UN: Media freedom and safety of journalists require urgent concrete action backed by political will

An expert at the UN has warned that freedom of the press and the safety of journalists have declined dangerously around the globe, which has grave negative impacts on human rights, democracy, and development.

“In a climate of surging authoritarianism and backsliding of democracies, populist leaders have actively sought to demonize and discredit independent journalists and many governments have introduced restrictions on freedom of expression contravening international law,” said Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

In a report presented to the Human Rights Council, Khan examines opportunities, challenges and threats to media in the digital age. She focuses on three major concerns: online and offline attacks and killing of journalists with impunity; criminalization of journalism and legal and judicial harassment of journalists; and the erosion of independence, freedom, pluralism and viability of the media by State and corporate actors, including digital companies.

“Silencing journalists by killing them is the most egregious form of censorship,” Khan said as she urged the Human Rights Council to consider robust measures to address impunity, including an international taskforce on the prevention, investigation and prosecution of attacks against journalists.

“The age-old practice of using the law to suppress reporting has been revived with a new ferocity in the digital age,” said Khan, noting the increased use in recent years of criminal legislation and “fake news” laws to suppress freedom of expression online and prosecute and punish journalists with heavy fines and harsh imprisonment.

Digital technology is credited with both enabling breakthrough journalism as well as creating new threats, such as online gender-based attacks on women journalists, targeted digital surveillance of journalists, and the use of digital platforms as gatekeepers controlling the availability, accessibility, diversity, and dissemination of news without public accountability or transparency.

“The overriding problem is not of gaps in international law but of the failures of compliance and implementation, rooted in the lack of political will,” Khan said.

States, international organizations, and companies are urged to take urgent and concrete steps to address multiple, complex, and often interconnected physical, legal, and digital threats holistically in accordance with international human rights law.

“Without concrete action backed by political will, the prognosis for media freedom and the safety of journalists is grim,” said Khan. “Independent, free and pluralistic news media is crucial for democracy, accountability and transparency and should be nurtured by States and the international community as a public good,” she said.

The Special Rapporteur also presented a report on her country visit to Hungary that took place in November 2021.