Box 8.1 Freedoms of Expression and Association Art. 19 UDHR Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Art. 19 ICCPR 1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include 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. 3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals. Art. 21 ICCPR The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Art. 10 ECHR 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority. … 2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary. Art. 20 UDHR (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association. Art. 11 ECHR Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. Limits to freedom of expression: the ECHR approach In a military context, freedom of expression may be problematic in various forms. These range from communications complaining about conditions of service, to publishing barracks newssheets, to public dissent from military orders or voicing criticism in the media. Military discipline implies some limit on freedom of expression, and it is not surprising that, whereas these activities may be unregulated in the case of civilians, restrictions may be imposed upon serving members of the armed forces. Similarly, national security will obviously justify constraints on freedom to disclose military secrets. These interests are recognized as legitimate reasons for restrictions under human rights law. In the Engel case, the European Court of Human Rights stated: the freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 applies to servicemen just as it does to other persons within the jurisdiction of the Contracting States. However, the proper functioning of an army is hardly imaginable without legal rules designed to prevent servicemen from undermining military discipline, for example by writings.65 Accordingly, in later cases, the Court found no violation of Art. 10 when two conscripts were imprisoned for a year after distributing material calling for French army units to 65  Engel v. Netherlands, op. cit., note 29, para. 100. 58 Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel