This recognition is contained in the UN Secretary-General’s maiden report Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals covering 17 goals and 169 targets.

The targets include ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms. UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) made significant contributions to these issues being included within the 2030 Development Agenda.

In particular, IPDC work with Member States, other UN bodies and civil society, helped to secure two indicators which were used in the Secretary-General’s new report as a basis to assess Target 16.10 on public access and fundamental freedoms.

IPDC also contributed related data towards the new Report, helping to highlight gaps and challenges for achieving the SDGs.

The Report states: “Far too many people are poorly supported by weak institutions and lack access to justice, information and other fundamental freedoms.”

It observes: “A free press is closely linked to access to information and the protection of human rights, but the trend in this regard is discouraging. The number of journalists killed increased from 65 in 2010 to 114 in 2015”

However, the report points to momentum for some progress in that “by 2013, 90 States had adopted laws on freedom of and/or access to information”.