As the UN Human Rights Council has stressed, dissenting views may be expressed peacefully.203 In its case-law, the ECtHR has consistently reaffirmed that freedom of opinion and expression not only protect the expression of views or ideas that are favourably received, but also those that are critical, while limitations are only permissible in very exceptional cases.204 Access to information of public interest and whistleblowers 143. In accordance with Article 19(2) of the ICCPR, the right to freedom of expression includes the “freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.” The right to carry out human rights monitoring, including trial and assembly monitoring, is a corollary of the right to seek and impart information. 144. Undue restrictions on access to information can inhibit human rights activities in a number of ways. Restrictions on the dissemination of and access to information with the justification of protecting public health or morals can prevent human rights defenders from carrying out advocacy and awareness raising work or providing services to their clients, for example in relation to education concerning maternal and reproductive health or other measures to combat gender-based discrimination. National security is frequently used to justify the over-classification of information, thus limiting access by human rights defenders and other affected parties to information of public interest and creating another obstacle for whistleblowers and investigative journalists trying to bring to light alleged corruption and human rights violations by state actors. Any laws that limit the freedom to seek and impart information beyond what is permissible under international human rights standards and that do not comply with the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality should be promptly repealed or amended. 145. The UN Human Rights Council has called upon states to ensure that “[i]nformation held by public authorities is proactively disclosed, including on grave violations of human rights, and that transparent and clear laws and policies provide for a general right to request and receive such information, for which public access should be granted, except for narrow and clearly defined limitations”.205 146. Clear and transparent procedures should be put in place to avoid over-classification of documents, unreasonably long time-frames before de-classification and undue 203  A/HRC/RES/22/6, para. 11 (i). 204  See, for example, the ECtHR judgement in the case of Palomo Sánchez and Others v. Spain, Applications nos. 28955/06, 28957/06, 28959/06 and 28964/06, 12 September 2011, which states: “Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and for each individual’s self-fulfilment. Subject to paragraph 2 of Article 10, it is applicable not only to ‘information’ or ‘ideas’ that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb. Such are the demands of pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no ‘democratic society’” (para. 53). 205  72 A/HRC/RES/22/6, para. 11(e). Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders