One of the central tools of the Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures is the ability to communicate directly with
governments upon receipt of information that raises human rights concerns.
Council Resolution 5/2
, which adopted the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures mandate-holders, emphasizes the importance of communications. According to the
most recent Communications Report
of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the mandate for freedom of expression has issued 2,512 communications to States,
including Allegation Letters, Urgent Appeals, and Other Letters (the last typically involving comment on legislation).
States have responded approximately 52% of the time. Since the 18th Session of the Human Rights Council in 2011,
OHCHR has reported to the Council the communications of Special Procedures, found
here.
The UCI Law International Justice Clinic has collected all of the reported communications of the freedom of expression
mandate since the first Communications Report and made them searchable, in the interests of transparency, accountability, and research.
The Clinic has developed a straightforward, simple-to-use search tool. The database only includes communications
involving the mandate for freedom of opinion and expression. Anyone may search our database of over 1200 communications – which will
expand upon submission of each Communications Report – through a variety of approaches. You may search by keyword, based upon the
summaries of all communications; by date, beginning in late 2010; by country; and by participating mandate (keeping in mind that all
involve freedom of expression). Result include all types of communications, and we will be adding press releases to the database shortly.
If you have suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at
freedex@law.uci.edu.
We hope that you find this tool a valuable way to understand the work of the mandate.