[governance] [Bill-of-Rights] Rights in IG research
Jeffrey A. Williams
jwkckid1 at ix.netcom.com
Mon Aug 11 01:02:02 EDT 2008
Jaco, Lisa and all,
I fully support a comprehensive Internet Bill of Rights. What
I always come back to though, is if broadly adopted, whom would
enforce them for all? The UN? ICANN?, the ITU?, US Congress,
or some other governmental entity?
Jaco Aizenman wrote:
> Dear Lisa,
>
> Thank you for the FoE link, which is very impressive and I support.
> Let me know if I can help in any way the FoE from Costa Rica.
>
> Please also note that a new virtual personality fundamental right is
> complementary to FoE, and can enhance even more the FoE initiative. Of
> course it has to be done in the right way....
>
> If Constitutional Courts worldwide will have a clear and good virtual
> personality fundamental right (Internet rights) it will be much easier
> to implement fully the FoE initiative and vice versa.
>
> Don´ t you like or support the first, worldwide, "internet right",
> made a few months ago by the German Constitutional Court?.
>
> Thanks a lot for your time.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jaco
>
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 5:31 AM, Lisa
> Horner <lisa at global-partners.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi Max and all
>
> Thanks for your interest in what we're doing. I'm equally
> interested in your work and in exploring potentials for
> collaboration. Maybe we could start a 'research ideas' and
> 'research in progress' page on the bill of rights wiki?
>
> Apologies in advance for the length of this email those
> who aren't interested can delete email or go into skim-read
> mode now!
>
> The research we're doing is as part of the ongoing Freedom
> of Expression Project. I think I've mentioned before that
> we're working with 6 key partner organizations in different
> countries to develop policy principles that, if adhered to,
> would shape a global communications environment that would
> support human rights and a 'public interest' communications
> environment. They address issues spanning infrastructure,
> code and content. The latest draft of the principles is
> available and open for comment at
> http://www.freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/public+interest+principles+for+the+networked+communications+environment.
>
> The principles and values that they express are purposefully
> broad so that they can be tailored to specific contexts.
> The idea is for them to provide an overarching framework for
> policy discussion and advocacy at different scales. For
> example, our project partners are currently working to
> elaborate what they might mean in different country
> contexts, and this in turn will provide the foundations for
> policy work. A major aim is to identify spaces where
> different stakeholders can agree that they share certain
> values and principles, and work to shape policy accordingly.
>
> We have been working to base all of our work so far in
> international human rights standards, in particular freedom
> of expression, the right to culture and the right to
> participation in government. We've taken an expansive
> definition of freedom of expression that many (but not all)
> human rights institutions and lawyers around the world
> take. This includes positive dimensions of freedom of
> expression, including the notion that governments are
> responsible for putting the necessary
> structures/infrastructures in place for the right to be
> realized. Incidentally, that's why I don't believe that we
> need to be advocating for new rights such as the right to
> the internet or to communication. The sentiments and
> demands expressed by these 'new' rights are already
> contained within the human rights system. In my opinion,
> our energy should be focused on further developing and
> upholding what we have already, for example, further
> embedding expansive definitions of freedom of expression in
> rights and policy institutions. And, as Anriette and Milton
> importantly pointed out, in furthering/developing
> understanding about what international rights standards and
> compliance with them actually means in practice.
>
> The research that I referred to before is intended to
> contribute to this effort, illustrating how an expansive
> definition of freedom of expression is being supported in
> contemporary legal and philosophical thought and case law,
> and identifying areas where further work needs to be done.
> It is taking our policy principles framework as a starting
> point, ensuring that it is firmly rooted in the
> international human rights system. In this way, if the
> framework was used as a basis for policy discussion, human
> rights standards would effectively be 'mainstreamed' within
> the discussions.
>
> Whilst I'm sure some would make the argument that these
> aren't IG issues, we hope that we're making a positive
> contribution towards ensuring that the 'shared norms and
> principles that shape the use and evolution of the internet'
> are rooted in human rights standards. These are the most
> widely accepted and acknowledged ethical standards in the
> world, which (in reference to earlier conversations) is why
> it makes sense to us to work with them and build on them,
> rather than try to reinvent or disregard them.
>
> I'll leave it there for now, but I'm interested to hear
> anybody's thoughts on the work we're doing, and am keen to
> explore opportunities to collaborate on further research on
> any of these issues.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Lisa
>
> From:bill-of-rights-bounces at ipjustice.org
> [mailto:bill-of-rights-bounces at ipjustice.org] On Behalf Of
> Max Senges
> Sent: 06 August 2008 17:36
> To: governance at lists.cpsr.org; Anriette Esterhuysen;
> bill-of-rights at ipjustice.org
> Subject: [Bill-of-Rights] Rights in IG research
> dear lisa and all
>
> Lisa wrote:
> > We've just commissioned some research into how policy
> principles based
> > around notions such as net neutrality, interoperability,
> universal
> > access and content diversity can be rooted in the
> international human
> > rights system which will hopefully yield some interesting
> insights...
>
> that sounds very interesting. Stanford lawschool's Center
> for Internet and Society has offered to collaborate by
> contributing research and i agreed to frame research
> opportunities/themes for student projects to be taken up in
> the fall.
>
> It would be great to team up or at least be aware of all the
> other research undertaken to better understand a Rights
> based approach to IG.
>
> Lisa could you share a bit more info about Global Partners
> research?
>
> Everybody else doing research work in this area is very much
> invited to get in touch so we can ensure we complement,
> share and avoid duplication
>
> best
> maxOn Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 5:37 AM, Anriette Esterhuysen
> <anriette at apc.org> wrote:
>
> Hallo all
>
> Lisa, you are correct in that the SA Human Rights Commission
> is the appropriate
> institution to deal with this. In fact they deal with hate
> speech issues quite often.
>
> They are under-resourced, but they do do excellent work.
> Here is their URL
> http://www.sahrc.org.za/sahrc_cms/publish/cat_index_26.shtml
>
> Draft hate speech legislation has been before parlaiment a
> few times here in South
> Africa. I am not sure what the status is. If I remember
> correctly the draft bill was badly
> not well conceived and very controversial.
>
> I certainly think that making a formal complaint to the HRC
> (human rights
> commission) would the way to start if the intension is to
> create public awareness of
> the issue.
>
> It will also drive lots of traffic to the site.... which is
> less desirable. Personally, Rui, I
> would just ignore it.
>
> Lisa, I completely agree with you about the relationship
> between rights and internet
> governance. Sadly I think that we have lost ground since
> WSIS. As you say there is a
> lot of work to be done to get beyond rights rhetoric and to
> work out what the
> implementable rights-based public policy principles are that
> we can work with on
> specific issues, e.g. those you mention, for example
> net-neutrality. APC tries to adopt
> this approach in our access work.
>
> I also think that the mainstream human rights movement has
> not engaged this terrain
> enough, altough there are exceptions.
>
> Anriette
>
>
> Date sent: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:09:58 +0100
> From: "Lisa Horner"
> <lisa at global-partners.co.uk>
> To: <governance at lists.cpsr.org>,
> "Rui Correia" <correia.rui at gmail.com>
> Subject: RE: [governance] Taking down a site
> [was: beijing ticket scam]
> Send reply to: governance at lists.cpsr.org,"Lisa
> Horner" <lisa at global-
> partners.co.uk>
>
> > Echoing Ian, I wonder if it would be worth filing a
> complaint with the
> > South African Human Rights Commission? The SA bill of
> rights states
> > that freedom of expression doesn't extend to "advocacy of
> hatred that
> > is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that
> constitutes
> > incitement to cause harm." Is this supported by any other
> legislation
> > in SA?
> >
> > So many of our discussions around internet governance
> issues can be
> > approached from a rights perspective, but human rights
> lawyers and
> > institutions are usually absent from the debate. Human
> rights and
> > their associated tools and mechanisms are arguably one of
> the only
> > global governance institutions that is 'thickening' in the
> current age
> > of 'globalisation'. Human rights approaches also have an
> inbuilt
> > framework for balancing out tensions between different
> rights and
> > responsibilities. However, there's still a lot of work to
> be done in
> > bringing them up to date and ensuring that they're capable
> of dealing
> > with new issues, including those relating to freedom of
> expression and
> > the internet. I wonder if engaging directly with national
> human
> > rights institutions is one way of starting that process?
> >
> > In a way, this is linked to Anriette's comment that many
> new campaigns
> > around rights are a-historical. Similarly, I think that
> they should
> > be rooted in, or at least have a firm understanding of,
> existing human
> > rights institutions, both formal and informal and at all
> scales.
> > We've just commissioned some research into how policy
> principles based
> > around notions such as net neutrality, interoperability,
> universal
> > access and content diversity can be rooted in the
> international human
> > rights system which will hopefully yield some interesting
> insights...
> >
> > Any thoughts?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Lisa
>
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Anriette Esterhuysen, Executive Director
> Association for Progressive Communications
> anriette at apc.org
> http://www.apc.org
> PO Box 29755, Melville, South Africa. 2109
> Tel. 27 11 726 1692
> Fax 27 11 726 1692
>
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> --
> -------------------------------------------------
> "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out
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> that his place shall never be with those cold and timid
> souls who know neither victory or defeat."
> - THEODORE ROOSEVELT
> (Paris Sorbonne,1910)
>
> -------------------------------------------------
> Dr. Max Senges
> Stanford Post-Doc Visiting Scholar
> UOC Research Associate
> Freelance Consultant
>
> 98 Loyola Ave., Menlo Park, California 94025
>
> US-Phone: (001) 650 714 9826
>
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> www.knowledgeentrepreneur.com
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>
>
>
>
> --
> Jaco Aizenman L.
> My iname is =jaco (http://xri.net/=jaco)
> XDI Board member - www.xdi.org
> Tel/Voicemail: 506-83461570
> Costa Rica
>
> What is an i-name?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-name
>
>
>
> --
> Jaco Aizenman L.
> My iname is =jaco (http://xri.net/=jaco)
> XDI Board member - www.xdi.org
> Tel/Voicemail: 506-83461570
> Costa Rica
>
> What is an i-name?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-name
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
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