[IRP] Support from coalitions for Statement by IGC supporting rights and principles

[Anja Kovacs]

Yes! :)

Anja

On Thu, 2009-09-10 at 12:25 +0100, Lisa Horner wrote:
>  
> 
> Hi all
> 
>  
> 
> Please see below a statement drafted by the Internet Governance Civil
> Society Caucus on human rights and internet governance to be read out
> at the IGF planning meeting next week.  We?re hoping that dynamic
> coalitions will also support and sign the statement.  Please could you
> let me know if you?re happy for the IRP coalition to be a signatory,
> preferably by the end of the day on Friday (tomorrow).
> 
>  
> 
> The statement?s gone through quite an extensive drafting process
> already, so I?m afraid we can?t accept changes and edits right now,
> just yes or no.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Lisa
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>  
> 
> FINAL STATEMENT (V6) ? for consensus call
> 
>  
> The Caucus [and undersigned DCs] repeat their request that the
> programme for IGF-4 in Egypt gives greater priority to human rights.
> The WSIS Declaration and Tunis Agenda strongly reaffirmed the
> centrality of human rights in the information society. Despite this,
> human rights and associated principles have received too little
> attention at the IGF so
> far. This is problematic because :
> 
> *    Fundamental human rights such as the rights to freedom of
> expression, privacy, civic participation, education and development
> are strongly threatened by the actions and restrictive policies of a
> growing number of actors vis a vis the internet, including state and
> private actors at both national as well as global levels.
> 
> 
> *    The internet presents new opportunities for upholding and
> advancing human rights, for example through enhancing access to
> knowledge and common resources. It is vital that we build on and
> enhance these opportunities. Ignoring these avenues to uphold human
> rights implies a serious opportunity cost for the well being of
> peoples, globally.
> 
> 
> *    International human rights, as contained in the Universal
> Declaration of Human Rights and confirmed by the core human rights
> treaties and other universal human rights instruments, are legally
> binding.  The growing role of information and communication
> technologies has not changed the legal obligation of states that have
> ratified these instruments to respect, protect and implement the human
> rights of their citizens.
> 
> 
> *    The human rights framework is an internationally agreed set of
> standards that has practical as well as ethical value.  It balances
> different rights against each other to preserve individual and public
> interest.  In addition to its legally binding implications, human
> rights are therefore a useful tool for addressing internet governance
> issues, such as how to deal with security concerns on the internet in
> compliance with the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.
> Besides stating the obligations of states and governments, the human
> rights framework also allows us to derive the rights and
> responsibilities of other stakeholders.  
> 
> The Internet Governance Caucus [and undersigned DCs] call for the
> human rights dimension of all internet governance issues to be
> included in the planning and implementation of all future IGF
> sessions, so that human rights are given the attention they deserve as
> cross-cutting issues.  This should include explicit consideration of
> how global, regional and national policies affect human rights, and
> the development of positive policy principles to build an open and
> accessible internet for all.  The Caucus [and undersigned DCs] would
> like to offer assistance to the organisers of the main plenary
> sessions to do this, and would like to support all stakeholders
> through providing access to relevant guidelines and experts. We see
> this upcoming IGF in Egypt and future IGFs as renewed opportunity
> to make Rights and Principles a core theme.
> 
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Dr. Anja Kovacs
Fellow
Centre for Internet and Society
T: +91 80 4092 6283
www.cis-india.org