[IRPCoalition] human rights in ICANN

[Milton L Mueller]

> -----Original Message-----
> I did hear in London in the Open Session one of the Board reiterate that
> ICANN's work is a priori a separate matter from other venues in IG where
> rights and fundamental freedoms have become part of the agenda. Is ICANN
> above these issues?!

No. Some of the more ignorant board members think they are. Hopefully this report will help to set them straight. 

> Your comment that the authors's romanticism about the roles and
> responsibilities of governments in upholding human rights online implies
> though that there is not a comparable degree of romanticism from those
> who propose that disproportionate surveillance (and data retention)
> practices can be solved by relying on self-regulation.

Not really. Privacy advocates within ICANN have urged DPAs take action, and would LOVE to see a lawsuit asserting important legal privacy rights. We would also Love to see governments in the GAC actually stand up and do something for the human rights they claim to uphold. 

But there is no way around the basic fact asserted in the blog: _every single one_ of the human rights deviations in ICANN policy noted by the CoE report are there because the GAC put them there. How would you explain that?