Stefan Andjelkovic
LL.M. in International Public Law
The Human Rights Council began on June, 23 2023 an interactive dialogue with the Special
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression,
Irene Khan.
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and
expression, stated that she emphasized on the role of freedom of expression in fostering
sustainable development in her third report to the Council in the thirty-first year of the mandate.
The freedom of speech and expression was a driving force behind and component of sustainable
development. It created considerable social and economic benefits and enabled a variety of
economic, social, and cultural rights. Public debate and the open exchange of information have
empowered people, communities, and civil society, encouraged accountability, helped
governments to be better informed and responsive to the demands of their citizens, and improved
the effectiveness and efficiency of institutions and markets.
Ms. Khan noted certain noteworthy developments in the advancement of knowledge and
engagement as essential components of development. Despite this development, there were still
significant gaps, difficulties, and failures that contributed to the bleak reality. Due to a culture of
government secrecy, severe gaps in the scope and application of laws, a lack of competence,
resources, and independent oversight, as well as insufficient or nonexistent appeals, requests for
information were frequently denied. But there was a chance for improvement. The media had the
freedom and independence to operate in order to expose corruption and wrongdoing, multi-
stakeholder partnerships had cultivated transparency and trust, and civil society had participated
in development processes and contributed with ideas, opinions, and information.
In her Report from April, 19 2023, Ms. Khan emphasized the importance of meaningful
engagement and freedom of expression in the development process, particularly for poor and
marginalized communities. It highlighted several key points:
- Participation and Decision-making: When individuals and communities are informed, consulted, and given the opportunity to express their views and take part in decision-making processes, they are better equipped to overcome deprivation, exclusion, and insecurity. By actively involving people in development rather than treating them as passive recipients, their freedom of expression promotes their voice and agency, leading to improved
development outcomes.
2. Enabler of Sustainable Development: Freedom of expression not only empowers individuals, communities, and civil society but also facilitates other rights that are crucial for sustainable development, such as the rights to health, education, clean water, and a clean environment. It
allows governments to be better informed and responsive to people’s needs, enables accountability by holding governments and corporate power to account, and generateseconomic benefits by fostering open public debate and diverse sources of information.
3. Countering Illicit Activities: Access to information, a core aspect of freedom of expression, is vital in exposing and countering illicit financial flows, corruption, tax evasion, and illegal activities that deplete national resources. Transparency, independent media, and civic space thrive when freedom of expression is upheld, thereby safeguarding public funds and natural resources for sustainable development.
4. Amplifying Disadvantaged Voices: The link between sustainable development and freedom of expression extends beyond information to include the right to articulate views, debate, criticize, challenge, protest, and demand. For development to be meaningful, the voices of
marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and communities must be heard and considered.
Civil society and the media play crucial roles in using information and their voice to hold the powerful accountable.
5. International Framework: The right to freedom of opinion and expression is enshrined in international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It includes the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and across borders. The rights to public participation, peaceful assembly, and freedom of association are closely linked to freedom of opinion and expression.
6. Limitations on Freedom of Expression: While freedom of expression is essential, it can be restricted under certain circumstances. These restrictions should be lawful, non- discriminatory, necessary, and proportionate to protect the rights and reputation of others or
to safeguard national security, public order, and public health and morals. Advocacy of hatred based on nationality, race, or religion that incites discrimination, hostility, or violence is prohibited under international law.
7. Paradigm Shift in International Development: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the explicit role of human rights, including freedom of expression, as an objective of sustainable development rather than merely a means to it. It acknowledges
that development is sustainable when it incorporates economic, social, and environmental dimensions alongside respect for human rights, making it just, inclusive, and transformative.
8. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The SDGs include commitments related to participation, expression, and information. Goal 16 focuses on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, with targets that aim to develop effective and transparent institutions, ensure equal access to justice, reduce corruption, enable inclusive decision-making, provide
public access to information, and protect fundamental freedoms.
9. Indicators and Measurements: Member States have selected indicators to measure progress toward ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms. These indicators include measuring the safety of journalists, media personnel, trade unionists, and human rights advocates, as well as the enactment of laws promoting access to information.
10. Challenges to Freedom of Expression: Despite the recognition of freedom of expression’s importance, many parts of the world face challenges. Rising authoritarianism, shrinking civic space, conflicts, and the COVID-19 pandemic have hampered progress on the SDGs,
pushed people into poverty, and resulted in deprivation, inequalities, exclusion, insecurity, and injustice. Journalists, activists, and human rights defenders face threats, and the voices of marginalized groups are suppressed.
11. Importance of an Open Internet: Universal access to an open, free, interoperable, and secure Internet is crucial for enjoying human rights and advancing sustainable development. While the Internet enhances freedom of expression and access to information, it also poses safety threats, especially to women, children, and minorities. Unequal access to the Internet further exacerbates existing inequalities.
12. Call to Action: The report serves as a call to action on the right to freedom of expression. It aims to highlight the contribution of freedom of expression to sustainable development, assess the challenges it faces, and revitalize political commitment to upholding this right.
The Special Rapporteur gathered input from various stakeholders, including states, civil society organizations, academia, and international organizations, to inform the report.
13. Future Work: The Special Rapporteur acknowledged the complexities and challenges posed by corporate power and digital technology to freedom of expression within the context of sustainable development. She plans to further address these issues in her future work on freedom of expression and sustainable development.
Ms. Khan expressed gratitude for the written submissions received from various entities,
including states, civil society organizations, academia, national institutions, and international and
multi-stakeholder organizations. Additionally, online consultations were conducted with legal
and policy experts to gather input and insights (For more see: G2307012.pdf (un.org)).
As the recommendations, the Special Rapporteur underlined the following:
- Countries should safeguard individuals at the forefront of the fight for sustainable development, including disadvantaged communities, human rights defenders (including environmental, land, and Indigenous rights defenders), and journalists;
- Specific laws and policies should be implemented to prevent, investigate, and prosecute gender-based online attacks targeting women human rights defenders, community leaders, and journalists. These laws should be based on international human rights standards,
including provisions on gender equality; - Countries should establish effective and adequately funded measures to prevent and protect human rights defenders and journalists. These measures should be developed in consultation with them and regularly assessed for their effectiveness and potential improvements;
- Countries should publicly acknowledge the crucial and legitimate role of human rights defenders and journalists in advancing sustainable development. They should send a clear message that attacks against them will not be tolerated and will be punished;
- The Human Rights Council should demonstrate a commitment to ending impunity by creating an independent task force to support international and national efforts in preventing, investigating, and prosecuting attacks on human rights defenders and journalists;
- Countries should strengthen freedom of expression and the right to information both online and offline, in accordance with international human rights standards;
- Countries should repeal laws that criminalize defamation, seditious libel, and criticisms of state policies, institutions, and officials, whether online or offline. They should refrain from applying counter-terrorism and security legislation to legitimate activities of civil society;
- Laws and policies should be enacted to discourage and deter baseless legal actions (strategic lawsuits against public participation) against journalists and human rights defenders;
- National laws on access to information should be enacted or revised to align with international human rights standards. These laws should prioritize maximum disclosure in the public interest. Exemptions to disclosure should be clearly defined, limited in scope, and
necessary to protect the rights or reputation of others, national security, public order, or public health and morals; - Independent oversight bodies should be established to monitor the effective implementation of the right to information law. Clear guidelines should be developed for record
management, and robust monitoring mechanisms should be put in place with input from civil society to track, assess, and publish data on implementation progress related to Sustainable Development Goals indicator 16.10.2 at national and international levels; - Countries should refrain from imposing Internet shutdowns, slowdowns, or disruptions to mobile connections. Such actions disproportionately restrict the right to information and
freedom of expression; - Responses to disinformation and misinformation should be based on human rights principles. Countries should promote the free flow of diverse sources of information, increase their transparency, proactively disclose official data both online and offline, affirm
media freedom, independence, pluralism, and diversity, and ensure the safety of journalists; - Multi-stakeholder initiatives have contributed to transparency, accountability, collaboration, and participation of civil society in various sustainable development issues. States and other
participants should make more efforts to expand existing initiatives and create new ones. Transparent and rigorous assessments, involving all stakeholders, should be conducted to learn from past experiences and improve results; - Countries should proactively publish comprehensive information on their activities, including budgets, expenditures, revenues, and public procurement, as timely and open data that enables citizens to freely access, use, and participate in decision-making. This ensures
equitable, sustainable, and responsible use of public funds; - Countries should establish publicly accessible registers containing information about the beneficial owners of companies, trusts, foundations, and other relevant legal entities. The European Union should explore ways for its member states to do so while respecting the
privacy of beneficial owners, considering the recent decision of the European Court of Justice; - Development finance institutions should conduct thorough human rights due diligence and country- and project-specific risk assessments related to freedom of expression before investing in (Ibid.).
Many speakers during the discussion emphasized the importance of the freedom of speech as a cornerstone of a just and peaceful society and as a force for social change. Unnecessary limitations on this liberty endanger public health and society. For sustainable development to
take place, expression must be free and diversified. Several speakers expressed profound concern over the rising frequency of attacks on journalists and human rights advocates and expressed
worry about limitations on civic space. Some speakers pointed out that academics and environmental activists’ voices were frequently silenced. States needed to safeguard journalists, media professionals, environmental activists, intellectuals, and members of civil society, as well as combat false information and disinformation.
Lithuania, the European Union, Latvia, the United Nations Development Programme, Egypt, the United Nations Children’s Fund, Burkina Faso, Israel, Armenia, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Paraguay, Luxembourg, Timor-Leste, France, the United Nations
Economic, Social, and Cultural Organization, Indonesia, the United States, Iraq, Canada, the Maldives, Malaysia, Malta, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Cameroon, and Ireland all made statements in support of the right.