Submission to the 91st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee on Respect for Freedom of Expression in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland London October 2007 ARTICLE 19 à 6-8 Amwell Street à London EC1R 1UQ à United Kingdom Tel +44 20 7278 9292 à Fax +44 20 7278 7660 Ã
[email protected] Ã http://www.article19.org 1. Introduction This submission outlines ARTICLE 19’s main concerns regarding respect for the right to freedom of expression in the United Kingdom. Our submissions is presented in respect of the consideration by the United Nations Human Rights Committee of the Sixth Periodic Report of the United Kingdom on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). A list of possible questions to be posed to the United Kingdom representation is appended to this submission. ARTICLE 19 is an international, non-governmental human rights organisation which works around the world to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression and information. 2. Summary of concerns The United Kingdom is a long-standing member of the Council of Europe and European Union and a party to the European Convention of Human Rights as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. While the right to freedom of expression is generally respected, there are currently problems in five key areas: Access to information: i) The Freedom of Information Act 2000 contains exemptions which allow access to information to be refused on arbitrary or inappropriate grounds. ii) The government has proposed FOIA amendments to the way the costs of processing a request under the Act are assessed, making it easier to reject politically sensitive or complex requests on the grounds of costs.