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

The world body said last year 71 journalists were killed, while another 826 were arrested.

More than 2,000 journalists were threatened or physically attacked last year.

Finland tops the World Press Freedom index for the fourth straight year, closely followed by Netherlands and Norway, like last year.

Pakistan is still deemed the “most dangerous country in the world” for working journalists.

On the freedom index the United States is number 46 on the list of 180 countries. Haiti is number 47. Cape Verde comes in at number 24 and Britain is 33. Russia is number 148, Cuba is 170 and China is ranked at number 175.

The World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information. Reporters Without Borders, the sponsors of the index, said some countries have been affected by a tendency to interpret national security needs in an “overly broad and abusive manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed.”

The group said the trend was a “growing threat worldwide” and endangering freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies.

In a joint message by Secretary-Genera Ban Ki-moon and Irina Bokova, Director-General of UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), said UN bodies are already working together and with other partners under Unesco’s leadership to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers around the world.

World Press Freedom Day, which was designated as May 3 in 1993 by the UN General Assembly, is being marked in about 100 countries.

DAWN