Statement by Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Third Committee of the General Assembly
17 October 2024
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to begin by thanking Member States for their support and engagement with my mandate on a wide range of issues, underlining the fundamental importance of freedom of opinion and expression to democracy and sustainable development.
Today I present my thematic report on the global crisis of freedom of expression arising from the conflict in Gaza which followed the heinous attacks by Hamas on 7 October last year.
No conflict in recent times has threatened freedom of expression so seriously or so far beyond its borders. Rarely have we seen such extensive patterns of unlawful, discriminatory and disproportionate restrictions by States and private actors on freedom of expression.
Allow me to highlight five major global threats to freedom of expression.
Firstly, severe attacks on media in the Occupied Territory.
The pattern of targeted killings and arbitrary detention of journalists, the extensive destruction of press facilities and equipment in Gaza, denial of access to international journalists, banning of Al Jazeera and the tightening of censorship by Israel appear to indicate a strategy to silence critical reporting and obstruct the documentation of possible international crimes.
The deliberate killing of a journalist is a war crime. Yet not a single killing of a journalist this past year or in previous years in the occupied Palestinian territory has ever been prosecuted or punished by Israel. Total impunity prevails.
States that pride themselves as media freedom champions have remained largely silent in the face of such unprecedented assault on journalists.
Secondly, discrimination and double standards, restricting expression in support of Palestinian rights and suppressing protests against the carnage in Gaza.
Several European countries imposed specific restrictions, blanket or preemptive bans bans of Pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Campus protests in the United States earlier this year were crushed harshly. Public display of Palestinian national symbols and slogans have been prohibited, even criminalized, in some countries.
Blanket, excessive or discriminatory prohibitions of speech, protests, symbols and slogans are inherently incompatible with international human rights law because they fail the test of necessity, and proportionality and the principle of non-discrimination.
Practices inconsistent with international standards send a dangerous message around the world that freedom of expression can be suppressed at will or for political expediency.
Thirdly, the silencing and sidelining of dissenting voices in academia and the arts.
Some of the best academic institutions in the world have failed to ensure equal protection of all members of their academic communities, whether Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Muslim or otherwise.
Intellectual discourse has been diminished and artistic freedom is being censored in many institutions in Western countries. Scholars complain of a chilling effect on academic research and policy debates relating to the Palestinian situation or some Israeli policies. Artists and writers are threatened, isolated or excluded from public events for expressing their views on the Gaza conflict or for criticizing Israel or for failing to criticize Israel.
When universities and cultural institutions intimidate, isolate and silence dissenting voices, they undermine their own academic and artistic freedoms. When States condone or press for such actions, they diminish the vibrancy of their democratic societies.
Fourthly, social media platforms are enabling and amplifying an upsurge in disinformation, misinformation and hate speech.
While Arabs, Jews, Jewish Israelis and Palestinians are all targeted online, companies have shown a bias in their responses, being more lenient regarding Israel and more restrictive about Palestinian expression.
Overall, inherently biased policies, opaque and inconsistent content moderation and heavy reliance on automated tools have led to overly restrictive, unbalanced content moderation and censorship online.
Fifthly, online and offline, international legal standards are being distorted and misinterpreted to conflate criticism of Israeli policies and Zionism with antisemitism.
Antisemitism is racial, serious racial and religious hatred of Jews and must be unequivocally condemned.
The conflation of protected and prohibited speech undermines the fight against antisemitism and chills freedom of expression.
Israel is a State. Zionism is a political ideology. Under international human rights law, no State or political ideology can be shielded from criticism.
The genocide in Gaza, the violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Israel’s disregard and violations of international legal obligations and its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory are matters of global public interest subject to public scrutiny and criticism.
My report sets out a list of recommendations to States, companies and other entities, which I will not repeat here but allow me to summarize the key points.
Equality is a fundamental principle of human rights. States, companies and private institutions are obliged to uphold the right to freedom of expression of all persons without discrimination.
Any restriction of that right must comply scrupulously with the requirements set out in international law and also must be applied without discrimination.
I encourage Member States to respect the recent Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, and repeal laws and policies that discourage, punish or impede peaceful advocacy against Israel’s unlawful occupation.
Social media companies must adopt predictable, consistent and effective policies and practices against disinformation, misinformation and hate speech online, no matter from whom, against whom or in which conflict context they occur.
Attacks on media in the occupied Palestinian territory are an attack on the right to information of people around the world who want to know what is happening there. It is a global concern, not limited to a specific region.
The General Assembly and the Security Council must take all measures to strengthen the protection of journalists as essential civilian workers.
Let me end by reiterating that freedom of opinion and expression, enjoyed on an equal basis by all, is an invaluable tool for fighting hatred, building mutual understanding and respect, and encouraging dialogue, not violence, as a means of resolving disputes, contributing both to the preservation of democracy at home and the promotion of peace abroad.