10 Years of UNESCO's Judges' Initiative: Strengthening the Rule of Law, Freedom of Expression and the Safety of Journalists 2013 - 2023

"Judges in many countries often enjoy a much higher degree of independence than other officials, and their decisions can be an important factor to guarantee the implementation of international standards on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists."



This report, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), celebrates the 10th anniversary of UNESCO's Judges' Initiative, a programme that sought to engage members of the judicial systems of several countries on issues related to the freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. The report presents some of the key components of the programme, its impact and lessons learned, and some pointers for the way forward.



As explained in the report, "Operating in over 160 countries, Judges' Initiative offers comprehensive and practical training tools to members of the judiciary, in order to strengthen knowledge and capacities on regional and international standards on freedom of expression, access to information and the safety of journalists. By providing judicial actors with a better understanding of their role in the protection of freedom of expression, UNESCO aims to foster the rule of law and support justice systems to become more aware on how to protect journalists against attacks and prosecute the crimes against them."  



The report describes the four main areas of action:

1. Developing tools and resources, including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) - Following a pilot training course in Mexico, a MOOC was developed that consisted of 5-weekly thematic modules and addressed: (i) the international legal framework on freedom of expression and access to information; (ii) the role of the judiciary in the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed against journalists and media workers; (iii) the challenges in enforcing criminal law; (iv) diversity and pluralism in the media; and (v) new challenges to freedom of expression, such as online threats and artificial intelligence. To date, the project has made available 10 freely accessible MOOCs to judicial actors across the globe. It has also produced 15 resources and guidelines for judicial actors, some available in 19 languages, to support training (see Related Summaries below for some of these resources). In addition, the project supported the development of a global and multilingual jurisprudence database on freedom-of-expression-related issues that contains over 2,700 judicial case laws.
2. The organisation of on-the-ground training and workshops - Building on these resources, UNESCO has also been organising on-the-ground trainings and workshops for judicial actors, including lawyers, judges, and prosecutors, at the international, regional, and national levels. At the regional level, UNESCO organised 21 international and regional seminars and training-of-trainers between 2014 and 2022 in partnership with various judicial partners.
3. Building institutional partnerships with regional human rights courts and judicial institutions - Along with these capacity-building and on-the-ground initiatives, UNESCO has established institutional partnerships with regional human rights courts and judicial institutions, which have defined a strategic framework to further strengthen the knowledge and capacities of judges on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. In total, 11 memorandums of understanding were signed with regional human rights courts, judicial institutions, and national supreme courts.
4. Artificial intelligence and the rule of law - In 2022, the Judges Initiative expanded its scope by launching its programme on artificial intelligence (AI) and the rule of law with the aim of engaging stakeholders within justice systems in a global and timely discussion on the applications of AI and its impact to the rule of law. This follows up on UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, adopted by UNESCO's 193 Member States in November 2021.

The report further looks at some of the impact and reach of the initiative and its different components. For example, UNESCO claims that, within the framework of this programme, the knowledge and skills of 35,000 judicial actors from around the world have been strengthened on issues relating to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. With gender equality being mainstreamed throughout the implementation of the programme, all the regional and national trainings included the participation of women. In looking at impact, the report shares some of the responses to a survey that was conducted with members of the judiciary and representatives from the media and civil society who had engaged in the programme. The quotes from participants included in the report highlight what essential skills and knowledge they have acquired through UNESCO's trainings, how these skills and knowledge benefited their work as a judicial actor, and how they have used these tools and resources to further the training of judicial actors on freedom-of-expression-related issues.  



In conclusion, the report discusses some of the lessons learned and recommendations for the way forward. It notes, for example, that the reach of the project is still lacking in some regions of the world, particularly in the Asia and Pacific region and in Arab States. The programme hopes to overcome some of the challenges in these regions by making materials available in more languages and by building strong partnerships with regional human rights courts and national judicial training institutes. Another area of focus going forward is improving partnerships for the monitoring and reporting on the outcomes of this initiative, particularly with regard to keeping track of judicial decisions taken in line with international and regional standards on freedom of expression, access to information, and the safety of journalists. In addition, in a rapidly changing digital landscape, training and the curriculum need to evolve constantly in order to address any new challenges that may emerge, as is already done in relation to the impact of AI on the information environment. Building on the success of the programme and in parallel with the Judges' Initiative, UNESCO has also been training security forces and law enforcement actors on the same issues on a global scale so that they, too, can play an enabling role in promoting safer and more democratic societies.



Click here to download the French version of this 15-page report in PDF format.



Click here to download the Spanish version of this 15-page report in PDF format.