 Its mandate since 2003 is “... to contribute to sustainable development, democracy and good governance by fostering universal access to and distribution of information and knowledge by strengthening the capacities of the developing countries and countries in transition in the field of electronic media and the printed press.”

The IPDC is responsible for targets 10.1 and 10.2 of the Sustainable Development Goal 16 (or SDG 16).SDG 16 called “peace, justice and strong institutions” aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions”.More specifically, SDG 16.10 aims to