Statement by H.E. Mr. Andrejs Pildegovičs
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the United Nations in New York
at the World Press Freedom Day 2021 Civil Society Virtual Event
“Information as a Public Good”
3 May 2021
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to participate at this event co-organized by the UN Department of Global Communications and UNESCO to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day. The chosen theme for this event – information as a public good – is a timely, and it is very needed discussion.
We see a radical deterioration in media freedom across the world. The World Press Freedom Index for 2021, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, highlights a disturbing reality - people's access to information has dramatically deteriorated and obstacles to news coverage have increased. The index data show that the COVID-19 pandemic has been used as grounds to block journalists’ access to information sources and reporting in the field. We are proud that Latvia ranks 22nd out of 180 countries and remains steady. But it gives little comfort given the overall situation.
The deterioration of people’s access to information is particularly dangerous in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the index shows, journalism - the main vaccine against disinformation – is completely or partly blocked in 73% of the 180 countries ranked in this index. But the COVID-19 pandemic has proved, perhaps more acutely than ever before, that factual and science-based information truly is a public good and that free and pluralistic media are the cornerstone to ensure people’s access to it.
For Latvia, strengthening independence of media, freedom of expression - both offline and online -, and protecting safety of journalists have been long-standing priorities and are at the core of our foreign policy in the human rights area. Latvia is an active member of the Media Freedom Coalition and its Executive group. We have also contributed financially to the Coalition’s Global Media Defence Fund administered by the UNESCO. Furthermore, Latvia is a member of the Freedom Online Coalition which works to support Internet freedom – free expression, association, assembly, and privacy online – worldwide. Latvia has also supported the International Partnership for Information and Democracy which promotes online access to news and information that is freely and independently reported, diverse and reliable.
We are alarmed by the continuous attacks on freedom of expression and safety of journalists both in our neighbouring region and beyond. Latvia is strongly committed to continuing to support and safeguard them. For this aim, we have contributed financial resources and provided practical support to protect independent journalists in Belarus. Latvia has become home for numerous Russian independent media and journalists, unable to work freely in their own country. The most recent example of repression and intimidation is a daily newsletter Meduza that has been labelled as “foreign agent” by the Russian authorities. Latvia was among the 82 UN Member States supporting the Joint Statement of the Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists on the dire situation in Myanmar.
Moreover, it is important not only to protect the safety of journalists but to also support the economic sustainability and viability of independent media. Latvian civil society has proved to be a leading and innovative actor in the efforts to strengthen the media environment, including in our neighbouring region.
The declining media freedom and deteriorating access to information pave the way and are interlinked with another issue – disinformation. Moreover, countries which systematically engage in disinformation campaigns are also the ones that limit their own citizens’ freedom of expression and freedom of media.
The pandemic has also exposed the need for more accountability and transparency on the part of online platforms. While they are an essential source of information, they have also become a facilitator for the spread of falsehoods and manipulation. Further action by the online platforms is needed to address disinformation. At the same time, they also must do more to uphold and strengthen freedom of expression and data privacy online. And another key aspect is to increase the ability of online platforms to monitor and operate in low density languages.
Our response to the challenge of disinformation should be national, regional and global. And it should engage all stake-holders – governmental institutions, civil society and private sector – in a collaborative and synergetic way.
At the national level, in Latvia the crisis has clearly shown that we can deal with this challenge. The Latvian society has proved remarkably resilient to disinformation during the pandemic. Some of the main reasons: 1) an already high level of awareness of the risks of disinformation; 2) efficient government communications; 3) trust in independent media. Consumption of quality independent media, including public service media, has grown during the crisis, while interest in dubious media fell.
To tackle disinformation, Latvia puts strong emphasis also on international cooperation, including at the UN in New York. Last June, Latvia initiated the “Cross-regional statement on infodemic in the context of COVID-19”. It received support of 130 UN member states from all regions, which has inspired us to continue the work on the issue of disinformation also in the UN.
Last December, Latvia, together with France, India, Indonesia and Australia, organized a side-event during the UNGA Special Session on COVID-19. It focused on sharing the best practices on how to address the challenge of infodemic. We were glad to hear the views of the President of GA Volkan Bozkir, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Latvia and Australia.
Our response to disinformation should focus on building resilience. The governments need to invest in communications, monitoring and analytical capabilities, but the main elements need to involve the whole of society. This means: 1) raising awareness of disinformation; 2) strengthening independent and pluralistic media; 3) engaging with civil society; 4) and teaching media and information literacy.
We work to promote media and information literacy both at the national and international level. At home, the Latvian Government implements a broad set of measures to advance media literacy. Also, Latvian media organisations, civil society, Baltic Centre of Media Excellence in Riga implement innovative media literacy projects including outreach to schools, children’s books and media literacy games for young audiences.
We also actively work to raise this topic at international fora. Latvia was among the initiators of the recently adopted United Nations General Assembly resolution on Global Media and Information Literacy Week. It is the first UN General Assembly resolution on media and information literacy, which also calls for action against the spread of disinformation and misinformation. We are glad it was co-sponsored by 96 UN Member States, including all the EU members and countries from all regions.
The key aim of all these efforts is not just to strengthen media freedom globally, but also to invest in people’s ability to operate in modern information environment, as well as to increase trust within societies and protect democracies, including the rule of law and human rights.
We should jointly continue our efforts to support and strengthen media and information literacy and free media – the main vaccines against disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate speech. This will also help us safeguard the public good of “information”, which we, perhaps, have taken for granted for too long.
Thank you.