B. AREAS REQUIRING SPECIFIC ATTENTION AND ASSOCIATED KEY CHALLENGES While improving disaggregated data availability for all the indicators should be a priority, there are some areas that require specific attention based on the availability of data. • Public access to information and protection of fundamental freedoms (target 16.10). Thirty out of 56 countries and two territories in the region have adopted freedom of information (FoI) laws or policies. Cambodia and Myanmar are in the process of adopting relevant policies. Despite the growing endorsement of FoI by governments, challenge of accessing public information persists. Successful implementation of the law is hindered by numerous limitation such as prioritization of national security law or other political restrictions.15 Proactive disclosure of information by public institutions is also limited. In addition, lack of public awareness means that FoI laws are not being fully utilized to seek public information and hold governments to account. Access to information is a vital tool in the fight against corruption and bribery (target 16.5) and to reduce illicit financial flows (target 16.4), as well as critical for promoting transparency and accountability (target 16.6) and supporting participatory decision-making processes (target 16.7). To promote the spirit of FoI, measures need to be put in place to ensure that institutions are capable of providing information and enable ease of access to information. Multilateral initiatives such as the Open Government Partnership provide the platform for collaborative engagement between different actors, including governments and civil society organizations. Restrictive measures are put in place to curtail freedom of associations and civic engagement, and freedom of press in some parts of the region. Without a free press to ensure accountability of the state, and a public free to associate and engage in public discourse, the overall ambition of Goal 16 to promote inclusive and just societies cannot be fully achieved. An assessment of civic space based on the Civil Society Index of 22 countries in Asia shows that a staggering 94 per cent of people in Asia live in countries with closed, repressed or obstructed civic space.16 Many countries in the region have passed laws to restrict civil society organizations operations and funding, regulate protests, free speech and the internet.17 In addition, violent attacks against human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists (indicator 16.10.1) are also increasing. United Nations-verified global monitoring data shows that since 2015, at least one person is killed every day while working to inform the public, and build a world free from fear and want (indicator 16.10.1).18 Twenty-seven journalists were killed across Asia and the Pacific in 2017, representing the biggest proportion of journalists killed between regions.19 Measures need to be put in place to ensure protection of journalists and human rights defenders in the region. • End of abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children (target 16.2). All three indicators of this target are currently classified as Tier II indicators. Data by country for the number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation (indicator 16.2.2) is limited. However, available data for the Asia-Pacific region shows that 53 per cent of victims are, on average, females over the age of 15 whereas males over the age of 15 occupy 17 per cent of the average population of human trafficking victims.20 For indicator 16.2.3. on the proportion of young women and men aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18, available data from 10 Asia-Pacific countries suggests that an average of 0.95 per cent of 15 16 17 18 19 20 UNESCO, World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development 2017-2018, p. 34. Based on the analysis of the 203 civic space reports and updates published since 24 October 2016 from 38 countries in Asia and the Pacific in the CIVICUS Monitor (CIVICUS, 2018b, accessed December 2018), an interactive online tool which provides live updates on the extent to which civil society rights are being respected and upheld, and the degree to which states are protecting civil society. It is based on the previous research, tools and methodologies developed by CIVICUS and UNDP on the Civil Society Index (2008–2011). See United Nations Development Programme, 2010b, 2010c; Anheier and others, 2011. CIVICUS, People Power Under Attack: A Global Analysis of Threats to Fundamental Freedoms (Johannesburg, 2018a). Available from www.civicus.org/documents/PeoplePowerUnderAttack.Report.27November.pdf. About 27.5 per cent of the laws passed world wide to restrict civic space are in Asia-Pacific region. Secretary General’s Progress Report on the SDGs, 2018, (E/2018/64), para. 131; The SDG Report 2018, p. 12; Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, (A/73/215), para. 6. UNESCO, Director General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity (2018). Regional disaggregated data on killings of human rights defenders are in process by OHCHR. UN Statistics Division, SDG Metadata Repository