A/HRC/9/12 page 16 A. International instruments 46. The principal human rights instruments contain specific provisions prohibiting incitement to national, racial or religious hatred. Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights refers, in more general terms, to incitement to discrimination by affirming that “All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.” 47. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, for its part, deals more specifically with the interdependence of freedom of expression and other fundamental rights. Limitations on the right to freedom of expression are introduced in articles 19 and 20 of the Covenant. Article 19 refers to “special duties and responsibilities” relating to the exercise of freedom of expression, which may be subject to certain restrictions to ensure “respect of the rights or reputations of others” and the “protection of national security or of public order (ordre public) or of public health or morals”. However, as formulated by the Covenant, these restrictions are not binding; moreover, to avoid their arbitrary application, the limitations must be “such as are provided by law”. 48. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur also refers to general comment No. 10 of the Human Rights Committee concerning article 19 of the Covenant. In its comment, the Committee expressly underlines that “when a State party imposes certain restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression, these may not put in jeopardy the right itself. Paragraph 3 lays down conditions and it is only subject to these conditions that restrictions may be imposed: the restrictions must be “provided by law”; they may only be imposed for one of the purposes set out in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 3; and they must be justified as being “necessary” for that State party for one of those purposes”. In declaring that restrictions relating to the exercise of freedom of expression may not put in jeopardy the right itself, the Human Rights Committee clarifies the notion of complementarity - and not competition - between the different rights enumerated in the Covenant. 49. The question of incitement to national, racial or religious hatred is addressed more explicitly in article 20 of the Covenant, which contains further limitations to the right to freedom of expression. The Special Rapporteur points out that the limitations prescribed by this article are not optional but binding for all the signatories. According to this article, “Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to religious discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.” 50. With regard to the interpretation of article 20 of the Covenant, the Special Rapporteur refers to the joint report submitted with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to the second session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/2/3). The report mentions the paucity of jurisprudence on article 20, reiterating that the interpretation of its terms and, in particular, a definition of its threshold of application would be particularly welcome in order to avoid confusion or simplistic conclusions regarding its application. In that regard, the two Rapporteurs encouraged the Human Rights Committee to consider the possibility of adopting complementary standards on the interrelations between freedom of expression, freedom of religion and non-discrimination, in particular by drafting a general comment on article 20.