The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and the undersigned organisations urge the United Nations (UN) and its Member States to ensure robust commitments to access to information, media freedom, and public-interest journalism as they negotiate the final text of the Pact for the Future in advance of the Summit of the Future in September.
GFMD and the undersigned organisations welcome the May 14 revision of the Pact following the zero draft, including strengthened attention to the Sustainable Development Goals throughout the document as well as Action 42’s strong language on human rights. We particularly applaud the new explicit reference to protecting civic space (Action 11); a commitment to protecting journalists and media during armed conflict (Action 12); and the inclusion of respecting the right to freedom of expression while addressing disinformation and misinformation (Action 15).
Given both the severity of challenges facing media and journalists around the world, which in many contexts nears an extinction-level event, and the utmost importance of access to information and freedom of expression in empowering people to address shared needs, we call on the UN and Member States to further strengthen their commitments, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the General Comment on Article 19: freedoms of opinion and expression; the 1991 Windhoek Declaration; and the 2021 Windhoek+30 Declaration: Information as Public Good, and in fulfilment of target 16.10 of the Sustainable Development Goals (ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms).
As underscored in a joint statement by the Presidents of the UN General Assembly, the General Conference of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the UN Human Rights Council on World Press Freedom Day 2024: “the media’s role as a watchdog, and a catalyst for action cannot be overstated.”
“Access to accurate and timely information, enabled by a free, independent, and pluralistic media, stands as a cornerstone for raising public awareness, fostering informed debate and decision-making, countering misinformation and disinformation, and ultimately galvanizing collective action towards the attainment of the Goals, in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development… As we navigate the final years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we call on Member States and all stakeholders to reaffirm their commitments to the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and access to information.”
We therefore urge the UN and Member States to incorporate the following language into the Pact for the Future:
In the Chapeau include: “We affirm that access to information, freedom of expression and media freedom, including the safety of journalists, the vibrancy and viability of public interest media, and the resilience of a healthy, autonomous information ecosystem, are fundamental for advancing the entirety of the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Under Action 5 add: “access to information” after “access to justice”. Under paragraph 7(a) add “media freedom” after “rule of law”.
Under Action 11(b) add “access to information, especially in times of crisis”.
Under Action 15(e) add “and strengthening healthy and resilient information ecosystems, including public interest media and journalism”.
Under Action 24(b) add “access to information” before “the delivery of essential public services”.
Under Action 28 add new point (d): “Guarantee that technology companies are subject to appropriate and independent scrutiny mechanisms to ensure the transparency and accountability of their systems and respect for human rights, including freedom of expression and access to information”.
Under Action 42, paragraph 52 add “including journalists and activists” after “Human Rights Defenders.
Under Action 51, paragraph 62 add “Promote and protect media freedom and public-interest journalism, as no crisis or challenge – whether health, climate, economic, political, or humanitarian – can be addressed without access to reliable information and information integrity at its core”.
Incorporating the recommended language above will help ensure that the Pact for the Future reinforces existing commitments on access to information and media freedom and empowers public-interest journalism and resilient information ecosystems to play their vital role in delivering on the promise of a better future for all.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted in his message for World Press Freedom Day: “Without press freedom, we won’t have any freedom. A free press is not a choice, but a necessity.”
2402 Foundation – Ukraine
Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) – Afghanistan
Africa Freedom of Information Centre – Uganda
Agencia Mural de Jornalismo das Periferias – Brazil
Al-Jumhuriya Collective – Syria
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) – United States
Association for Media Development In South Sudan (AMDISS) – South Sudan
Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) – Trinidad and Tobago
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication – Bangladesh
BBC Media Action – United Kingdom
Beam Reports – Sudan
Belarus in Focus Information Office – Poland
Bytes for All – Pakistan
Cambodian Center for Human Rights – Cambodia
Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association – Cambodia
Center for Independent Journalism – Hungary
Center for Journalism Studies (CEPER) at Universidad de los Andes – Colombia
Centre for Law and Democracy – Canada
Centre for Media Freedom – Morocco
Comité por la Libre Expresión – Honduras
Commonwealth Journalists Association
Community Media Network – Jordan
Daily Nawa-I-AhmedPurSharqia – Pakistan
Daily Rozan Gujrat – Pakistan
DW Akademie – Germany
European Journalism Centre – Netherlands
Fiquem Sabendo – Brazil
Fondation Hirondelle – Switzerland
Forum on Information and Democracy – France
Free Press Unlimited – Netherlands
Freedom Forum – Nepal
Freedom of Expression Institute – South Africa
Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) – Colombia
Gambia Press Union (GPU) – Gambia
Gender and Media Connect – Zimbabwe
GIBS Media Leadership Think Tank – South Africa
Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
Global Media Registry – Germany
Global Youth & News Media – France
Globe International Center – Mongolia
Group Siyabonga Gold – Benin
Home News Agency – Kenya
Human Rights Network for Journalists – Uganda
International Press Centre – Nigeria
International Press Institute – Austria
Internews – United States / United Kingdom
Maharat Foundation – Lebanon
Media Foundation for West Africa – Ghana
Media Monitoring Africa – South Africa
Media Rights Agenda – Nigeria
Mizzima Media – Myanmar
National Union of Journalists of Ukraine – Ukraine
New Narratives – United States
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) – Palestine
Panos Institute Southern Africa – Zambia
Public Media Alliance (PMA) – United Kingdom
Roma Active Albania – Albania
R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales – Mexico
Radio Espace Guinée – Guinea
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – France
Rural Media Network Pakistan – Pakistan
SAARC Journalist Forum – South Asia
SembraMedia – United States
Sifter – Ethiopia
Somali Media Women Association (SOMWA) – Somalia
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) – Austria
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) – France
WELTFILME – Germany
World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) – Canada / United Kingdom
For more information on GFMD and its efforts around the Summit of the Future/Pact for the Future, see https://gfmd.info/…/gfmds-efforts-around-the-summit-of…/ or contact advocacy@gfmd.info.
