[IRPCoalition] [bestbits] Re: CS statement: DNI releases Fact Sheet on PRISM, but the damage is already done

Anriette Esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
Tue Jun 11 16:43:08 EDT 2013


Dear Deborah

Count APC in.  Keep in mind that the Geneva-based HR groups are not all
on these lists.. but we can contact them once we know who else wants to
be involved.

Anriette

On 11/06/2013 20:29, Deborah Brown wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> The HRC statement (which is continuing to attract sign on) makes three
> requests to the Human Rights Council (pasted below). Is anyone interested
> in starting a separate thread (on- or off-list) about taking these requests
> forward? In particular it would be good to have Geneva-based people and
> those with experience in advocacy at the HRC involved, but of course all
> are welcome. I think it would be good to do coordinated outreach to
> governments and to follow up with OHCHR, which already provided some advice
> on crafting the recommendations.
>
>    - convening a special session to examine this case
>    - supporting a multistakeholder process to implement the recommendation
>    of Mr La Rue that the Human Rights Committee develop a new General Comment
>    16 on the right to privacy in light of technological advancements, and,
>    - requesting the High Commissioner to prepare a report that:
>       - formally asks states to report on practices and laws in place on
>       surveillance and what corrective steps will they will take to meet human
>       rights standards, and,
>       - examines the implications of this case in in the light of the Human
>       Rights Council endorsed United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and
>       Human Rights, the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework of
> A/HRC/RES/17/4.
>
> Warm regards,
> Deborah
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 1:03 PM, shaila mistry <shailam at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> ++1
>> This is excellent
>> Shaila
>>
>> *The journey begins sooner than you anticipate !*
>> *..................... the renaissance of composure !
>> *
>>
>>   ------------------------------
>>  *From:* Anriette Esterhuysen <anriette at apc.org>
>> *To:* Deborah Brown <deborah at accessnow.org>
>> *Cc:* bestbits at lists.bestbits.net; "
>> irp at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org" <
>> irp at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>
>> *Sent:* Monday, June 10, 2013 3:56 AM
>> *Subject:* Re: [IRPCoalition] [bestbits] Re: CS statement: DNI releases
>> Fact Sheet on PRISM, but the damage is already done
>>
>> Dear all
>>
>> Here is the version that will be read. We had to shorten it so that it
>> is within the 2 minutes space we have.
>>
>> Anriette
>>
>>
>> On 10/06/2013 12:36, Deborah Brown wrote:
>>> Thanks Joana!
>>> Just a quick note to explain that the statement will be made on behalf of
>>> APC because as an ECOSOC accredited org they are able to make
>> interventions
>>> and have graciously facilitated and contributed this intervention. We
>> have
>>> asked the speaker from HRW to take a look at the the Best Bits link for
>> the
>>> current list of signatories before reading it at the afternoon session
>> 1500
>>> Geneva time, so she will be able to say that she is making the statement
>> on
>>> behalf of xx orgs from around the world. So please make sure you endorse
>>> the statement at http://bestbits.net/prism-nsa/
>>>
>>> I will begin adding those of you who already endorsed it, so look for a
>>> confirmation email and click the link.
>>>
>>> Jeremy, can you fix the layout and footnotes when you have a chance?
>>>
>>> Thanks to all of you for helping to make this happen in less than 24
>> hours
>>> across many time zones.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Deborah
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 6:30 AM, Joana Varon <joana at varonferraz.com>
>> wrote:
>>>> Dear Anriette and all,
>>>>
>>>> Thanks a lot for all the work that has been made in such a short period
>> of
>>>> time. This was amazing!
>>>> Here is the link for the next endorsements:
>> http://bestbits.net/prism-nsa/
>>>> Please, let's spread it!
>>>> best
>>>> joana
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Joana Varon Ferraz
>>>> Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade (CTS-FGV) <
>> http://direitorio.fgv.br/cts/>
>>>> @joana_varon
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 11:19 AM, Anriette Esterhuysen <
>> anriette at apc.org>wrote:
>>>>> Dear all
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks for all the inputs.  We have tried to include them all.
>>>>>
>>>>> Here is the final text that will be uploaded to the HRC site and read
>>>>> later today by Human Rights Watch on APC's behalf. We have included
>>>>> signatories as available now. Deborah will coordinate adding further
>>>>> names.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best
>>>>>
>>>>> Anriette
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 10/06/2013 11:40, Marianne Franklin wrote:
>>>>>> Dear all
>>>>>>
>>>>>> +1 from me.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> MF
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 10/06/2013 10:37, parminder wrote:
>>>>>>> I support this text by Joy...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Monday 10 June 2013 02:56 PM, joy wrote:
>>>>>> Hi - sharing some ideas that came also from discussion with Frank La
>>>>>> Rue's office and my suggested edits relate to the last para, the
>>>>>> recommended action to the Council: - I think we have a 3 pronged
>>>>>> approach to the call to action which is looking really good:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "We call on the Human Rights Council to act swiftly to prevent
>>>>>> creation of a global Internet based surveillance system by:
>>>>>> 1) convening a special session to examine this case 2) supporting the
>>>>>> recommendation of Mr La Rue that the Human Rights Committee develop of
>>>>>> a new General Comment 16 on the right to privacy in light of
>>>>>> technological advancements and 3) requesting the High Commissioner to
>>>>>> prepare a report a) formally asking states to report on practices and
>>>>>> laws in place on survellilance and what corrective steps will they
>>>>>> willl take to meet human rights standards and b) examing the
>>>>>> implications of this case in in the light of the Human Rights Council
>>>>>> endorsed United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human
>>>>>> Rights, the "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework of A/HRC/RES/17/4.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Joy
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 10/06/2013 8:47 p.m.,
>>>>>> Joana Varon wrote:
>>>>>>> Sure, Parminder. Lets remove company names.
>>>>>>> And thanks for the comprehension.
>>>>>>> On Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 9:38 AM, parminder
>>>>>> <parminder at itforchange.net <mailto:parminder at itforchange.net>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    Hi All
>>>>>>>    IT for Change will endorse this .... (There are some changes I
>>>>>> would have liked to propose but due to the urgency of the issue i
>>>>>> would not do it now. Certainly the names of the companies involved
>>>>>> should have not been mentioned in the statement. Can we still do it?.)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    I am sure some of you may already be in contact with him but if
>>>>>> not Philippe Dam with Human Rights Watch may be a useful person to
>>>>>> talk to on this. i am cc-ing the email to him. He is attending the HR
>>>>>> Council meeting. Wonder if Joy is still there?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    Best, parminder
>>>>>>>    On Monday 10 June 2013 10:07 AM, Deborah Brown wrote:
>>>>>>>>    Dear all,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>    Here's a quick update on the draft statement to the Human
>>>>>> Rights Council regarding the impact of state surveillance on human
>>>>>> rights. The draft statement is below. We are currently reaching out to
>>>>>> Geneva based orgs who might be able to assist with delivery (thanks
>>>>>> Joy) and if not we can still publish it and do outreach.
>>>>>>>>    Given the short timeframe, can any further edits be sent on
>>>>>> this thread in the next 3.5 hours? Then I will post it to the Best
>>>>>> Bits site to facilitate endorsement. In the meantime, if organizations
>>>>>> or individuals feel comfortable endorsing this draft, please reply on
>>>>>> this thread and we can add your name through the Best Bits system
>>>>>> later. As a reminder, this statement would be part of a debate at the
>>>>>> HRC that will take place at 15:00 Geneva time on Monday. Though not
>>>>>> ideal, this was the best time frame we could come up with for
>>>>>> facilitating input and sign on.
>>>>>>>>    Thanks to everyone who worked on this over the last 12 hours
>>>>>> and apologies for any shortcoming in the process because of time
>>>>>> constraints. Looking forward to more input and to working together to
>>>>>> get this finalized.
>>>>>>>>    Best,
>>>>>>>>    Deborah
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>    Agenda item 8:/General Debate/
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>      Civil Society Statement to the Human Rights Council on the
>>>>>> impact of State Surveillance on Human Rights addressing the PRISM/NSA
>>>>> case
>>>>>>>>    Thank you Mr. President. I speak on behalf of ______
>>>>>> organizations from ___ countries, across ___ regions. This is a truly
>>>>>> global issue. We express strong concern over recent revelations of
>>>>>> surveillance of internet and telephone communications of US and non-US
>>>>>> nationals by the government of the United States of America. Equally
>>>>>> concerning is the provision of access to the results of that
>>>>>> surveillance to other governments such as the United Kingdom, and the
>>>>>> indication of the possible complicity of some of the globally dominant
>>>>>> US-based Internet companies whose services and reach are universally
>>>>>> distributed. These revelations raise the appearance of, and may even
>>>>>> suggest a blatant and systematic disregard for human rights as
>>>>>> articulated in Articles 17 and 19 of the International Covenant on
>>>>>> Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as Articles 12 and 19 of
>>>>>> the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
>>>>>>>>    Just last year the Council unanimously adopted Resolution 20/8,
>>>>>> which "Affirms that the same rights that people have offline must also
>>>>>> be protected online, in particular freedom of expression ..."[1] But
>>>>>> during this session the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression
>>>>>> reported (A/HRC/23/40) worrying new trends in state surveillance of
>>>>>> communications with serious implications for the exercise of the human
>>>>>> rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression. The
>>>>>> Special Rapporteur notes that inadequate and non-existent legal
>>>>>> frameworks "create a fertile ground for arbitrary and unlawful
>>>>>> infringements of the right to privacy in communications and,
>>>>>> consequently, also threaten the protection of the right to freedom of
>>>>>> opinion and expression". [2]
>>>>>>>>    Affirmation of internet rights and freedoms by governments in
>>>>>> the cross regional statement on freedom of expression and the Internet
>>>>>> is important. But civil society is extremely concerned that
>>>>>> governments supporting this statement are not addressing, and in fact
>>>>>> are ignoring, the recent serious revelations about mass surveillance
>>>>>> in the PRISM/NSA case. Although the personal information disclosed
>>>>>> under this programme is subject to the oversight of the US Foreign
>>>>>> Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), that court sits in secret and
>>>>>> has no responsiblity for ensuring the human rights of those not
>>>>>> subject to US jurisdiction.
>>>>>>>>    The introduction of surveillance mechanisms into the very heart
>>>>>> of the data streams of the globally central service providers storing
>>>>>> and communicating the majority of the world's digital communications
>>>>>> is a backward step for human rights in the digital age. As La Rue
>>>>>> notes:  "This raises serious concern with regard to the
>>>>>> extra-territorial commission of human rights violations and the
>>>>>> inability of individuals to know that they might be subject to foreign
>>>>>> surveillance, challenge decisions with respect to foreign
>>>>>> surveillance, or seek remedies." An immediate response is needed.
>>>>>>>>    We call on companies that are voluntary and involuntary parties
>>>>>> to the violation of the fundamental rights of their users globally to
>>>>>> immediately suspend this practice. Such action would uphold the Human
>>>>>> Rights Council endorsed United Nations Guiding Principles on Business
>>>>>> and Human Rights, the "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework of
>>>>>> A/HRC/RES/17/4.
>>>>>>>>    We call for protection of those who have made these violations
>>>>>> public. As Mr La Rue notes, laws "must not be used to target
>>>>>> whistleblowers ... nor should they hamper the legitimate oversight of
>>>>>> government action by citizens." We urge States protect those
>>>>>> whistleblowers involved in this case and to support their efforts to
>>>>>> combat violations of the fundamental human rights of all global
>>>>>> citizens. Whistleblowers play a critical role in promoting
>>>>>> transparency and upholding the human rights of all.
>>>>>>>>    This recent case is a new kind of human rights violation
>>>>>> specifically relevant to the Internet and one foreshadowed in the
>>>>>> Council's 2012 Expert Panel on Freedom of Expression and the Internet.
>>>>>> We therefore call on the Human Rights Council to act swiftly to
>>>>>> prevent creation of a global Internet based surveillance system. One
>>>>>> action the Council could take would be to follow up the Expert Panel
>>>>>> by convening a multistakeholder process to support the recommendation
>>>>>> of Mr. La Rue that the Human Rights Committee develop a new General
>>>>>> Comment on  the right to privacy in light of technological
>> advancements
>>>>>>>>    [1]
>> http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/G12/153/25/PDF/G1215325.pdf?OpenElement
>>>>>>>>    [2]
>> http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session23/A.HRC.23.40_EN.pdf
>>>>>>>>    ENDS
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>    On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 9:16 PM, Gene Kimmelman
>>>>>> <genekimmelman at gmail.com <mailto:genekimmelman at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>        I'm glad to see everyone diving in on this. I have only one
>>>>>> overarching issue to raise concerning the framing of whatever groups
>>>>>> decide to put out:  I believe it would be most powerful to challenge
>>>>>> both the US Gvt. and companies to explain how what they have done
>>>>>> does  NOT constitute  human rights violations, with specific details
>>>>>> to explain their stance.  I believe all the language people are
>>>>>> suggesting can fit within this framing, and put the burden on others
>>>>>> to show how our concerns are not justified.  This has more to do with
>>>>>> long-term diplomatic impact that anything else; the debate will
>>>>>> continue and many of the facts will probably never be made public --
>>>>>> but I think it is a strategic advantage for civil society to always be
>>>>>> calling for transparency and basing its conclusions on both what facts
>>>>>> are presented, and what concerns are not addressed by the presentation
>>>>>> of convincing arguments/facts.
>>>>>>>>        On Jun 9, 2013, at 8:50 PM, Jeremy Malcolm wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>        On 10/06/2013, at 12:47 AM, Deborah Brown
>>>>>> <deborah at accessnow.org <mailto:deborah at accessnow.org>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>        In any case, we could still work on a statement to be
>>>>>> released around this discussion, or later in the HRC session, which
>>>>>> ends this week. Jeremy, have you had the chance to work on an outline?
>>>>>> If not, I'm happy to help start the drafting process. My main concern
>>>>>> is whether we have enough time for significant participation from a
>>>>>> diversity of groups so that this is coming from a global coalition.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>        Would it be OK if we copy it from the pad to a sign-on
>>>>>> statement on bestbits.net <http://bestbits.net/> 5 hours before the
>>>>>> hearing?  Those who are working on the pad can pre-endorse it there.
>>>>>> If 5 hours ahead is not enough, then I'll need to instruct someone
>>>>>> else on how to do it earlier, because I'll be in the air until then.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>        --
>>>>>>>>>        *Dr Jeremy Malcolm
>>>>>>>>>        Senior Policy Officer
>>>>>>>>>        Consumers International | the global campaigning voice for
>>>>>> consumers*
>>>>>>>>>        Office for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
>>>>>>>>>        Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000
>>>>>> Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
>>>>>>>>>        Tel: +60 3 7726 1599 <tel:%2B60%203%207726%201599>
>>>>>>>>>        WCRD 2013 -- Consumer Justice Now! | Consumer Protection
>>>>>> Map: https://wcrd2013.crowdmap.com/main | #wcrd2013
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>        @Consumers_Int | www.consumersinternational.org
>>>>>> <http://www.consumersinternational.org/> |
>>>>>> www.facebook.com/consumersinternational
>>>>>> <http://www.facebook.com/consumersinternational>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>        Read our email confidentiality notice
>>>>>> <http://www.consumersinternational.org/email-confidentiality>. Don't
>>>>>> print this email unless necessary.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>        --
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>    --
>>>>>>>>    Deborah Brown
>>>>>>>>    Policy Analyst
>>>>>>>>    Access | AccessNow.org
>>>>>>>>    E. deborah at accessnow.org <mailto:deborah at accessnow.org>
>>>>>>>>    @deblebrown
>>>>>>>>    PGP 0x5EB4727D
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Joana Varon Ferraz
>>>>>>> Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade (CTS-FGV)
>>>>>>> @joana_varon
>>>>> --
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> anriette esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
>>>>> executive director, association for progressive communications
>>>>> www.apc.org
>>>>> po box 29755, melville 2109
>>>>> south africa
>>>>> tel/fax +27 11 726 1692
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> IRP mailing list
>>>>> IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org
>>>>>
>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/irp
>>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>> --
>> ------------------------------------------------------
>> anriette esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
>> executive director, association for progressive communications
>> www.apc.org
>> po box 29755, melville 2109
>> south africa
>> tel/fax +27 11 726 1692
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> IRP mailing list
>> IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org
>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/irp
>>
>>
>>
>

-- 
------------------------------------------------------
anriette esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
executive director, association for progressive communications
www.apc.org
po box 29755, melville 2109
south africa
tel/fax +27 11 726 1692



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