[IRP] Genderit.org: Women's rights and the Internet: Take Action! 17th Human Rights Council

[Jac sm Kee]

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Hi all,

A new edition of GenderIT.org concerning the current 17th session of the
HRC and featuring APC statements and brief on women's rights and freedom
of expression. Please help  us to disseminate it widely. Apologies for
x-posting. Thanks!

j

- -------- WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND THE INTERNET: TAKE ACTION-----------------
*GENDER CENTRED: A GenderIT.org thematic bulletin*
APC WNSP - GenderIT.org, 1 June 2011
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I. APC STATEMENT: Internet rights are human rights
II. NEW ARTICLES
III. FEATURED RESOURCES
IV. EVENT INVITATION
V. JARGON
VI. WHO'S WHO
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This year the annual report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Expression and Opinion focuses for the first time on the internet. Over
recent decades, the internet has become a platform for shared learning,
innovation, and collaborative action for justice. Yet, as the report
details, freedom of expression and association on the internet is
increasingly at risk.

It is imperative that women?s rights to freedom of expression and
association not be restricted. However, many are silenced through acts
of violence, sexism and censorship, including emerging forms of violence
against women online such as cyberstalking, digital surveillance, and
data monitoring. Such abusive practices may be reinforced by a blatant
disregard of personal privacy by social networking platforms, by
building content filtering tools into network infrastructure, or by the
absence of good data protection laws to protect women against
surveillance by their partners in domestic violence situations.

We call on all States to take immediate steps to end acts of violence,
harassment and other human rights violations committed against women who
choose to exercise their right to freedom of expression on the internet.

We invite YOU to join our live coverage of the Human Rights Council?s
17th session in Geneva on 3 June 2011, when the UN Special Rapporteurs
on Freedom of Expression and on violence against women will present
their annual reports, and to participate in the conversation around the
points of connection and women's rights to freedom of expression in the
GenderIT.org's Feminist Talk section or on Twitter using the hashtag
#fxinternet #genderit
(or #genderitES for Spanish).

Katerina, Flavia, and Grady from the GenderIT.org's team
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I.*Internet rights are human rights*, claims APC before the Human Rights
Council by Association for Progressive Communications

APC wants all States to commit to positive steps in response to the
report. APC has issued a written statement with 30 recommendations for
practical actions including the repeal of laws restricting free speech,
ending practices of unlawful surveillance, establishment of clear and
transparent legal procedures for the blocking of illegal content and the
passing of laws that protect the security and privacy of citizens?
personal information. All State delegations received a copy of this
statement.

APC emphasises that women?s human rights must be respected and protected
and their rights to freedom of expression and association must not be
restricted, directly or indirectly, in the name of ?security? or other
law enforcement measures except as determined in accordance with agreed
human rights standards...

Read the Statement at:
http://bit.ly/jcDqkG

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II. NEW ARTICLES

*Women's rights and the internet at the Human Rights Council*
At the same session of the UN Human Rights Council, where the role of
the internet on the right to freedom of opinion and expression is being
reported the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression for the
first time, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women is also
presenting her report on violence against women, its causes and
consequences. The synchronicity of both reports, especially given the
fact that human rights are universal, interdependent and indivisible,
calls for a close reading to identify the points of connection that can
be built in the effort to recognise, analyse and address violations that
affect the recognition, protection and fulfillment of women's human rights.
http://www.genderit.org/articles/womens-rights-and-internet-human-rights-council

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III. FEATURED RESOURCES

*UN Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and the
Internet*
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression's report explores key
trends and challenges to the right of all individuals to seek, receive
and impart information and ideas of all kinds through the internet. The
Report underscores the unique and transformative nature of the Internet
but also outlines the growing global trend of restricting freedom of
expression and association online.
http://bit.ly/lBcP1c

*10 Internet Rights and Principles*
This document defines ten key rights and principles recommended to form
the basis of internet governance. They have been compiled by the
Internet Rights and Principles Dynamic Coalition (IRP), an open network
of individuals and organisations working to uphold human rights in the
Internet environment. The principles are rooted in international human
rights standards, and derive from the coalition's emerging Charter of
Human Rights and Principles for the Internet.
http://bit.ly/jgEuID

*APC Internet Rights Charter*
First developed in 2001-2002 by the Association for Progressive
Communication's members and partner organisations at Internet Rights
workshops held in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa and updated in
2006, the APC Internet Rights Charter enshrines the rights of people and
organisations to use the internet freely, particularly in their work for
social, economic and environmental justice. The Charter refers
specifically to the internet; however, these principles are relevant to
all other information and communication technologies (ICTs), including
telephone, radio, and others.
http://www.apc.org/en/node/5677/

To read more on internet rights visit GenderT.org's communication rights
section:
http://www.genderit.org/issues/41

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IV. EVENT INVITATION

*Take remote participation in the APC side-event on freedom of expression on
the internet *
APC co-organises event on the internet and freedom of expression with
the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the Human Rights Council?s
17th session in Geneva on 3 June, 13:00 to 15:00, room XXV, Palais des
Nations. The panel will also focus on the specific impacts of freedom of
expression and association on women?s and sexual rights. Remote
participation will be available.
http://bit.ly/jKZ1VZ

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V. JARGON

*Women's rights*
The term 'women's rights' or 'women's human rights' declares that as
human beings all women and girls are entitled to human rights. It
provides a framework for incorporation of women's perspectives into
human rights standards and practices. Historically, the emphasis on
human rights abuses in the public sphere, the predominance of civil and
political rights over the socio-economic rights to work, shelter, and
health, for example, within the human rights movement, led to neglect of
the human rights of women, for example in the case of violence against
women. The most important international treaty specifically addressing
women's human rights is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Source: Center for Women's Global Leadership
(http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/globalcenter/whr.html)

*Human rights*
Human rights are rights and obligations to which all humans are
entitled. These rights are enshrined in the United Nations Universal
Declaration on Human Rights and its subsequent international human
rights treaties as well as in regional human rights instruments and
national constitutions, and concerns such matters as security of person,
slavery, torture, protection of the law, freedom of movement&  speech,
religion, and assembly, and rights to social security, work, health,
education, culture,&  citizenship. Human rights are universal (they
apply to everyone everywhere), equal (non-discrimination is a
cross-cutting principle), inalienable (it is impossible for anyone to
take them away), interdependent and indivisible (the deprivation of one
right adversely affects the others). Acknowledgement of these core
principles is tremendously important for women's human rights. APC
also recognizes that human rights are not static but continue to evolve.
Source: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx)

To understand unfamiliar ICT or gender terms visit the Jargon section:
http://www.genderit.org/glossary

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VI.WHO'S WHO

*UN Human Rights Council*
The UN Human Rights Council , or HRC, is an inter-governmental body
within the UN system made up of 47 States responsible for strengthening
the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The HRC
is a key process within the UN system to study, investigate, assess and
provide recommendations on human rights issues and violations. The
Council undertakes a Universal Periodic Review of the human rights
record of all 192 UN member states once every four years.
The HRC also has a "Special Procedures" mechanism where independent
individuals (known as Special Rapporteurs, Special Representatives or
Individual Experts) or working groups with expertise on particular
thematic areas are mandated to, amongst other things, respond to
individual complaints and conduct studies. They are meant to be
independent, and prepare an annual report as well as specific reports on
country missions which are presented to the HRC and respond to questions
and comments on them.
Source: Wikipedia.org; UN HRC

*International Telecommunications Union (ITU)*
Between 2003 and 2005, the ITU was the lead agency for the World Summit
on the Information Society. The WSIS Stocktaking Process is a follow-up
to WSIS, initiated in 2004. Its purpose is to provide a register of
activities carried out by governments, international organizations, the
business sector, civil society and other entities, in order to highlight
the progress made since that landmark event. ITU has been maintaining
the WSIS Stocktaking database as a publicly accessible system providing
information on ICT-related initiatives and projects with reference to
the 11 WSIS Action Lines. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and its
membership includes 192 member states
and more than 700 sector members. Between 2003 and 2005, the ITU was the
lead agency for the World Summit on the Information Society. The WSIS
Stocktaking Process is a follow-up to WSIS, initiated in 2004. Its
purpose is to provide a register of activities carried out by
governments, international organizations, the business sector, civil
society and other entities, in order to highlight the progress made
since that landmark event. ITU has been maintaining the WSIS Stocktaking
database as a publicly accessible system providing information on
ICT-related initiatives and projects with reference to the 11 WSIS
Action Lines.
Source: APC ICT Policy Handbook (http://bit.ly/kq16uH),ITU, Wikipedia.org

To find out more about key stakeholders in the field of ICTs, visit the
Who's Who in Policy's directory:
http://www.genderit.org/whos-who

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*2011 APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP).
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