CC: Amina J. Mohammed, Assistant Secretary General

Dear Mr. Secretary General,

We write to you as a coalition of civil society organisations committed to sustainable development, to urge you to highlight the importance of the right to information, free media, and the protection of civil society organisations’ ability to organise and engage in your upcoming stocktaking report on the Sustainable Development Goals to the General Assembly.

We welcome your recent announcement on the creation of an Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development. However, as experts and practitioners in the field, we feel strongly that the data revolution cannot succeed without substantial improvement in the openness of governments to their people and an improved and enabling environment for civic space that allow individuals, civil society and communities to know, speak, engage and operate freely. To achieve this, the rights to freedom of information, free media, freedom of association, and freedom of peaceful assembly must be fully recognised and enabled.

The importance of these rights has been recognised in the Millennium Declaration, the Rio+ 20 declaration and numerous UN papers. These rights are also highlighted in the report of the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons and in the recommendations of the Open Working Group, both of which recommended that access to information and the protection of fundamental freedoms be included as targets. However, even with the crucial role these rights play in development, they are largely unincorporated in currently agreed development mechanisms and were conspicuous by their absence in the Millennium Development Goals.

As you acknowledged in your “Freedom Lecture” speech last year at the University of Leiden, civil society is under increasing pressure: journalists and human rights defenders are imprisoned; internet and media outlets are shut down; and peaceful protests are banned. These issues need to be addressed as part of the SDGs or they will continue to hinder development progress and the data revolution will be restricted to the status quo of limited and unreliable information by the few, for the few, instead of access to information by everyone, for everyone, and the ability to act upon it.

Mr. Secretary General, today is globally recognised as “Right to Know Day”. Governments and civil society organisations around the world will celebrate the progress made so far to ensure everyone is empowered to have greater control over their lives by better knowing how governments operate. Please take the time today to ensure these rights are not forgotten in the SDGs.

Thank you for your consideration. If your office wishes to discuss this further, please contact us.

Yours sincerely,

ARTICLE 19
Access Info Europe
Accun pour la Culture Numérique
Action 2015 National team-Sri Lanka
Active Remedy Ltd
Adevarul (The Truth)
Africa Freedom of Information Centre
Albanian Media Institute
Amnesty International
Arlan
Asociación Gestión Salud Población
Association Al Bawsala
Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression
Association I Watch – Tunisia
Association Nigérienne des Femmes Diplômées
Association of Caribbean Media Workers
Association of Private Nature Reserves of Minas Gerais State
Association TANSA
Association Tunisienne de Soutien Aux Minorités
Association Tunisienne des Contrôleurs Publics
Association Vigilance pour la Démocratie et l’Etat Civique
Associazione Museo Energia
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
BBC Media Action
Belarusian Association of Journalists
CAFSO-WRAG for Development
Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Campaign2015+ International
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Caribbean Policy Development Centre
CEEweb for Biodiversity
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
Centre for Human Rights and Climate Change Research
Centre for Independent Journalism – Malaysia
Centre for Law and Democracy
Centre for Sustainable Development and Education in Africa
Centro de Reportes Informativos sobre Guatemala – CERIGUA
CF Sange Research Center
CIDAC
Civil Society Partnership for Development Effectiveness
COLLECTIF 24
Comité por la Libre Expresión – C-Libre
Comité Sénégalais des Droits de l’Homme
Corruption Watch UK
EDW ENERGIA
Federation of SUNFO Global Youth Forum
FEMNET – The African Women’s Development and Communication Network
Finnish NGDO platform to the EU
Finnish NGO Platform KEPA
Fondation Mohamed Belmufti Pour La Justice et Les Libertés
Foro de Periodismo Argentino
Foundation for Press Freedom – FLIP
Freedom Forum
Freedom House
Fundamedios – Andean Foundation for Media Observation and Study
GCAP Sri Lanka
Groupe AGORA pour les Droits de l’enfant et la paix (GRA-REDP)
Hong Kong Journalists Association
IMove 2015 Campaign Sri Lanka
Initiative for Freedom of Expression – Turkey
Institut panafricain pour la Citoyenneté, les Consommateurs et le Développement
Institute for Economic Research on Innovation
Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information
Instituto de Estudos de Direito e Cidadania
Instituto Internacional de Derecho y Medio Ambiente
Instituto o Direito por um Planeta Verde
Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Venezuela
International Federation of Journalists, Asia Pacific
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
International Publishers Association
Interregional Union of Life Help for Mentally Handicapped Persons “Sail of Hope”
Journaliste en danger
Kikandwa Environmental Association
La Ligue Tunisienne des droits de l’Homme
Laboratório de Educação e Política Ambiental – OCA USP
Le Labo Démocratique
Ligue Africaine des blogueurs et activistes pour la démocratie
Ligue Sénégalaise des Droits de l’Homme
Maharat Foundation
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Media Watch
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
MediaLink
Metamorphosis, Foundation for Internet and Society
Mujer y Sociedad
Mujeres Mundi
National Union of Somali Journalists
NGO Federation of Nepal
Observatoire Tunisien de l’Indépendance de la Magistrature
Organisation nationale des droits l’homme
Pacific Islands News Association
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum
Pakistan Press Foundation
Palestinian Center for Development and Media freedoms (MADA)
PEN American Center
PraveenLata Sansthan
PRESSAFRIK
Pro Media
Public Association “Journalists”
Publish What You Fund
Ramfa “Rehomfa” Welfare Org
Rede Latinoamericana do Ministério Público Ambiental
Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO)
Reporters Without Borders
Request Initiative
Réseau des Organisations Féminines d’Afrique Francophone
Restless Development
Right to Information Coalition Ghana
RightsWay International
Second Chance foundation
Section Sénégalaise de la Société Internationale pour les Droits Humains
Southeast Asian Press Alliance
Southern Minas Gerais Institute for Nature Studies and Conservation
Southwest Freedom of Information Act Network
Sri Lanka United Nations Friendship Organization
Stichting Bakens Verzet (NGO Another Way)
Sunlight Foundation
Terra-1530
The Climate Reality Project Canada
Tobacco Free Association of Zambia
Tunisian Association for the Advancement of Science, Technology and Innovation
Union des Radios Associatives et Communautaires, Senegal
Union des Tunisiens Indépendants pour la Liberté
Unión Nacional de Instituciones para el Trabajo de Acción Social-UNITAS
Voice
West African Journalists Association
Whistleblower-Network Germany
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters – AMARC
Zambia Heart and Stroke Foundation
Zo Indigenous Forum

ARTICLE 19

They expressed these views at the pro-democracy camp set up by Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in coordination with National Press Club (NPC), Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) and civil society organisations to highlight the importance of democracy and urge the political parties to avoid politics of agitation and use the forum of the Parliament to address their grievances.

The NPC president Shaharyar Khan said the marchers should show political maturity and behave like responsible politicians instead of creating law and order situation in the country that is already facing financial crunch and people are facing number of problems due to limited financial resources.

“Everyone in Pakistan is patriotic and wants to see the country move forward but if there is any kind of difference of opinion then it does not mean that one should ignore all democratic norms and start using agitation and confrontation as a tool to achieve the set political targets,” he said.

The RIUJ secretary general Bilal Dar said the marchers never trust democracy and Constitution but they should keep in mind that dictatorship always pushed the country into troubled waters and rising terrorism, spread of weapons and drugs smuggling.

Prominent human rights activist Farzana Bari said it is good to see that the Pakistan Army did not play any kind of role in this crisis on its own and the media statement issued by ISPR clearly showed that the government itself asked for the role of a facilitator and it was also not the wish of the Army to hold meetings with Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri.“These two leaders wanted the establishment to bring them to power but it would not happen and all their nefarious designs would be foiled by the people of Pakistan,” she said.

Social worker Alya Mirza said when the news of imposition of martial law by Ziaul Haq was published in newspapers then many readers started weeping and cursed it so they never want it again in Pakistan where a democratic process is moving ahead in the right direction.

Rakhshanda Parveen, a social activist, said there was a time when even political discussion was not allowed in the public places during the Ziaul Haq regime and then the people took back the power from the dictator and restored democracy in Pakistan and now it is necessary to protect it against all odds.

Another social activist Farkhanda Aurangzeb said when she invited late poet Ahmad Faraz as a chief guest on a function during her college days the officials of the dictatorial regime of Ziaul Haq started interrogation and asked who gave her money for this work, adding “After interrogation I succeeded to assure them that no one had given any money and I invited him on my own.”

The News

Civil society organisations say the draft of the RTI should have been presented and discussed in the assembly before being made a law and argue that the definition of ‘information’ in the ordinance remains vague. However, regardless, the document has many important clauses. One of its intelligent inclusions is providing protection to whistleblowers — an issue of growing international debate. While the ANP was unable to pass an act in this regard during its tenure, the PTI-led government was swift to implement the legislation as an ordinance. At a time when the PTI has been subjected to much criticism, the RTI comes as a breather for the newly-elected government, especially a week before the by-elections, which will give a testament to the performance of the government in its short tenure. The K-P government’s initiative is likely to leave a deep footprint on the road to democracy. The ordinance sets an important precedent and will put pressure on other provincial governments to allow access to information and increase accountability. While government departments will have their fair share of challenges as they come under direct public scrutiny for the first time, in the long run, this will only help the province and the country emerge stronger.

Express Tribune