STATEMENTS
There must be no trade-off between women’s right to be safe and their right to speak
Gendered disinformation is a coordinated strategy to silence women and gender non-conforming voices and drive them out of public life and online spaces, Irene Khan told the United Nations in New York today.
Israel/occupied Palestinian territory: UN experts deplore attacks on civilians, call for truce and urge international community to address root causes of violence
12 October 2023 – UN independent experts* today unequivocally condemned targeted and deadly violence directed at civilians in Israel and violent and indiscriminate attacks against Palestinian civilians in Gaza and a further tightening of the unlawful blockade, which will have devastating impacts on the whole civilian population.
China/Hong Kong SAR: UN experts concerned about ongoing trials and arrest warrants under National Security Legislation
9 October 2023 – UN experts today expressed serious concern about the first mass trial of 47 people underway since February 2023 under the National Security Legislation (NSL) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the issuance of arrest warrants and bounties against pro-democracy figures from the Hong Kong SAR currently in exile overseas.
Towards Information Integrity in Asia Pacific
Keynote statement by Irene Khan at the Asia Pacific Expert Meeting on Disinformation Regulation and the Free Flow of Information.
2030 Agenda will fail without full respect for the right to information
Without universal and meaningful connectivity for all, the right to information is an empty promise for billions of people around the world.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: UN experts alarmed by re-criminalisation of defamation in the Republika Srpska entity
25 July 2023 – UN human rights experts* expressed alarm about the recent adoption of amendments to the criminal ...
Afghanistan: UN experts alarmed by media outlet’s spreading of disinformation
28 July 2023 – UN experts* today voiced their concern at disinformation by a media outlet concerning a Human ...
International community must act to end Israel’s annexation of occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and defend international law: UN experts
26 July 2023 – The international community must take steps to prevent Israel’s annexation of the occupied ...
Philippines: Special Rapporteur submits amicus in cyberlibel case
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan submitted an amicus curiae brief in a ...
Sri Lanka: Concern about the recently proposed Anti-Terrorism Act
The Special Rapporteur sent a joint letter to the Government of Sri Lanka concerning its recently proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) published on 17 March 2023.
Free, pluralistic and independent media, a vital pillar of democracy, International Freedom of Expression Rapporteurs stress
Commemorating the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression mandate holders from the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the African Commission of Human Rights (ACHPR), and the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) issued a Joint Declaration on Media Freedom and Democracy.
Repressive enforcement of Iranian hijab laws symbolises gender-based persecution: UN experts
14 April 2023 – The repressive enforcement of Iranian hijab laws, as announced by the State authorities, would ...