This section outlines the main steps in developing a shadow report on SDG 16.10 by Civil Society Organizations. It is important to note that civil society reporting is not an official mechanism like the government-led Voluntary National Reviews. Therefore, the approach and steps taken to produce a shadow report might differ per context. Furthermore, it is important for CSOs to take into account the national context and political climate, to ensure this reporting can be done in a secure way and that a report has the potential to lead to action by the government.

1.1 Preparation

The very first step is to find out whether your government has a national action plan for SDG implementation and is submitting a Voluntary National Review. On this website of the United Nations you can find all past and promised VNR reviews per country. If your country is submitting a VNR review, find out who is the national focal point for the review and which government entity is responsible for the coordination of the VNR. Consult them to understand whether and how civil society can participate in preparing the VNR, and urge your government to include a review of SDG 16.10 in its VNR.

Based on this, you can define the objective of the report, as well as who the report is aimed at. The goal of your shadow report might differ depending on the context. When civil society has not been able to participate meaningfully in the VNR process of the government, the goal could be to provide alternative or complementary data and insights into the progress of the SDGs in the country. The shadow report might also be used to call specific attention to the importance of SDG 16.10, if this goal has not been included in the VNR or received little attention in the overall SDG monitoring process. Finally, the shadow report can also be used to advocate for a more inclusive VNR process.

Examples of objectives of shadow reports

• Providing alternative or complementary data to government reporting
• Calling specific attention to the importance of SDG 16.10
• Advocating for a more inclusive VNR process

Depending on this objective, the shadow report can be targeted to different stakeholders, such as specific government departments or ministries, the United Nations or international partners. Setting a clear goal and scope for the shadow report from the beginning of the process, ensures an efficient process and a clear and focused report.

Finally, in the preparation of the shadow reporting, it is important to plan the process well in advance and secure the necessary financial and human resources for the data collection, report writing as well as stakeholder engagement and advocacy. Especially if you work together with different stakeholders, it is important to build in enough time for consultations and revision of the report. Ideally, you should allocate at least six months for the entire process.

1.2 Stakeholder processes and management

It is important to involve different stakeholders from the start of the process, to ensure an inclusive process and achieve better results. It is therefore recommended to do a stakeholder mapping¹ at the beginning of the process to identify who could play a role in the development of the shadow report, and how to engage with them. Think about the following stakeholders:

• Government entities (both national and local level)
• Civil Society Coalitions
• International organizations
• Media
• Diplomatic community

The following sections look at the different stakeholders and how you could engage with them in the process of writing a shadow report.

Government

First of all, it is important to -where possible- engage with the official Voluntary National Review process of the government. As mentioned before, it differs per country to what extent the government includes civil society organizations in the drafting of the VNR and monitoring SDG 16 in general.

During the stakeholder mapping, map the different relevant state actors. This could include different national government departments, as well as local and provincial government entities. The relevant state governments will differ per context, but could include:

• National statistics agency
• Ministries responsible for human rights, access to information, media and freedom of expression
• Judicial entities
• SDG committees (also on local and provincial level)

When there are official consultations for the VNR, take the opportunity to participate in them. You can also ask your government for data and information on the progress of the implementation of the SDGs for your shadow report. If no official consultations are planned, advocate for a formal mechanism or platforms for the active contribution of civil society to the VNR. Alternatively, you could hold independent consultations with civil society.

If there are possibilities to provide feedback on a draft version of the VNR report, you can use this opportunity to review the report with regards to SDG 16.10. You could also ask the government for information and data for your shadow report and share your shadow report with the government before publishing it to receive input. It is important to have a constructive approach towards government engagement by providing concrete recommendations, and avoiding focusing only on the shortcomings of governments in implementing SDG 16.10. In this way, you build a positive working relationship towards the implementation of the SDGs, and government actors will be more likely to accept the findings and recommendations of the shadow report.

Finally, you could encourage your government to include civil society stakeholders in their delegation to the HLPF, since including civil society in the process of drafting the VNR as well as during the presentation at the HLPF is part of the UN guidelines on the VNR process². Alternatively, it’s possible to (co)organize a side event at the HLPF on your country’s implementation of SDG 16.10.

If there are little opportunities to participate in and contribute to the official VNR process, the shadow report and the advocacy strategy around it will be even more important in order to share the perspective of civil society on the progress of SDG 16.10 implementation. Furthermore, you could engage with national or regional UN offices for updates on the VNR process and the implementation of the SDGs in your country, as well as with civil society organizations or international partners.

Finally, engagement with the government does not end at the publication of the VNR and shadow report. The conclusions and recommendations of the VNR can be used to advocate with your government for the advancement of SDG implementation.

Different moments of engaging with the government

CSO coalitions and collaboration

Setting up CSO coalitions and collaborating with other CSOs can help to collect more complete data, bring in different expertises and perspectives and make a stronger case by presenting the analysis and recommendations as a group.

In some countries, there are already CSO coalitions of platforms on SDG monitoring. It could be useful to be a part of this, in order to raise awareness on the importance and specific issues of SDG 16.10. If this is not the case, mobilize relevant civil society organizations to engage in the VNR process. These could include organizations working on human rights, transparency and accountability.

It is also important to build the capacity of civil society, with regards to resources as well as knowledge and understanding of the SDG agenda and VNR process. Organizations can complement each other with time and resources as well as by sharing information and networks.

Collaboration with civil society organization can take many different forms, including:

• Setting up a network of organizations to collect and verify data.
• Combining the expertise and insights of different organizations representing different groups. This ensures an inclusive view on the progress of SDG 16.10 and gives more leverage to the report.
• Using the different networks of different organizations to connect to the right government actors and other relevant stakeholders.
• Make a regional report with CSOs reporting on SDG 16.10 of different countries to highlight regional trends³.
• Jointly drafting an advocacy strategy to raise awareness on SDG 16, encourage an inclusive VNR process and follow-up on the commitments and recommendations made
• Share the draft report with relevant organizations who can review it and sign it.
• Learn from the experience of other civil society organizations in developing and disseminating a shadow report, exchange methodologies and lessons learned.
• In broader SDG coalitions, raise awareness for the specific issue of SDG 16.10 and its importance.

Presenting a shadow report that was jointly developed by multiple civil society organizations provides more leverage and makes it more likely that recommendations will be accepted. When setting up CSO coalitions, it is important to set a shared goal for the process and make a clear work plan and task division, as well as a timeline. Furthermore, it is essential to have a shared understanding and agreement on the methodology and indicators used.

International partners

Working together with international partners and donors can help you advocate an international level the findings of your shadow report and highlight the importance of the report, including SDG 16.10 and the inclusiveness of the VNR process of your government. Especially when reporting within a country is too risky, an alternative could be to use regional or international forums to reflect on the implementation of SDG 16.10 in your country.

International partners and donors could also help secure funding and resources for developing a shadow report and setting up coalitions. International organizations and coalitions can contribute to raising awareness of the findings of your report on an international level, and help provide access to UN mechanisms, for example side-events of the HLPF. Finally, it could be useful to connect to civil society organizations from around the world to learn from their experience reporting on SDG 16.10 and exchange best practices and methodologies.

Media

The media sector is an important stakeholder in producing a shadow report on SDG 16.10. Media outlets, local press clubs and journalists associations can provide you with information and contribute to data collection and data verification. Furthermore, it is important to engage with them as part of your advocacy strategy, since they can help raise awareness for the issues raised in the shadow report and hold governments accountable to their commitments.

Diplomatic community

The diplomatic community in your country could be an interesting partner in the shadow reporting progress. It is useful to identify which foreign missions in your country are actively working on and interested in SDG 16.10, as well as which ones are part of relevant coalitions and groups on an international level. For example, Groups of Friends on the Safety of Journalists have been created in New York, Geneva, Paris and Vienna since 2016 with the purpose of improving multilateral cooperation to prevent violence, protect journalists in danger, prosecute perpetrators and ensure a safe environment for media workers.

Embassies in the country could help provide information, amplify the report, and promote the findings at the international level, for example at the United Nations. According to Owais Ali Aslam, Secretary General of the Pakistan Press Foundation, “embassies can also make it part of the discussion they have on a regular basis with the state. […] It makes a difference”.

1.3 Data collection

In order to monitor the progress made on SDG 16.10, it is important to collect credible data to include in the shadow report. This section will look at both indicators of SDG 16.10 and how to measure them.

Official data on the progress of the SDGs of a country is generally produced by national statistical offices and is often collected through formal government processes, such as administrative records, expert assessments, and surveys. Ideally, this data should be publicly available. Therefore, depending on the country-specific context, it might be possible to reach out to the government or UN offices that could provide any data or evidence of implementation efforts. Whether or not this data is available is already an indication of progress on SDG 16.10 with regards to access to information.

In general, the methods used for data collection depend on the time and resources available and could include:

• Reviewing existing data and reports
• Consultations with other civil society organizations, media organizations and other relevant stakeholders
• Consultations with local authorities
• Setting up database with cases of violence against journalists
• Monitoring media reports about violations and following up on them
• Surveys
• Interviews
  
  
  

In collecting the data, ensure that you receive input from a variety of stakeholders, for example from minority and under-represented groups as well as people outside of urban centres. It’s possible to combine quantitative data, such as the number of cases of violence against journalists, with qualitative data, such as interviews with experts and case studies.

The two indicators for SDG 16.10

• 16.10.1 – Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months
• 16.10.2 – Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information

The UN Statistics Division published documentation about the SDG indicators that explains the definition and measurement of each indicator as well as the responsible UN entities for measurement⁴. The next sections give some indications on how to operationalize measurement of each indicator. Depending on the context, you could also decide to include additional indicators⁵⁶.

In general, it is important to have a clear understanding and agreement on the indicators you will measure and the methodology to do this. Furthermore, the data should be verified to ensure a credible and accurate report.

Indicator 16.10.1

16.10.1 – Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months

Indicator 16.10.1 implies the collection of data with regards to individual cases of violations against journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists, and human rights advocates. In general, there is a risk of under-reporting of these cases, due to various factors, including fear of reporting by the victim, changes and biases in reporting practices, processes errors, omissions, and manipulations.

A defining factor for this indicator is the motivational or causal factor: the violation took place because of the work of the victim. This means that it is important to thoroughly verify each case to understand the motivation.

Ideally, this indicator is monitored throughout the year, building a database of verified cases of violence against journalists. It is important to register at least the following information:

• Gender of victim
• Age group of victim
• Type of violation
• Perpetrator status (e.g. state actor or non-state actor)
• Geographic location of violation

The indicator as measured by the UN System includes the following categories of violations⁷:

• Killing
• Enforced disappearance
• Torture
• Arbitrary detention
• Kidnapping
• Other harmful acts

The last category of ‘other harmful acts’ was added to include a wider range of violations that restrict press freedom, access to information and freedom of expression, as well as the safety and security of journalists. Many CSOs therefore monitor a wider range of violations, such as⁸:

• Stigmatizing discourse
• Restrictions in access to information
• Criminal and civil legal processes against journalists and media outlets
• Raids
• Abusive use of state power
• Legal frameworks and government directives
• Digital attacks and internet restrictions

Based on the context of your country, it might be useful to include other indicators or types of violations in the data collection.

Verification

details with different sources, such as the victim, organizations on the ground, media organizations, press clubs, witnesses or family of the victim. Furthermore, it is important to verify the motivation of the violation: was it carried out because of the work of the victim as journalist or media worker?

Indicator 16.10.2

16.10.2 – Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information

UNESCO is responsible for collecting global monitoring data on SDG 16.10.2 and does so through an annual survey. For this indicator, it is important to not only assess the existing laws and policies with regards to access to information, but also to what extent they are being implemented and what mechanisms are in place to guarantee access to information.

Methodologies to measure this indicator could include reviewing information available on government websites, assessing institutional mechanisms⁹, interviews, and submitting requests for information to the government to assess the responsiveness and transparency of the government. Interestingly, the availability of information on how the government is reporting on the SDGs and the VNR process, is already an indication on the implementation of 16.10.2.

1.4 Report writing

The shadow report should be clear, brief and easy to read. In this it is important to use balanced and neutral language and back up statements with reliable data. Focusing only on the shortcomings of governments in implementing SDG 16.10 should be avoided. Instead, focus on both positive and negative aspects of the implementation and highlight activities by civil society organisations, as well as the government to implement SDG 16.10. Furthermore, consider linking SDG commitments to existing laws in the country, as well as the obligations that states have according to international and regional human rights mechanisms.

Finally, make sure that the recommendations are constructive, clear, and practical. Suggest realistic solutions with clear time frames and mention who should implement it (for example a specific government entity or stakeholder). This will make it easier to follow up on the recommendations. Broad statements are much easier to ignore by the relevant stakeholders.

The Tools section provides an example of an outline of a report that can be used as a guideline to write the shadow report.

1.5 Follow up

Since there is no official mechanism for shadow reporting, it is important to disseminate the report widely and design an advocacy strategy on how to raise awareness on the findings. This starts with publishing the report online, so that it is easily accessible. Furthermore, the report should be actively shared with relevant stakeholders, such as government officials at different levels, non-governmental organizations, and regional and global level actors, such as UN agencies and civil society organizations¹⁰. Issuing a press release or a launch event of the report can also be considered.

Where possible, try to participate in the High Level Political Forum in New York, either through your government or by (co)organizing a side event. Around the HLPF you can raise awareness for the findings of your shadow report. Furthermore, it helps to have very concrete goals of what you want to achieve with your advocacy, for example the passing of a specific resolution or recommendation. This will help to target your advocacy and make a strong case.

After the presentation of the VNR at the HLPF, it is important to advocate for the implementation of the recommendations and act on the findings. For example, advocate for the inclusion of the follow-up of the VNR in national development plans, action plans or dialogues, as well as an alignment of government programmes related to SDG 16.10 to civil society activities.

In the follow up, ideally make use of the coalitions and relations you already built during the shadow reporting process. As stated by Owais Aslam Ali of the Paksitan Press Foundation, “writing the report is the easy part. The most difficult part is developing links and lobbying for change. And that will only happen when we focus on consultations and on community building”.

Jointly advocate for the implementation of the SDGs and follow-up on the recommendations. Dedicated international and national days related to access to information or the safety of journalists are good occasions to highlight the findings of your shadow report. Finally, many organizations continue to advocate for the victims of the violations reported, in order to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. Highlighting specific cases is often an effective way to make the issue relatable and show the urgency.

1The Free Press Unlimited Media Advocacy Resource Guide provides an overview of different stakeholder analysis tools.

2https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/17346Updated_Voluntary_Guidelines.pdf

3See for example the report by Voces del Sur that outlines progress of SDG 16.10.1 in Latin America: http://www.vocesdelsurunidas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Reporte-Sombra-2020-1-1-1.pdf.

4The ‘metadata’ for SDG 16.10 can be found here: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/?Text=&Goal=16&Target=16.10.

5The FPU Media Advocacy Resource Guide provides an overview of relevant indicator frameworks that could be used to formulate complementary indicators.

6The TAP Network provides an overview of supplemental global indicators of each SDG 16 target

7For full information on the definitions used, see: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-16-10-01.pdf

8See for example the shadow report by Voces del Sur, with an explanation of the different categories used on page 16: http://www.vocesdelsurunidas.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Reporte-Sombra-2020-1-1-1.pdf.

9Such as RTI agencies, oversight measures, action plans and/or guidelines

10For example, the TAP Network has a platform to gather civil society reports on SDG 16.