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<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Yes.<br>
Think it is a very well done statement. thanks for those who took time
to pull it together.<br>
<br>
parminder <br>
</font><br>
Jeremy Malcolm wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:9553FC10-2361-484F-AC53-956A328FE98D@ciroap.org"
type="cite">I also support the statement.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Lisa Horner wrote:
<br>
<blockquote type="cite"><br>
Hi all
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
We’re now past the deadline for comments, so I’ve pasted a final
version below for the consensus call. Please could you send a message
to the list to say if you support the statement or not. I’ll now hand
over to Ginger and Ian to finalise and coordinate it getting read out
at the IGF planning meeting. I’ll also get in touch with the DCs.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Shaila – this version includes your edits, apart from in the final para
as I think Parminder’s comments made sense. Hope that’s acceptable to
you.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Thanks everyone for your inputs. I think it’s a strong statement now.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
All the best,
<br>
<br>
Lisa
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
FINAL STATEMENT (V6) – for consensus call
<br>
<br>
<br>
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
<br>
far. This is problematic because :
<br>
<br>
* 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.
<br>
<br>
<br>
* 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.
<br>
<br>
<br>
* 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.
<br>
<br>
<br>
* 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.
<br>
<br>
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.
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
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