A/69/286 II. Legal framework A. Relevant human rights provisions 7. Commercial advertising and marketing practices are generally considered to fall to some extent under provisions protecting freedom of expression, such as article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 19 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that the right to freedom of expression includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers. In general comment 34, the Human Rights Committee stressed that the right to freedom of expression “may also include commercial advertising” (CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 11). 8. Hence, the regulation of commercial advertising and marketing practices should follow the principles enunciated in international and regional instruments regarding possible limitations to freedom of expression. In accordance with article 19 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, restrictions shall only be such as are provided for by law and are necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of others. The Special Rapporteur notes that the rights to freedom of thought, opinion and expression, the right to privacy and family life, the rights of women, children, minorities and indigenous peoples, the rights to food, health, education, leisure and to take part in cultural life, as well as artistic freedom, as set out in regional and international human rights instruments, deserve particular attention in this respect. 9. Article 19 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also provides that restrictions may be necessary for protecting national security, public order, public health or morals. The Human Rights Committee, in general comment No. 22, stressed that the concept of morals derives from many social, philosophical and religious traditions; consequently, limitations for the purpose of protecting morals must be based on principles not deriving exclusively from a single tradition(CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, para. 8). According to the Committee, it may be permissible in certain circumstances to regulate speech-making in a particular public place (CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 31). 10. Restrictions to freedom of expression should always be the least restr ictive and be proportionate to achieving the purported aim. The Special Rapporteur stresses, however, that commercial advertising and marketing may be granted less protection than other forms of speech. 11. The European Court of Human Rights, recognizing that information of a commercial nature cannot be excluded from the scope of article 10 of the Europ ean Convention on Human Rights, 2 considered that States have a greater margin of appreciation to impose restrictions on freedom of expression in commercial matters. 3 __________________ 2 3 4/26 See Markt Intern Verlag GmbH and Klaus Beermann, 1989, para. 26 and Casado Coca v. Spain, 1994. See “Freedom of expression in Europe: case- law concerning article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights”, Council of Europe Publishing, 2001. 14-58963