A/68/296 academic freedom of others, to ensure the fair discussion of contrary views and to treat all without discrimination (see general comment No. 13, paras. 38-40). 38. The Human Rights Committee states that laws that penalize the expression of opinions about historical facts are incompatible with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which does not permit general prohibitions of expressions of an erroneous opinion or an incorrect interpretation of past events, and that restrictions on the right of freedom of opinion should never be imposed and, with regard to freedom of expression, they should not go beyond what is permitted in paragraph 3 of article 19 or required under article 20 of the Covenant (see general comment No. 34, para. 49). A. Autonomy of universities and research institutes 39. State control over historical narratives mainly operates by controlling universities and research institutes. This particularly applies to countries in which a public listing of available positions in such institutions is not required by law and people are recruited by a narrow inner circle. Procedures for career advancements of historians may also be driven by political criteria, including cases in which regulated standards of professional advancement require researchers to work inside the framework of specified hypotheses. 9 40. Systems of financing research that enable political control of academic institutions by ministries and political elites are of concern. Analysis of the allocation of funds, transparency in decision-making and approval criteria shed light on the degree of control exercised. 41. Controlling the university history curricula is another means of controlling historical narratives. The complex process of adopting and accrediting the curriculum frequently passes through a series of university bodies and sometimes requires government approval. When combined with a reduced level of university autonomy, this state of affairs significantly limits the freedom of professors to suggest and conduct their own courses. 42. Prescribing or rejecting thesis topics at the graduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels is another common means of control. Such action can be taken by professors and mentors or by university bodies, in addition to the ministry departments involved in approving topics. Similarly, public research institutes functioning outside the university system may follow a complicated approval procedure for research topics, sometimes requiring ministerial approval. Comparing proposed topics with accepted topics indicates dominant or politically “desirable topics”. Such patterns are also visible in calls for new projects and in advertising vacancies, for which ministries determine the focus. So-called “desirable topics” are recognizable by the fact that they fail to undergo change in keeping with normal academic dynamics and remain constant throughout a specific Government’s tenure. 43. The applied research methodology can provide further insights. The complete domination of a particular methodological approach (e.g. political history, military __________________ 9 12/27 For example, in the former Yugoslavia, the stated goal of an academic paper was to contribute to the development of a “self-managed and non-aligned Yugoslav community of brotherhood and unity”. 13-42291