[bestbits] IG on the 24th HRC session

[Valeria Betancourt]

Dear all,

Sharing this information with you all.

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:

"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."

The full intervention by Pakistan is available at http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/HRC24_Pakistan_20130919.pdf

Best,

Valeria