A/HRC/14/23 IV. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 104. The right to freedom of opinion and expression should be viewed as a key instrument for the promotion and protection of other human rights and an important tool in the effort to combat impunity and corruption. 105. Freedom of opinion and expression is an individual and collective right which affords people the opportunity to issue, seek, receive and impart pluralistic and diverse information that enables them to develop their own lines of reasoning and opinions and to express them in any way they see fit. Freedom of expression is therefore exercised through two routes: the right to access information and the right to self-expression through any medium. 106. Freedom of expression is also a right of peoples, in that, through its effective exercise, peoples can develop, impart and reproduce their culture, their language, their traditions and their values. 107. Freedom of opinion and expression should be viewed as a means of combating all forms of discrimination. 108. Lack of access to information in accordance with the principles of pluralism and diversity results in an ill-informed, non-participatory society in which political decision-making is not democratic. 109. Community-based media are effective instruments for ensuring the exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in all social sectors, without any form of discrimination whatsoever, in accordance with the principles of pluralism and diversity that should guide the exercise of this right. 110. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the growing digital divide and the disparity between developed and developing countries in terms of the development of electronic communications technologies. 111. Electronic communication is also an economic right, in that it is an essential factor for development. Accordingly, States should ensure that all sectors of society, and in particular the most disadvantaged among them, have access to electronic communications media. 112. Women continue to be denied the full exercise of their right to freedom of opinion and expression and, as a result, are also limited in the exercise of other fundamental rights, such as the rights to development, to education, to health, to participation and to a life free from violence. 113. Freedom of opinion and expression is an early form of participation for children and constitutes a mechanism for inclusion that necessarily entails recognition and respect of human dignity. Children’s opinions should therefore be respected and taken into account. 114. The right to freedom of opinion is absolute and may not be limited in any way, whereas the right to freedom is not absolute and may thus be subject to exceptional restrictions and limitations as defined in article 19, paragraph 3, and article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Such restrictions and limitations must be interpreted in accordance with international human rights law and the principles deriving therefrom. 18 GE.10-13049