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Individual opinion of Elizabeth Evatt, Eckart Klein, David Kretzmer and
Cecilia Medina Quiroga (concurring)
We agree with the Committee’s Views in this matter. However, we
consider that the instruction given by the State party to civil servants not
to respond in the Afrikaans language, even if they have the personal capacity
to do so, restricts the freedom of the authors to receive and impart
information in that language (art. 19, para. 2 of the Covenant). In the
absence of a justification for this restriction, which meets the criteria set
out in paragraph 3 of article 19, we consider that there has been a violation
of the authors’ right to freedom of expression under article 19 of the
Covenant.
(Signed) E. Evatt
(Signed) E. Klein
(Signed) D. Kretzmer
(Signed) C. Medina Quiroga
[Done in English, French and Spanish, the English text being the original version. Subsequently
issued also in Arabic, Chinese and Russian as part of the present report.]