UNITED NATIONS, Nov 05 (APP): Pakistan has voiced concern over the strategic use of information manipulation by occupying powers to obscure realities, justify repression, and delegitimize struggles for self-determination, and called for combating this drift.
“Through internet shutdowns, restrictive media laws, and digital surveillance, these powers seek to silence dissent and manufacture a false narrative of stability,” Pakistani delegate Amanat Ali told the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, which deals with special political and decolonization matters.
Speaking in a debate on ‘Questions relating to Information” he said that this systemic information repression conceals human rights violations and is antithetical to international law and the moral responsibilities of member states.
Amanat Ali, who is the press counsellor at Pakistan’s Mission to the UN, warned that the deliberate distortion of facts to mislead populations, malign nations, and erode confidence in the multilateral institutions has now become systematic.
Pakistan, he said, believes that timely and impartial dissemination of information is critical to promoting the UN’s principles, purposes and initiatives — to be achieved only with accuracy and integrity of information.
“Where information should serve humanity and foster understanding, its misuse corrodes public trust, sows polarization, and weakens multilateral cooperation,” the Pakistani delegate said.
“Pakistan hopes to reinforce the belief that information is not merely a commodity, but also a public good and more importantly a shared responsibility”.
Pointing out that the advent of artificial intelligence and generative technologies has added both promise and peril to the digital landscape, Amanat Ali said these tools could strengthen governance, if ethically guide.
“But when weaponized, they hone the power to deceive and distort reality,” he said, adding, “Left unchecked, these tools can magnify lies with impunity”.
The Pakistani delegate also underscored the need to address digital disparities. “Without equitable access to information technologies, the promise of digital transformation will remain uneven, excluding vast segments of humanity from access to innovations and opportunity.
“Bridging this divide is indispensable for achieving an inclusive digital economy and realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he added.
Pakistan, he said, attached great importance to upholding multilingualism and cultural diversity, underscoring that UN’s message must reach people in the languages they understand and trust.
“The spread of hate speech, particularly Islamophobia and Xenophobia, remains a pressing concern, often resulting in real-world harm,”Amanat Ali said.
“Pakistan calls for stronger international action to combat this trend, including through responsible platform governance and sustained advocacy by the UN to promote pluralism.”
Equally vital are the false narratives circulating on a handful of global platform pertaining to climate, health, and environmental issues, he said.
“Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the promotion of accurate, inclusive, and ethical information as a force of good. We remain deeply supportive of the DGC (UN Department of Global Communications) in its work to ensure that the global information ecosystem becomes more tolerant, just, and accountable, ” Amanat Ali said.
“Only through informed societies can we sustainably combat the scourge of disinformation.”