The Importance Of Freedom Of Expression

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In my opinion all human rights are equally important, and none of them are in principal, better or more relevant than the others. But I would say that the closest thing to the “most important” human right would be the freedom of expression, as explained in article 19 of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights“:

“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.”

This right, in my opinion, is the mother of all other rights, or in other words: it’s the root from which all other rights have arised. When we look at history we can see a clear …show more content…

But as I have said before, freedom of expression is the foundation on which all other rights have been built upon, so even the right to life is something that has been achievable through freedom of …show more content…

But this right is not something that most countries have, in fact only 40% of all countries grant their citizens freedom of expression. Those countries that do not have freedom of expression are mostly placed in the Middle East, Eurasia and North Africa, and it is not getting any better. In these countries there has been a rise in religious discrimination towards minorities, and fundamentalists have used this opportunity to demand, and even establish theocratic states. And we know from experience, that theocratic regimes are in essence authoritarian, and intolerant towards dissidence. This means that freedom of expression is something that isn’t granted every citizen that lives in such a state, since it’s always what ancient books tell us that is true in such countries, and questioning those books would be blasphemy, and blasphemy could lead to a death sentence. Thus supporting my point, that freedom of expression is the most neglected human right.
But this does not mean that free countries shouldn’t concern themselves with free speech, on the contrary, they should guard this right, as it is the pillar and foundation of all other liberties. This means that every generation has an obligation to protect this right, and everyone, regardless of their political or religious views, should be able to freely practice