The genocide in Gaza and its impact on freedom of expression worldwide

On 17 October 2024, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression presented her annual report to the UN General Assembly on the issue of the impact of the genocide in Gaza on the freedom of expression globally.

According to the report, the genocide in Gaza has unleashed a global crisis of freedom of expression. The global and grave nature of challenges include:

- Attacks on journalists and media restrictions, endangering access to information about the genocide globally.
- Suppression of protests and dissent and undermining of academic and artistic freedoms in polarized political environment.
- Online censorship, including disproportionate censorship of content on Palestinian rights and a spike in hate speech.

The Special Rapporteur calls on States, social media companies and other private actors to reject double standards on human rights and makes concrete recommendations for them to uphold the right to freedom of opinion and expression equally for all.

7amleh, APC and IFEX will join efforts to organize a webinar to discuss the main findings of the report, as well as its recommendations and actions needed for their implementation.

You can register to the event, using this link.