access to information."
- "The media should be assured by the government of: (1) the right to gather and report objective information without intimidation; and (2) no arbitrary or discriminatory obstruction or censorship of campaign messages."
- "In this regard, the Special Rapporteur expresses again his view, and emphasizes, that everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information and that this imposes a positive obligation on States to ensure access to information, particularly with regard to information held by Government in all types of storage and retrieval systems - including film, microfiche, electronic capacities, video and photographs - subject only to such restrictions as referred to in article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."
- "For decisions of election administrators to be satisfactory to the participants, the information on which the decision is based must be accurate as well as accessible. Inaccurate or unreliable information can undermine confidence in both the administration’s decisions and its general competence...Election administrators...should: (i) Ensure that information is collected, compiled, and published in a way that is systematic, clear, and unambiguous. (ii) Do anything necessary, within the country’s legal framework, to ensure that all the information that they compile, use, or publish has a sound factual basis."
- "Among the transparency measures that are recommended are: The counting and tabulation of votes should be fully transparent and accessible to representatives of election contestants, as well as other observers; Representatives and, if possible, observers should also be given copies of results compiled at all levels of election administration; The transportation and receipt of sensitive election materials should also be accessible to representatives and observers under appropriate security arrangements; The announcement of results should be expeditious, and the information that is published should be complete (including the actual numbers of votes cast, and not just percentages); The publication of results should include detailed breakdowns nationally, regionally (if applicable), and by polling stations (if votes are counted in this manner) or other voting sites or methods, except in highly exceptional circumstances where identifying the geographical distribution of the results of voting could lead to discrimination, retributions, or other severe adverse action against a local or regional population, and such circumstances should be explained and be subject to judicial review."
- "The legal framework should require that all relevant electoral documents be publicly accessible, including election protocols, tabulation and tally sheets, and decisions determining or affecting election results. Such electoral documents should be publicly posted at all levels of election administration, including polling, municipal, and state election commission levels. Detailed tabulations of overall results, including the voting results in each polling station, should be posted at each election commission. These detailed tabulations should also be published in state owned or controlled print media as soon as the results are certified."
- "The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article [freedom of expression] carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary.... (b) for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals."
- "The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions and restrictions as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, public safety or public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."
- "The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security."
- "In extreme circumstances, publication of election results at the polling station level might jeopardise the safety of voters or electoral commission members in that community. This possibility exists where an election is held after civil conflict and tensions remain high. The examiner should be sensitive to this issue and understand that in extreme circumstances the law may provide limited exceptions to these principles so as not to place the voter at risk to personal harm."
- "The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article [freedom of expression] carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary.... (a) for respect of the rights of others."
- "The exercise of the right provided for in the foregoing paragraph [freedom of expression] shall not be subject to prior censorship but shall be subject to subsequent imposition of liability, which shall be expressly established by law to the extent necessary to ensure: (a) respect for the rights or reputations of others."
- "Each Party shall take the necessary measures in its domestic law to give effect to the basic principles for data protection set out in this chapter."
- "Appropriate security measures shall be taken for the protection of personal data stored in automated data files against accidental or unauthorised destruction or accidental loss as well as against unauthorised access, alteration or dissemination."
- "Appropriate measures should be taken to protect the files against both natural dangers, such as accidental loss or destruction and human dangers, such as unauthorized access, fraudulent misuse of data or contamination by computer viruses."
- "Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her."
- "Voter lists should be current, accurate, complete, easily accessible for inspection by qualified voters and – subject to the protection of personal information – possibly by others (such as election contestants and scientific researchers) with a legitimate reason to access them."
- "The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary."
- "No provision of this Convention shall be interpreted as: a. permitting any State Party, group, or person to suppress the enjoyment or exercise of the rights and freedoms recognized in this Convention or to restrict them to a greater extent than is provided for herein; b. restricting the enjoyment or exercise of any right or freedom recognized by virtue of the laws of any State Party or by virtue of another convention to which one of the said states is a party."
- "Having regard to the provision of article 5, paragraph 1, of the Covenant, any rights recognized and protected by article 25 may not be interpreted as implying a right to act or as validating any act aimed at the destruction or limitation of the rights and freedoms protected by the Covenant to a greater extent than what is provided for in the present Covenant."
- "Especially important…is a State’s increased power to regulate expression when the activity or expression in question seeks to destroy other rights recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For example, it is permissible for States to regulate speech advocating national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence."
- "Democratic elections are not possible without respect for human rights, in particular freedom of expression and of the press, freedom of circulation inside the country, freedom of assembly and freedom of association for political purposes, including the creation of political parties. b. Restrictions of these freedoms must have a basis in law, be in the public interest and comply with the principle of proportionality."
- "Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system, develop and implement or maintain effective, coordinated anticorruption policies that promote the participation of society and reflect the principles of the rule of law, proper management of public affairs and public property, integrity, transparency and accountability."
- "In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law."
- "Every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or other nature."
- "All persons shall be equal before the judicial system. In the determination of any charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable amount of time by an independent and impartial court."
- "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him."