[IRP] [charter] right to life liberty and security of person---relevant for internet governance

[Lisa Horner]

Thanks Olivier and Emily for your thoughts...I agree with them.
 
Just to elaborate a bit more on my perspective....
 
I think that a "right to the internet" should be a national civil right under national law just as, for example, UK citizens have a right to public broadcast content if they pay their licence fee.  This is becase provding access to these media are essential for national governments to fulfil their existing international human rights obligations. 
 
But access to the internet itself isn't a *human* right.  Human rights focus on the human rather than the medium.  Human rights can't be technology specific; they are human-focused.  Under the international HR framework, governments have to put in place whatever is necessary for us to be able to fully realise our dignity, humanity and human rights.  The internet is emerging as central to the realisation of rights, but there are also many other tools/platforms/structures that are appropriate.  A Charter would become meaningless if we listed all of them and declared a specific human right to all of them.  Which is why listing the core human rights, rather than the things necessary to achieve them, is more useful.  Talking about the specifics (e.g. the tools and platforms etc) is more suited to guidelines that interpret rights.
 
So I have no problem saying in the charter that the internet is necessary for realsing nearly all of our human rights in the modern age, and that governments should strive to provide internet access to all.  But declaring a human right to the internet I don't think is strategic or in line with the international HR framework.
 
As an example, I've pasted below the article relating to accessiblity in the UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities.  It's very much phrased in terms of interpreting human rights for people with disabilities. What do statees need to do to make sure that people with disabilities can exercise their human rights.  This is the kind of approach I think we should be taking  - elaborating what needs to be done to realise our rights in the internet age...(g) and (h) are especially relevant.
 
All the best,
Lisa
 

Article 9 
Accessibility 


1. To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas. These measures, which shall include the identification and elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia: 

(a) Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and outdoor facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces; 

(b) Information, communications and other services, including electronic services and emergency services. 

2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to: 

(a) Develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public; 

(b) Ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities; 

(c) Provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing persons with disabilities; 

(d) Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage in Braille and in easy to read and understand forms; 

(e) Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public; 

(f) Promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to persons with disabilities to ensure their access to information; 

(g) Promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications technologies and systems, including the Internet; 

(h) Promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost. 


________________________________

From: Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond [mailto:ocl at gih.com]
Sent: Wed 21/10/2009 10:17
To: Lisa Horner; Emily Laidlaw; shaila mistry
Cc: IRP
Subject: Re: [IRP] [charter] right to life liberty and security of person---relevant for internet governance


Hello Lisa,
 

	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: Lisa Horner <mailto:lisa at global-partners.co.uk>  
	To: Emily Laidlaw <mailto:emily at laidlaw.eu>  ; shaila mistry <mailto:shailam at yahoo.com>  
	Cc: IRP <mailto:irp at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>  
	Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 10:36 AM
	Subject: Re: [IRP] [charter] right to life liberty and security of person---relevant for internet governance

	Hi
	 
	I feel quite strongly that we can't talk about a right to the internet at this stage.  Maybe we can use a strong version of this charter as a basis for discussion about it a little later down the line.  I'd really like to try and convene focused discussions about sections of the charter and issues it's raised at some point, maybe next year once we've got a solid draft in place. But at the moment we're going to turn a large propotion of the human rights community off the document if we include new rights like that.
	 

I think that there is a confusion about what consitutes a "right to the internet" and it is being amalgamated with the rights of expression etc.
Whilst not pushing in one direction or another wrt inclusion or non-inclusion of this in the Charter, I note that many governments are putting essential citizen services online, in order to help citizens perform routine tasks more efficiently. Services like renewing ID cards, obtaining a birth certificate, paying taxes etc.
What is not being said is that this setting up of new online services is having a detrimental effect with conventional services. It is getting increasingly hard to deal with paperwork by going physically to the administration involved. Writing conventional letters prompts an extended reply period. Obtaining someone on the telephone subjects you to extended waiting time with automated menus making you go around and around - and we are constantly reminded to save ourselves from the wait by performing our request online. This is caused by a reduction of employees performing those very tasks.
 
What I am trying to say is that in Western countries, we are witnessing the emergence of a dual-class system where those with Internet access will soon have a significant advantage over those without. The Internet is becoming central to our lives, and those without Internet access will be 2nd class citizens.
 
Bearing this in mind, should everybody have a right to the Internet?
 
Warm regards,
 
Olivier
 
-- 
Olivier MJ Cr?pin-Leblond, PhD
http://www.gih.com/ocl.html
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