About us

At sunset protestors in Bangkok sit down and shine the lights from their mobile phones

ARTICLE 19 is an international think–do organisation that propels the freedom of expression movement locally and globally to ensure all people realise the power of their voices.

What we do

Together with our partners, we:

Think

We develop cutting-edge research and legal and policy analysis to drive change worldwide.

Do

We lead work on the frontlines of expression through our 9 regional hubs across the globe.

Propel

We propel change by sparking innovation in the global freedom of expression movement.

We do this by working on five key themes: 

  • promoting media independence;
  • increasing access to information;
  • protecting journalists;
  • expanding civic space; and
  • placing human rights at the heart of developing digital spaces.

Our name was inspired by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which all of our work seeks to uphold, protect, and extend worldwide:

‘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.’

– Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Learn more about our work

Global Expression Report

Campaigns

Annual report and accounts

Where we work

Our teams and thematic experts lead advocacy from New York to Dhaka, and drive policy change from Mexico to Nairobi. 
We amplify local concerns to the regional and international levels, and hold states accountable for their international obligations.

Propelling change since 1987

ARTICLE 19’s Founding Director, Kevin Boyle (centre), with (L–R) Kazuo Ishiguro, Harold Pinter, Frances D’Souza, and Arnold Wesker at a news conference to support Salman Rushdie in 1989. (Photo: The Telegraph)

For over 35 years, ARTICLE 19 has worked for a world where all people everywhere can freely express themselves and actively engage in public life without fear of discrimination. 

ARTICLE 19 combines research, campaigning, and cutting-edge legal analysis to strengthen people’s right to free expression and access to information. Our successes range from successfully campaigning to free journalists to shaping country constitutions, ensuring the right to information is enshrined in national law, pioneering the integration of human rights with the infrastructure of the internet, and monitoring how 162 countries respect free expression.

Curious about our most significant contributions over the last 4 decades?

‘Thank you to all of the ARTICLE 19 team. Without their legal defence, I would surely still be silenced and imprisoned or already dead like certain friends who we have already lost.’

– Lydia Cacho, Mexican investigative journalist

Learn more about the values that drive our work

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Together, we can build the societies we want to live in. 

Join our movement to defend freedom of expression.

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headshot of Irene Khan

‘I am a great admirer of ARTICLE 19. They are leaders among champions of freedom of expression. They manage to not only relentlessly mobilise against the age-old threats of censorship and the repression of dissent, but also draw our attention to new challenges in the digital age.’

– Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression