SECTOR 1 b) For the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 states: 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. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Its article 9 states: 1. 2. Every individual shall have the right to receive information. Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law. These international instruments, once ratified, are considered as “an integral part of the law of the land” by virtue of article 9 (4) of the Constitution. Article 13 (2) further stipulates that Chapter Three of the Constitution, which deals with fundamental rights and freedoms, should be “interpreted in a manner conforming to the principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Human Rights and international instruments adopted by Ethiopia. ” While these provisions exist on paper they are not always applied in practice. The House of Peoples’ Representatives (Parliament) ratifies these instruments, but they are not translated into the official working language of the country nor are they promulgated in the official Federal Negarit Gazeta where federal laws are published. As a result, judges are reluctant to refer to international instruments when deciding on cases brought before them. The practical application of these laws is also limited because litigants in a court of law rarely invoke international or regional instruments to claim their right. However, some panellists felt that “there is no restriction since the option for redress is laid out in the law” and they questioned whether it could be concluded that these rights are not being honoured. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ETHIOPIA 2010 15