InSAF India's submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression (UN Office of the Human Rights High Commissioner)

Sustainable development and the necessity of speaking truth to power

 In 2023, UN special Rapporteur Irene Khan made an important connection between UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the right to freedom of expression, coupled with the right to information. Ms Khan argues that "only when both access to information and the effective participation of youth, Indigenous communities, the media, human rights defenders, civil society actors and others are fulfilled, will the promise to leave no one behind be realized." Citing InSAF India's contribution to the discussion on the relationship between the SDGs and the freedom and expression, Ms Khan points out the dangers of India's Digital Data Protection Bill, and reiterates that this bill goes against the core of the Right to Information Act by allowing the state to make it impossible to identify personal details in situations even when the information may be necessary for the public good.  Addressing the UN General Assembly, Ms Khan further points out that "States which most vocally profess their support for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are also among those which most virulently suppress the rights to information, expression and participation that the 2030 Agenda promotes."  India has time and again shown commitment to UN´s 2030 development agenda and should do all in its power to change course, to listen to the silenced voices, to listen to the truth. The full text of Ms Khan's address can be found here, InSAF's India's submission can be found here. and other submissions can be found under here, under Inputs Received tab.