GENEVA (11 July 2019) – On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Joint Declarations on Freedom of Expression, the
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, David Kaye, together with other regional experts, has called for a
robust response to the main challenges to freedom of expression for the next decade.
In a joint declaration issued on 10 July 2019, the experts highlighted ongoing violence against and prosecution of journalists, threats to
media diversity and independence, legal restrictions on online expression, as well as unlawful surveillance and the
power of online intermediaries as serious challenges to freedom of expression.
They called for the creation of an enabling environment to protect the safety of journalists and others who are attacked
for exercising their right to freedom of expression online and offline. Highlighting that the exercise of freedom of
expression requires to build and maintain a free, open and inclusive Internet, they urged States to recognise the right
to access and use the Internet as a human right as an essential condition for the exercise of the right to freedom of
expression.
The declaration also urges private companies to respect the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It also
called for an independent and multi-stakeholder oversight, transparency and accountability mechanisms that could address
private content rules that interfere with individuals’ right to enjoy freedom of expression.
The Joint Declaration was issued by David Kaye, together with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom
of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Expression and Access to Information.