A/HRC/4/27 page 2 Summary The present report, submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/38 and Human Rights Council decision 1/102, is the fourteenth general report prepared in the accomplishment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (“Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression”) since its establishment by Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/45 and the fifth general annual report of Ambeyi Ligabo, appointed as Special Rapporteur on 26 August 2002. Chapter I describes the activities of the Special Rapporteur during the past year, particularly urgent appeals, allegations letters, press releases. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes the importance, for the implementation of his mandate, of receiving information by Governments, international, regional, national organizations and non-governmental organizations, associations of media professionals, writers’ associations, trade unions, and members of political parties from all regions of the world. The analysis of this material allows the Special Rapporteur to identify trends, deepening his look at issues already examined in previous reports and highlighting new policies, practices and measures relevant to freedom of opinion and expression. Furthermore, it ultimately allows the Special Rapporteur to intervene in individual cases of alleged violations of human rights. In this chapter, the Special Rapporteur also makes available information concerning invitations for country visits and reports on the meetings he attended during the year, with a brief description of his contributions. Chapter II contains an analysis of four subjects the Special Rapporteur considers of great interest for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The first one is an account of his visit to Denmark at the invitation of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, in which the Rapporteur gathered first-hand information and insights on the issue of the so-called “Danish Cartoons” with the aim of proposing some relevant conclusions and recommendations to the Human Rights Council, which will be found in chapter III. Subsequently, the Special Rapporteur focuses on the future establishment of an intergovernmental body dealing with Internet governance and its role in limiting commercial pressure on, inter alia, a human rights approach to Internet freedom. The Special Rapporteur also addresses the necessity of swift action from Governments and Parliaments in order to decriminalize defamation and related offences. Finally, the Special Rapporteur examines the most recent initiatives with regard to security and protection of journalists and media professionals, and their repercussion on the availability of independent information and opinion-making. In addition to the proposed study on this matter, the Special Rapporteur also launches the idea of a voluntary fund to provide financial relief to the families of journalists killed while performing their duties or because of their activities, especially in developing countries. Chapter III contains several conclusions and recommendations in which the Special Rapporteur takes stock of the situation of freedom of opinion and expression as a global phenomenon, invites countries to take ad hoc remedial action and suggests the adoption of relevant national legislation in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian instruments, in particular on the four above-mentioned subjects.