Civil Society Groups Welcome Irene Khan as the New Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression
- The persistent and, more importantly, emerging challenges faced by journalists, media workers, writers, bloggers, human rights defenders, artists, academics and other civil society actors targeted for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including under the guise of national security. As attacks against these actors are increasingly met with impunity, it is more important than ever to form innovative solutions to counter such trends and ensure the safety and security of these actors at both the international and national level.
- The opportunities and threats to freedom of expression in the digital age, including those posed by new and emerging technologies, such as surveillance tools and artificial intelligence. As part of this, the issue of disruptions to the internet, including shutdowns, website blocking and attacks on net neutrality, warrants the full scrutiny of the mandate. There is a need to not only elaborate on the human rights obligations of states and other actors in securing freedom of expression in the digital sphere, but to ensure that these are being implemented in practice.
- The best practices in creating an enabling legal and regulatory environment that allows the development of a free, diverse and pluralistic media landscape. This must be responsive to how the media around the world has fundamentally changed in recent years. Although broadcast radio and television remain important sources of information and ideas, the internet, and particularly social media platforms, have taken a position of growing importance as content distribution platforms.
- The obligations of states, and implementation gap, surrounding the right to access to information and related transparency issues. This is of fundamental importance for public participation, to foster transparency and accountability, to combat corruption and impunity, and to contribute to public confidence and support for government There remains a long way to go to instil genuine transparency and protect the right to access to information for all.
- The responsibilities of corporations to respect human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, and the different ways in which their operations can hinder the exercise of this right. There are many challenges posed today to freedom of expression, such as internet shutdowns, content moderation and surveillance, that require the effective collaboration of corporations.
- The disproportionate and differentiated risks faced by certain individuals and groups exercising their right to freedom of expression, including, inter alia, women, ethnic and racial minorities, religious minorities, indigenous people, LGBTI people, and non-nationals, migrants, refugees and internally displaced people. An intersectional approach should be meaningfully streamlined across the work of the mandate.
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Amnesty International
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL)
IFEX
IFEX-ALC
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Free Press Unlimited
World Movement for Democracy
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