Nordic-Baltic statement, deliverd by Marcus Holknekt, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN, at the General Debate of the Third Committee Interactive Dialouge with Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, 77th session of the UN General Assembly, United Nations, 14 October 2022
Mme/Mr President,
I am speaking on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and my own country, Sweden.
We thank the Special Rapporteur, Ms Irene Khan, for her dedicated work on the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
The right to freedom of opinion and expression is not only a human right in itself. It also serves as an enabler for the enjoyment of other human rights and is a crucial pillar of any free, pluralistic and inclusive society. Without freedom of opinion and expression, and access to reliable information, there can be no democracy.
Violations and abuses of freedom of expression online and offline, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, and attacks against journalists, media workers and independent media are often the first alarming signs of autocratic tendencies and of conflict. Women journalist and other media workers face particular risks in this regard. They are not only attacked for their profession, but also because of their gender.
We are also painfully aware of the fact that information manipulation, including the spread of disinformation, on social media and elsewhere, is a constitutive part of armed conflicts and a tool widely used by state and non-state actors.
This is why the report presented here today by Madame Special Rapporteur is so important. It highlights the specific dangers when information manipulation is used as a weapon and points to the crucial importance of protecting the right to freedom of access to reliable information as a “survival right” during armed conflicts. In times of crisis and conflict, we need more independent, trustworthy and fact-based information, not less.
The role of independent media, journalists and other media workers is vital in this regard. As we mark the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity this year, we need to look at ways to strengthen the protection of journalists everywhere, including in conflict and war.
Addressing information manipulation, including disinformation, must go hand in hand with the strengthening of the respect for freedom of expression, access to reliable information and a free and independent media sector. In this regard, it is crucial to uphold the principle of an open, free and secure internet. We agree with the Special Rapporteur’s conclusion that social resilience against disinformation can only be achieved with a multistakeholder approach.
Madame Special Rapporteur, how can we further ensure that the internet remains open, free and secure in armed conflicts, serving as a tool to combat information manipulation, including disinformation, and not a place where disinformation is amplified?