Freedom of expression narratives after the Charlie Hebdo attacks

Abstract

This article considers the significance of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and responses to them from the perspective of international human rights law on the freedom of expression. Focusing on the recent positions taken by international human rights bodies, it unravels and explores three distinct and influential narratives concerning freedom of expression that have developed amongst a range of actors, including these bodies, in the three years since the attacks took place. 'Freedom of Expression as Identity' recalls how the Charlie Hebdo attacks spurred an outpouring of political declarations concerning freedom of expression, but also laid bare the deep and long-standing cultural divisions surrounding this right. 'Freedom of Expression as a Human Right' unpacks the various ways in which the Charlie Hebdo attacks and states' responses to them engage provisions of international human rights law. 'Freedom of Expression as Part of the Problem' examines approaches by the United Nations to preventing and countering violent extremism which draw upon states' own policies. This article thus exposes the contrasts between the three narratives, as well as the inconsistencies and tensions within them, to reveal ambivalence and resistance towards freedom of expression as a right in the modern era.