Development goals

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

About the SDGs

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are further divided into 169 targets. These targets are periodically reviewed by examining 230 indicators that serve as oversight mechanisms of progress made in realising each of the goals.

The Agenda addresses challenges facing the world over, such as human rights, the eradication of poverty, enforcement of peace, justice, and freedom, combating climate change, and other pressing topics.

Although the SDGs are not legally binding, commitments are set by UN Member States’ that are then used to hold them accountable. From a national point of view, States are the first parties responsible for implementing the SDGs. Furthermore, the UN also encourages other actors to participate in the process of realising the SDGs, such as civil society organisations (CSO) and the private sector.

SDG 16.10: Public Access to Information & the Right to Information

Right to information and public access to information are directly related to SDG 16, which aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

More specifically, Target 10 of the Goal aims “to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.”

Access to information

Research and data to be added.

Why support for independent media and access to information is central to SDG 16.10

Achieving SDG 16.10 (public access to information & the right to information) requires not only laws but active media ecosystems that can request, interpret and disseminate public information.

Independent media act as the practical vehicle that turns legal rights and data into public knowledge, oversight and accountability.

Policy responses and implementation

Policymakers and donors seeking to achieve SDG16.10 have therefore:

• Enacted or supported the implementation of robust Access to Information legislation.

• Sought to protect media freedom via legal protections for journalists, safety, protections against intimidation or reprisals.

• Invested in independent media outlets, especially smaller ones, to ensure plurality of voices and coverage of local issues.

• Supported journalism training and other media development initiatives.

• Attempted to integrate media and access to information into SDG implementation frameworks, monitoring and reporting at a national level as well as via Oversea Development Aid (ODA)

Why SDG 16.10 (access to information & healthy information environments) enables progress across the entire SDG agenda

A healthy information environment and meaningful public access to information are foundational enablers for many other SDGs — they improve governance, inform public behaviour, expose inequality, and enable targeted service delivery.

Access to information is

• Not only a right in itself but also a means of realising other rights.

• Explicitly and consistently identified as an enabler, cornerstone and accelerator for the entire 2030 Agenda

Stronger governance delivers better SDG outcomes: By enabling oversight and transparency, public interest media and help reduce corruption and improve public financial management — which in turn raises the effectiveness of public spending on health, education, infrastructure and social protection.

Governance as an SDG AcceleratorOECD

SDG 3: Good health and well-being /SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Information changes behaviour and increases uptake of services: Reliable reporting and public information campaigns (when produced and relayed by trusted media) increase uptake of health services, improve disaster preparedness, and shape environmental practices — thereby supporting health and climate action.

Independent Media Plays a Critical Role in Meeting Humanity’s Greatest ChallengesGlobal Investigative Journalism Network

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth / SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

“Free and independent media can expose corruption in government and the corporate sector, provide a voice for citizens to be heard, help build public consensus to bring about change, and enable markets to work better by providing reliable economic information”

– Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize laureate in Economics

Media and SDGs 8 and 9MDIF