[IRP] Declaration on Internet Freedom
Carlos A. Afonso
ca
Fri Aug 3 18:40:26 EEST 2012
... and do not forget maverick JP Barlow's Declaration of Independence
of Cyberspace: August 1996. :)
--c.a.
On 08/03/2012 12:33 PM, Anriette Esterhuysen wrote:
> I agree with Wolfgang too, and with Matthias. But I do agree that IRP
> should sign on. APC did sign this declaration out of solidarity with US
> CSOs, but we were not part of the process of developing it, and we share
> some of the concerns about it.
>
> But I think that we also all know that charters and declarations are
> most powerful if people feel ownership of them.
>
> The process is as politically important (if not more) than the product.
>
> That is why they keep being redone :)
>
> Tom Risen from New America Foundation contacted me (at Brett Solomon's
> suggesiton.. thanks Brett) as he was writing a story about the Declaration.
>
> He was quite amazed to learn about how long this process has been going
> on in civil society, about the IRP charter (2010), the APC charter
> (2001), and particularly the first (to my knowledge) which was the
> People's Communications Charter (1999).
>
> I also sent him Dixie's excellent article in Global Information Society
> Watch 2011 on charters.
>
> http://www.giswatch.org/mapping-democracy/internet-rights/internet-charters-and-principles-trends-and-insights-0
>
> The Declaration provoked two, unrelated reactions from me when I first
> read it, and having just re-read it, I feel the same.
>
> 1) I really like the accessible 'ordinary' language in which it is written.
>
> 2) The authors seem to be somewhat unaware that often, to secure
> specific freedoms and human rights on the internet there does needs to
> be some regulation, laws, due process, agreements between governments,
> mechanisms for recourse, and so on. The freedom to not be 'net neutral'
> for example, can conflict with other freedoms.
>
> Freedom and 'free for all' does not necessarily coincide.
>
> I am not saying the authors implied this.. but the declaration conveys a
> kind of 'openness is enough' feel which I think makes it accessible, but
> which also makes it sound a little too wishful and naive.
>
> But on the other hand, specific and careful language is not that good at
> getting large numbers of people mobilised in a short space of time.
>
> Anriette
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 03/08/2012 12:30, Matthias C. Kettemann wrote:
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I completely agree with Wolfgang. The Charter is a great basis for the
>> operationalization of human rights, a necessary step after the Human
>> Rights Council Resolution. Our Charter firmly anchors Internet rights in
>> the international human rights protection system. The 10 Rights and
>> Principles are a punchy version of the Charter and still contain the
>> legal anchor. The Declaration, however, is a move in the wrong
>> direction. It's fast food, easy to write and read, and amenable to every
>> one (well, except some outlier states).
>>
>> But the Declaration is also a form of McPrinciples; they are sugary and
>> calorific enough to make the reader (and signer) happy for a while, but
>> soon you'll find that you're still hungry (and that Internet rights are
>> still unprotected). Rather, we need a wholesome human rights online
>> menu, as the Charter provides.
>>
>> Signing with this caveat and with a reference to our past work and the
>> need for more (and not less) complexity is impossible. But still, we
>> should probably do it, since the basic premise is in keeping with
>> Internet freedom.
>>
>> Writing that actually left me hungry.
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Matthias
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Am 03.08.2012 09:29, schrieb Benedek, Wolfgang
>> (wolfgang.benedek at uni-graz.at):
>>> We can support it as contributing to the movement towards human rights
>>> in the internet, but should use the opportunity to highlight what has
>>> already been done by the DC IRP, which goes much further and which
>>> must not be watered down.
>>>
>>> We must not replace binding human rights by political principles!
>>>
>>> Best regards
>>>
>>> Wolfgang Benedek
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Von: Ginger Paque <gpaque at gmail.com <mailto:gpaque at gmail.com>>
>>> An: "andrewrens at gmail.com <mailto:andrewrens at gmail.com>"
>>> <andrewrens at gmail.com <mailto:andrewrens at gmail.com>>
>>> Cc: IRP <Irp at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org
>>> <mailto:Irp at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>>
>>> Betreff: Re: [IRP] Declaration on Internet Freedom
>>>
>>> Yes from me too. I think the reasons are quite obvious, but: I think
>>> supporting this statement is exactly what the IRP should be doing,
>>> especially if we could not do the work of writing it ourselves.
>>> Supporting the work of other statements/groups with the same
>>> objectives and principles is logical and important.
>>> Ginger (Virginia) Paque
>>>
>>> VirginiaP at diplomacy.edu <mailto:VirginiaP at diplomacy.edu>
>>> Diplo Foundation
>>> Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme
>>> www.diplomacy.edu/ig <http://www.diplomacy.edu/ig>
>>>
>>> *//*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 2 August 2012 11:17, Andrew Rens <andrewrens at gmail.com
>>> <mailto:andrewrens at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> yes from me
>>>
>>> On 2 August 2012 12:10, Dixie Hawtin <Dixie at global-partners.co.uk
>>> <mailto:Dixie at global-partners.co.uk>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi IRPers,
>>>
>>> There is one thing I wanted to ask for your opinions on, and
>>> two thing to share with you:
>>>
>>> OPINIONS: As was discussed on the list recently ? a group of
>>> civil society organisations in the US have developed a
>>> Declaration on Internet Freedom
>>> (http://www.internetdeclaration.org/) some of our members were
>>> involved in drafting the declaration (and we are informed that
>>> future iterations will point to the 10 IRPs as one of the
>>> initiatives they are seeking to build upon) and many have
>>> signed on in their institutional capacity. Shall we as a
>>> Coalition sign on? Some members have already suggested that we
>>> do so. _Please say yes or no with your reasons by Wednesday
>>> August 8_ and assuming that we are in favour we will sign on!
>>>
>>> FOR INFORMATION: Last week Global Partners and Associates (the
>>> organisation I work for), the Association for Progressive
>>> Communications, the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Ford
>>> Foundation East Africa organised an event in Nairobi which
>>> brought together a group of human rights, media and ICT civil
>>> society groups from across sub-Saharan Africa. The group has
>>> today launched a statement affirming the internet?s central
>>> role as a space to enable democratisation and promote human
>>> rights. The statement calls on a wide range of stakeholders to
>>> strengthen their support for human rights online, to extend
>>> initiatives to improve access to information, and to
>>> facilitate effective civil society participation in all
>>> governance processes addressing internet-related issues (it
>>> specifically mentions the ITU). The full statement can be read
>>> here:
>>>
>>> http://global-partners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Final-Statement-of-the-Pan-African-CS-Workshop-on-Who-Controls-the-Internet_02082012.pdf
>>>
>>>
>>> FOR INFORMATION: Marianne has been working hard to find a
>>> volunteer to take on our website so that we can build a
>>> stronger web presence as a Coalition. More information to follow!
>>>
>>> Very best,
>>>
>>> Dixie
>>>
>>> ___________________________________________________________
>>>
>>> *Dixie Hawtin*
>>>
>>> *Project Manager, Freedom of Expression and Digital
>>> Communications****Global Partners and Associates*
>>>
>>> Development House, 56-64 Leonard St, EC2A 4LT, UK
>>>
>>> Office: +44 (0)20 7549 0338 <tel:%2B44%20%280%2920%207549%200338>
>>>
>>> *mailto:dixie at global-partners.co.uk*
>>>
>>> *www.global-partners.co.uk <http://www.global-partners.co.uk/>*
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> IRP mailing list
>>> IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org
>>> <mailto:IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>
>>>
>>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/listinfo.cgi/irp-internetrightsandprinciples.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -- Andrew Rens
>>>
>>> ex africa semper aliquid novi (http://aliquidnovi.org)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> IRP mailing list
>>> IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org
>>> <mailto:IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>
>>>
>>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/listinfo.cgi/irp-internetrightsandprinciples.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
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