expression

The media industry, which remains the primary source of news and information in the digital age, faces both vast opportunities and steep challenges, the United Nations cultural agency said on Monday in its flagship analysis of new trends in media freedom, pluralism, independence and the safety of journalists.

Saudi Arabia must stop using its anti-terror law to violate the right to free speech of its people, and end the use of torture terrorist suspects during investigations, a United Nations human rights expert urged at the end of his mission to the country.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression raised concerns over the Turkish Government’s widespread measures to erode independent opinion and freedom of expression in the country.

Warning that the freedom of expression is under the widespread assault, a new United Nations human rights report has found that governments worldwide, wielding the tools of censorship, are “treating words as weapons.”

The top United Nations expert of free expression said today that reports that Yahoo complied with United States intelligence demands by searching the e-mails of hundreds of millions of customers “raise serious human rights concerns.”

After a Singaporean teenage blogger was sentenced to jail for his social media posts, a United Nations human rights expert today warned that it is “exactly the wrong kind of message that any government should be sending to anybody, but especially to young people.”

Concerned over increased criminalization of expression , a United Nations human rights expert today expressed serious concern about the upcoming trial of a 17-year old Singaporean for Facebook posts and blog comments that wounded the religious feelings of Muslims and Christians.

Denouncing a new law in Maldives as a “direct attack” on free speech, a United Nations human rights expert warned today that elements of the bill, such as the vague use of religion, social norms and defamation as reasons for punishing expression, contradict not only international norms, but also obligations set out in the country’s own Constitution.

Governments and international organizations are failing to ensure adequate protections to whistleblowers and sources of information, according to a new report by the UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression.

United Nations human rights experts today urged the Government of Qatar to release Mohammed al-Ajami, a poet who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for writing and reciting a poem at his home.