> In western tradition governments exist to protect rights, such as the freedom of expression, not to grant them.

You may be overgeneralizing here, only the US has enshrined freedom of expression in their constitution. Pretty much in any other western government such protections do not exist and freedom of expression has been under attack for a long time

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights is enshrined in legislation in the UK and Ireland, and offers protections for signatories of the convention.

(Edit: Oh, and the Bill of Rights gives parliamentarians quite an extreme version)