Editing Defamation (section)

===General comment No. 34===
In 2011, the [[United Nations Human Rights Committee]] published their General comment No. 34 (CCPR/C/GC/34){{snd}}regarding Article 19 of the ICCPR.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/GC34.pdf |title=General comment No. 34 (CCPR/C/GC/34) |date=29 July 2011 |website=[[United Nations]] [[Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights]] |access-date=30 August 2023}}</ref>

Paragraph 47 states:
{{blockquote |text=
Defamation laws must be crafted with care to ensure that they comply with paragraph 3 [of Article 19 of the ICCPR], and that they do not serve, in practice, to stifle freedom of expression. All such laws, in particular penal defamation laws, should include such defences as the [[#Defences|defence of truth]] and they should not be applied with regard to those forms of expression that are not, of their nature, subject to verification. At least with regard to comments about [[public figure]]s, consideration should be given to avoiding penalizing or otherwise rendering unlawful untrue statements that have been published in error but without malice. In any event, a [[public interest]] in the subject matter of the criticism should be recognized as a defence. Care should be taken by States parties to avoid excessively punitive measures and penalties. Where relevant, States parties should place reasonable limits on the requirement for a defendant to reimburse the expenses of the successful party. States parties should consider the [[decriminalization]] of defamation and, in any case, the application of the criminal law should only be countenanced in the most serious of cases and imprisonment is never an appropriate penalty. It is impermissible for a State party to indict a person for criminal defamation but then not to proceed to trial expeditiously{{snd}}such a practice has a chilling effect that may unduly restrict the exercise of freedom of expression of the person concerned and others.
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