<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div apple-content-edited="true"><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Palatino; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">And wow, what a group it is! </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Palatino; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br></div></div><div><div>On Sep 20, 2013, at 5:42 PM, Valeria Betancourt <<a href="mailto:valeriab@apc.org">valeriab@apc.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">If I am not wrong, it is the first time this issue is raised at the HRC by a group of countries.<br><br>Valeria<br><br><br>On 20/09/2013, at 10:39, Valeria Betancourt wrote:<br><br><blockquote type="cite">Dear all,<br><br>Sharing this information with you all.<br><br>Pakistan, speaking on behalf of Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ecuador, Russia, Indonesia, Bolivia, Iran, and China, highlighted at HRC24 the need to protect the right to privacy as an essential element of free expression, citing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and La Rue’s report. The statement explicitly criticized the role of major international internet and telecommunication technology companies in violating privacy. It also explicitly made the links between the allegations of mass state surveillance and the need for reforming global internet governance. To quote the statement directly:<br><br>"The existing mechanisms like the Internet Governance Forum established under paragraph 72 of the World Summit on Information Society- Tunis Agenda have not been able to deliver the desired results. A strategic rethinking of the global internet governance mechanism is inevitable. Further development of an international mechanism in the context of ‘Enhanced cooperation’ within the WSIS Tunis Agenda can be a concrete way forward. However we will need to be sincere in our efforts to ensure a transparent, free, fair and respectful international intergovernmental mechanism of internet governance and one that also ensures the right to privacy."<br><br>The full intervention by Pakistan is available at <a href="http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/HRC24_Pakistan_20130919.pdf">http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/HRC24_Pakistan_20130919.pdf</a><br><br>Best,<br><br>Valeria<br></blockquote><br><br><br><br><br><br></blockquote></div><br></body></html>