UN Secretary-General António Guterres says access to information is a human right, underscoring that for peacekeepers, it can be “a matter of life and death, and the difference between peace and war.”

Mr Guterres told the Security Council on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York that communication was not a side issue or an afterthought. The secretary-general said this during the first-ever high-level debate dedicated to the importance of strategic communications.

He recalled his 2016 pledge when sworn in as secretary-general, to “communicate better about what we do, in ways that everybody understands.”

“We need a substantial reform of our communications strategy, upgrading our tools and platforms to reach people around the world,” Mr Guterres declared, noting that the organisation has since embarked on an ambitious global communications strategy.

According to him, the landscape in which UN peacekeepers operate is more hazardous today than any time in recent memory, noting that geopolitical tensions at the global level reverberate locally.

He said conflicts were more complex and multi-layered; and international discord often translates into heightened tensions on the ground than before.

“Moreover, peacekeepers are facing terrorists, criminals, armed groups – many with access to powerful modern weapons, and “a vested interest in perpetuating chaos,” added the UN chief. “The weapons they wield are not just guns and explosives. Misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech are increasingly being used as weapons of war.”

Mr Guterres stressed that they “are being used as weapons with a clear aim to dehumanise the so-called other,” and to threaten vulnerable communities – as well as peacekeepers themselves – “and even give open license to commit atrocities.”

“We know disinformation is not just misleading, it is dangerous and potentially deadly,” he noted.

(NAN)