JOINT DECLARATION ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

JOINT DECLARATION ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, 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 C. [...] Enshrined in article 19 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), it includes the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, and through any media. [...] Additionally, and importantly, States should publicly and unequivocally affirm the essential role of journalists in disseminating quality information related to the climate crisis and the pursuit of sustainable development and climate justice. [...] States and online platforms should, in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities, put in place effective measures to combat coordinated campaigns and systematic patterns of gender-based violence, threats, harassment and hate speech online and offline against women and gender-diverse journalists and environmental and other human rights defenders. [...] States and other relevant stakeholders should proactively ensure universal and meaningful internet connectivity, and raise digital, media and information literacy to empower populations with low access to information and communication technologies, so that they can participate meaningfully in climate and environmental discussions in the public and digital spheres.