The launch meeting of Group of Friends for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was held in New York. The Group of Friends was initiated by Pakistan as a follow-up to the implementation of a landmark resolution 76/227 on Countering Disinformation for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms earlier adopted with consensus in the General Assembly. The first meeting was focused on the global approaches to countering disinformation.
Foreign Minister of Pakistan, H.E. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari delivered a keynote address on this occasion. He expressed his gratitude to all the countries who joined the Group and urged that “the pandemic of disinformation must be confronted, countered, and defeated at the national and international level, and we can succeed in doing so only through comprehensive international cooperation.”
“Utilizing this platform , we should agree on an International Plan of Action to counter disinformation, on-line and off-line, in the public and private domain,” Foreign Minister said further. He stressed member states and the United Nations to enhance public awareness about disinformation through information campaigns. “We should enhance the capacity of governments and their relevant institutions to detect, analyze and expose disinformation and disinformation campaigns and networks.”
He highlighted the need of concerted efforts, “through cooperation, to minimize the negative impact of disinformation on human rights and relations between communities and States, by building firewalls against false information, ensuring transparency, adhering to human rights principles, such as respect for personal privacy and reputation, preventing the propagation of racism, discrimination and hate speech.”
Ambassador Munir Akram, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN moderated the event and delivered opening and closing remarks. He recalled the objectives of the Group of Friends on countering disinformation and thanked all member states which had joined the Group of Friends urging others to join so that we can together contribute to developing global approaches to countering disinformation.
A distinguished panel of speakers comprised of Key representative and experts of UN entities who deliberated upon global approaches to countering disinformation. This included Ms. Melissa Fleming, the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations; Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights; Ambassador Cristian Espinosa, the Permanent Representative of Ecuador and Chair of the Committee on Information, and Ms. Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression.
Ms. Melissa Fleming said that “ We all know that the phenomenon of myths and disinformation is not new. What is new is that digital technology is a megaphone for it. It enables false, misleading, and other dangerous and harmful content. In her view, the nemesis of free speech is not transparent and accountable content moderation it is disinformation, hate speech and incitement to violence itself.
Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said that “Countering disinformation is a complex endeavour – so we will continue to work together with all stakeholders in order to identify solutions that mitigate risks while being firmly grounded in human rights norms.
Ambassador Cristian Espinosa, the Permanent Representative of Ecuador and Chair of the Committee on Information expressed his concern that, Disinformation is threatening three pillars of the United Nations: Peace, Security, & Development. While citing the resolution 76/227 said that the resolution mentions that what is perhaps the most effective way to tackle disinformation: the promotion of media and information literacy, it will be a long-term effort, but uneducated and discerning public will be quite immune to this information, in the same way that vaccinated people are less likely to be infected.
Ms. Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression insisted that “under international law states may restrict expression, but they must do so in line with strict criteria of legality, necessity, proportionality and legitimate gains which are set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They must prohibit speech that incites violence, hatred and discrimination, but they should not use that as a license to restrict legitimate expression”.
Member States who had joined the Group of Friends made interventions during the interactive session. The countries which took the floor includes H.E. Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative, China; Mr. Gennady Kuzmin, Russian Federation; Mr. Silvio Gonzato, from European Union; and delegates from a number of countries”.
Ambassador Munir Akram in his closing remarks said, “Today’s deliberations have provided us the basis to forge international cooperation on countering disinformation as it affects all of us. “We look forward to strengthening our cooperation and continue dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders to deliberate upon developing a range of global responses to countering disinformation in accordance with international law.
The event was webcast live on UN web tv and livestreamed on Social Media channels of the Permanent Mission.
