Concluding Its Information Debate, Fourth Committee Emphasizes Need to Fight Misinformation, Protect Independent Media, Increase Access to Conflicts
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today approved two draft resolutions relating to the global media landscape as well as United Nations communications, as speakers concluded the debate on this topic while highlighting information wars that are intensifying many current crises.
The Committee adopted both texts — which are contained in the report on the forty-sixth session of the Committee on Information (document A/79/21, chapter IV) — without a recorded vote.
Draft resolution A on “Information in the service of humanity” would have the Assembly urge all countries, organizations of the United Nations system and others to cooperate and interact, with a view to reducing existing disparities in information flows by increasing assistance for the development of communications infrastructures and capabilities in developing countries.
Draft resolution B, entitled “United Nations global communications policies and activities” would condemn unequivocally all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers. It would also request the Secretary-General to continue to exert all efforts to ensure that publications and other information services of the Secretariat, including the UN website, the UN News Service and UN social media accounts, contain comprehensive, balanced, objective and equitable information in all official languages.
Further terms would request the Department of Global Communications to make specific efforts to raise awareness about misinformation and disinformation, considering the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), and propose ways to address such a challenge in accordance with international human rights law, within existing resources. It would also encourage that Department to establish and further strengthen partnerships with new and traditional media to address hate speech narratives and promote tolerance, non-discrimination, pluralism and freedom of opinion and expression.
Speaking in explanation of position after the adoption, the representative of Argentina voiced concern about use of the term “hate speech”, adding that it can be abused to prevent pluralistic debate. He dissociated himself from paragraphs in resolution B that refer to hate speech, to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Our Common Agenda.
As the Committee heard from the final speakers in its general debate on information, Italy’s delegate pointed out that AI is now clearly mentioned for the first time in resolution B. Her country, as Vice-Chair of the Board of the UN Committee on Information for the last two years, has been working relentlessly in the face of the “increasingly polluted global information environment”, she said. She hoped AI’s role as a tool in the fight against misinformation and disinformation could be further explored by and within the United Nations.
Many speakers today also highlighted the role of journalists in providing accurate information about conflicts and crises, stressing the need to protect them. Ukraine’s delegate drew attention to Viktoria Roshchyna, a journalist from his country who documented the Russian Federation’s occupation. She was illegally detained by that country. “On the 10th of October, it was revealed that the journalist lost her life,” he said. He also pointed to the Russian Federation’s attacks on television towers in his country and its attempts to disrupt broadcasting in Ukraine. Further, that country’s journalists are glorifying its war crimes even as “inside Russia, there is a systematic and brutal crackdown on civil society,” he said. He also condemned the Russian Federation’s use of “hybrid information warfare tactics” to justify the criminal actions of its armed forces and dehumanize Ukrainians.
The representative of the United Kingdom also accused the Russian Federation of weaponizing disinformation, noting the rise in anti-UN disinformation in Mali, which coincided with the arrival of mercenaries from the Russian Federation’s Wagner Group. This led to a rise in attacks against peacekeepers and the forced closure of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) after it became the most dangerous peacekeeping mission in the world, she said. Moscow also designed a disinformation campaign to influence the outcome of the Republic of Moldova’s presidential election, she said, adding: “We cannot be complacent.” Condemning disinformation campaigns by the Russian Federation that stoke violence against UN peacekeeping operations, including in the Central African Republic, she warned of eroding trust between the blue helmets and communities they serve.
The representative of the Russian Federation, however, said that increasingly, restrictions are being placed against his country’s mass media. “Russian journalists are being persecuted for their professional activity abroad,” he said. This is a direct infringement on their freedom of speech, he said, adding that Western countries are trying to gain single-handed control over the global information landscape. He also objected to the “anti-Russian rhetoric” presented by various countries and said they are the ones who block the Internet, radio and TV channels, depriving their citizens of receiving information in the language accessible to them. He also expressed objections to the Global Principles for Information Integrity, adding that its preparatory process was not transparent — it is an unbalanced document that places unnecessary obligations on Member States, he said.
The observer of the State of Palestine, pointed to many recent awards and citations given to Palestinian journalists, including Reuters photographer Mohammed Salem, who won the 2024 World Press Photo of the Year award for the picture of an aunt holding the body of her five-year-old niece, who was killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza. These are the journalists that the Israeli government is trying to “discredit, smear and kill,” she said. That country has also imposed an information siege on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and blocked the entry of international independent press into the Gaza Strip. Highlighting Israel’s smear campaign against Al Jazeera journalists and media workers, she said: “Israel acts like it has the right to kill every Al Jazeera journalist anytime, anywhere and with no questions.”
The representative of Algeria described ongoing Israeli assaults against journalists in Gaza as attempts to conceal facts and prevent the exposure of massacres against Palestinians to global public opinion. He questioned the international community’s silence in the face of these violations, asking: “How long will these crimes remain unaccounted [for]?” Along similar lines, Namibia’s delegate highlighted the censorship of journalists and risk of violence they face. The international community must harness its collective power to ensure the safety of journalists, she said. The speaker for the League of Arab States also drew attention to this.
The delegate of Myanmar highlighted the “digital dictatorship” imposed by the military junta after its illegal coup by imposing different barriers on people’s access to accurate information. It has attacked free and independent media, suppressed journalists, restricted internet access and threatened the individual right to privacy. The military’s attempt to organize a sham election is another tragic display of their coordinated disinformation campaign and another tactic to distract the international community from holding the junta accountable for its war crimes, crimes against humanity and violation of human rights and ending its impunity, he said.
El Salvador’s delegate welcomed the Department of Global Communications’ initiatives to tackle disinformation, including a core team for information integrity. Highlighting the rampant disinformation stigmatizing migrants and other vulnerable communities, she said the Department must highlight the positive contributions of migrants to the SDGs.
The representative of the International Organization of la Francophonie said her organization works to ensure the French-speaking press can operate despite threats to the media. She also stressed the need for a multilingual communications culture and encouraged the United Nations to continue its efforts to make multilingualism a priority in its internal and external communications as well as through its products, including those issued via social media. Cameroon’s delegate also stressed the need for linguistic parity, stating that this is crucial not only when it comes to the Organization’s documents but also for intergovernmental negotiation processes.
Speakers also underscored the need to address the digital divide, withthe representative of Timor-Leste emphasizing the urgent need for the international community to address disparities that exist in information access, particularly in developing countries. While his country has made significant strides towards establishing a free press and enhancing media literacy, marginalized groups face challenges in accessing critical information. Spotlighting the essential role of information in the pursuit of sustainable development, he urged the United Nations to support initiatives that foster the integration of information-sharing practices into national development strategies, particularly in sectors such as public health and education.
The representatives of the Republic of Korea, Israel, Russian Federation, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Algeria spoke in exercise of the right of reply.
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