A/HRC/16/2 [Adopted by a recorded vote of 24 to 14, with 7 abstentions. The voting was as follows: In favour: Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Ghana, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia Against: Belgium, France, Hungary, Japan, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America Abstaining: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Uruguay] 16/4 Freedom of opinion and expression: mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression The Human Rights Council, Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 7/36 of 28 March 2008 and 12/16 of 2 October 2009, and all previous resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and the Council on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Recognizing that the effective exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights and freedoms, and constitutes a fundamental pillar for building a democratic society and strengthening democracy, bearing in mind that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1, on the institution-building of the Council, and 5/2, on the code of conduct for special procedures mandate holders of the Council, of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge his/her duties in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto, 1. Welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; 2. Decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further period of three years; 3. Urges all States to cooperate fully with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his/her tasks, to provide all necessary information requested by him/her and to consider favourably his/her requests for visits and for implementing his/her recommendations; 4. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the assistance necessary to the Special Rapporteur to fulfil his/her mandate, in particular by placing adequate human and material resources at his/her disposal; 5. Requests the Special Rapporteur to submit an annual report to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly covering all activities relating to his/her mandate, with a view to maximizing the benefits of the reporting process; 12 GE.11-17059