A/HRC/26/30 I. Introduction 1. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur focuses on the realization of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts, paying particular attention to the establishment and enforcement of legal instruments regulating political communications. 2. The free flow of ideas is incontestably a core requirement for the promotion of democratic spaces. Ensuring an open space for the multiple voices of politicians, the press, minorities or citizens in general is a permanent challenge for entities tasked with overseeing electoral processes. The recognized need to establish and enforce regulations on political campaigning is inevitably accompanied by the concern that, depending on their application, such regulations may be used to obstruct or even impede the natural flow of ideas. How to ensure all voices have a space in the public debate, including newly established groups? How to avoid having the most powerful groups in a society take unfair advantage of their political or economic powers to exclude dissident voices from the debate? 3. A quick overview of recent electoral processes in all regions of the world can easily identify numerous structural, legal and practical barriers which impede the equitable enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression during electoral processes. In some situations politically dominant groups directly attack and intimidate voices of dissent and criticism which are crucial for the promotion of democratic debate; journalists, activists and political leaders are violently attacked, harassed through multiple legal procedures or arbitrarily detained. In others, economic and political imbalances permit some groups to dominate the public debate to a point where divergent ideas are often excluded from public debate. In these very different contexts, freedom of expression can be affected both by the absence of regulations for political communications and campaigning, and by the adoption of inadequate norms that disproportionately restrict political communications and jeopardize public debate. 4. The report will analyse some common challenges in the establishment and enforcement of legal instruments regulating communications in electoral processes. It will begin by describing the human rights framework applicable to the question of freedom of opinion and expression in political communications and electoral processes. It will analyse in more depth the main concerns regarding possible violations of free expression in this context. The Special Rapporteur will then propose some key principles that can guide the establishment and implementation of national legal frameworks regulating political communications. 5. Common concerns relating to the realization of the right to freedom of opinion and expression studied by the Special Rapporteur in his recent reports are all relevant to the regulation of communications during electoral processes; the responsibility of States to “prohibit” incitement of hatred, hostility, discrimination and violence,1 for example, is particularly relevant in electoral periods. Unfortunately, one can observe today in all regions of the world, especially during political and economic crises, candidates making use while campaigning of a language of hatred and hostility, targeting, inter alia, women, racial, linguistic or religious minorities, homosexuals and foreign migrant workers. The protection of journalists from violence2 is central to ensuring that the press exercises its crucial role of informing the public about candidates, their platforms and the ongoing debates. Unfortunately, attacks against the press often increase during electoral periods. 1 2 See A/67/357. See A/HRC/20/17. 3