What is the European Union doing to fight against disinformation and misinformation? What measures are being taken by the European Union  to strengthen freedom of expression, media freedom and electoral processes?

These questions will be addressed by Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission, who leads the Commission’s engagement on Values and Transparency. At this public event, she will discuss key initiatives such as the European Democracy Action Plan, the Digital Services Act and the Media Freedom Act, which are likely to have significant impact on human rights in the EU Member States and globally.

The event will be convened and moderated by Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Distinguished Fellow of the Graduate Institute and Research Associate at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy.

With statements by Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights and Marie-Laure Salles, Director of the Geneva Graduate Institute.

The audience will be invited to submit questions to the Vice-President of the European Commission and the UN Special Rapporteur in advance of the event.

Welcome remarks:

• Marie-Laure Salles, Director of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Opening statement:

• Michelle Bachelet (online), United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

Introductory remarks:

• Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Distinguished Fellow of the Institute and Research Associate at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy

Keynote speech:

• Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, and chair of the Commissioners' Group on a New Push for European Democracy

Closing remarks:

• Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights

Event co-sponsored by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy at the Graduate Institute Geneva.

Read the reports:

The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression has covered the challenges of content moderation and human rights in her reports on Disinformation and Freedom of Expression (A/HRC/47/25) to the Human Rights Council in June 2021 and on Gender Justice and Freedom of Expression (A/76/258) to the UN General Assembly in October 2021.