Freedom of expression: How informed voice ensures we leave no one behind

If sustainable development is to be realised, all people need the freedom to participate in public life, to put forward ideas, to discuss and debate societal issues, to criticise and challenge those who fail to keep their promises, and to demand – without fear of recrimination or discrimination – that our governments uphold their obligations. 

Yet governments and corporations often silence or ignore marginalised groups and those most at risk of discrimination, whom development initiatives set out to serve. This perpetuates inefficient – and sometimes corrupt – governance that keeps oppressed groups  in a subordinate position. 

Freedom of expression allows individuals and communities to be active participants in resolving the issues that affect them the most – like poverty, inequality, and climate change – which improves their lives and ensures that development is not only needs-based but truly sustainable.

Around the world, societies tend to undervalue the knowledge and experience of their poorest members, ignoring their perspectives on their own needs and their solutions to their own problems. 

If we truly want to eradicate poverty, we need to ensure poor people have access to relevant information to make their own informed decisions and to claim all their other rights. The free flow of information strengthens accountability and transparency, prevents corruption, and increases the capacity of community groups to participate in policy-making. This makes markets and governments more efficient, transparent, and accountable, and makes the institutions and organisations that serve the poor more effective. 

That’s why the importance of access to information has been explicitly recognised in international standards on the rights to water, health, and education, and in international agreements on pollution, climate change, and migrants.

Sustainable development requires an enabling legal and policy environment in which freedom of expression and an independent media are respected and can thrive. 

This means building constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and information; abolishing laws that repress the media; developing and adopting dedicated RTI laws; decriminalising defamation (and ending the abuse of defamation laws by those in power to stifle legitimate criticism and investigative journalism); and eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices that prevent marginalised groups from enjoying equality and fully participating in society. 

But while laws are a highly necessary condition for both freedom of expression and sustainable development, on their own, they are not sufficient. We also need to improve policy, practice, behaviours, and institutions.

The RTI gives people the ability to know what public institutions are doing. When those institutions are open and transparent, people can scrutinise how they make decisions and how public officials behave. This is crucial to expose wrongdoing and fight against corruption. 

In the context of development, the RTI can encourage foreign investment and aid, as it gives investors and institutions more certainty that their funds will not be diverted for individual gain. 

Openness and transparency also have a direct impact on the ability of journalists and the media to access information, investigate and expose wrongdoing, and impart this information to the public. They also ensure that whistleblowers who expose corruption are protected.

The RTI is crucial for ensuring public funds are acquired and spent appropriately, to prevent illegal activities such as tax evasion, money laundering, trafficking, illegal mining, or deforestation. These activities concentrate wealth by robbing national resources and preventing sustainable development. Transparency and the RTI are therefore vital tools to expose and prevent such activities and ensure that public procurement, social benefits, and public services benefit those who need them most.