International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is of the view that the facts before it disclose a
violation of the authors' rights under article 19 and article 27, read together with article 2, of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
10. Under article 2, paragraph 3(a), of the Covenant, the State party is under obligation to provide Mr.
Mavlonov and Mr. Sa'di with an effective remedy, including the reconsideration of "Oina's"
application for re-registration, and compensation for Mr. Mavlonov. The State party is also under
obligation to take measures to prevent similar violations in the future.
11. Bearing in mind that, by becoming a State party to the Optional Protocol, the State party has
recognized the competence of the Committee to determine whether there has been a violation of the
Covenant or not and that, pursuant to article 2 of the Covenant, the State party has undertaken to
ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the
Covenant and to provide an effective and enforceable remedy in case a violation has been established,
the Committee wishes to receive from the State party, within one hundred eighty days, information
about the measures taken to give effect to the Committee's Views. The State party is also requested to
publish the Committee's Views.
[Adopted in English, French and Spanish, the English text being the original version. Subsequently to
be issued also in Arabic, Chinese and Russian as part of the Committee's annual report to the General
Assembly.]
An individual opinion co-signed by Committee members Sir Nigel Rodley and Mr. Rafael Rivas
Posada has been appended to the present Views.
APPENDIX
SEPARATE OPINION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS SIR NIGEL RODLEY AND MR. RAFAEL
RIVAS POSADA
We do not agree that Mr. Sa'di has been the victim of a self standing violation of article 19(2). On the
other hand, we do consider he has been the victim of violation of article 27, read together with article
19.
We find the Committee's literalist reading of the right to receiving information and ideas is
unconvincing. The Committee's position would require it to treat every potential recipient of any
information or ideas that have been improperly suffered under article 19 as a victim in the same way
as the person having been prevented from expressing or imparting the information or ideas. Thus, it
could find itself dealing with communication from every reader or viewer or listener of a medium of
mass communication that has been improperly closed down or whose content has been improperly
suppressed. This is not a 'floodgates' argument. Rather it is evident that its literalist approach may
simply not be the most plausible interpretation of article 19(2). For us, this aspect of Mr. Sa'di's
complaint smacks of actio popularis.
Moreover, it was simply unnecessary for the Committee to take this far-reaching position in the
instant case. There is no disagreement that Mr. Sa'di was a victim of a violation of article 27,
paragraph 2. Moreover, we believe that Mr. Sa'di is a victim of a violation of article 19 read together
with article 27. This is because of the special nature of article 27 which envisages the enjoyment of
rights by persons as members of minority communities. This should have been a sufficient finding for
the Committee in this case.
[signed] Sir Nigel Rodley
[signed] Mr. Rafael Rivas Posada