[governance] [Bill-of-Rights] Rights in IG research

[Jeffrey A. Williams]

Milton and all,

  My response this time, is interspersed below...

Milton L Mueller wrote:

> Hi, Lisa:
> Some questions for you...
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Lisa Horner [mailto:lisa at global-partners.co.uk]
> > I agree with Jaco that the existing institutions are already
> > in place to protect and interpret rights at various levels
> > from the sub-national to international.  IMHO, the challenge
> > is to bring these institutions up to standard so that they're
> > capable of doing this job in relation to new and emerging
> > issues concerning internet communications.
>
> How would you relate to the fact that a clearly defined right to
> privacy, articulated in both national laws and in international norms
> and instruments, is abrogated by the ICANN Whois obligation? Two prongs
> to this question. First, how and why do you think that happened? Second,
> why is there so much interest in general declarations of rights amogn
> civil society and so little interest and involvement in the actual ICANN
> processes that could affect how that right is translated into reality in
> the context of the Internet domain name system?

  Very good questions and related to ICANN's GAA-WG of which
you chaired one section of, and was an active participant.

>
>
> >  I agree that
> > constitutional amendments are unlikely in many countries, but
> > that doesn't prevent communications policy and practice
> > concerning issues that might seem unrelated to rights
> > (interoperability, commercial net neutrality...) from being
> > in line with human rights standards. Part of the power of the
> > international rights system stems from the moral obligations
> > it places on people to uphold rights - we might not always
> > need legal enforcement.
>
> This is interesting. You are talking about political pressure by human
> rights advocates, are you not? In this case what really matters is not
> the articulation of the right in an international legal text, but the
> willingness of civil society activists to mobilize around the issue.

  Here we half agree and half disagree.  Both a international legal
text and mobilizing around that text is actually a requirement, IMO.

>
>
> A secondary question: You say "we might not always need legal
> enforcement." This assumes that there actually _is_ legal enforcement of
> free expression rights in the international context. Here I plead
> ignorance but hope you can supply me with information. Can you provide
> an example of a case (or more than one case) in which UN institutions,
> acting on the basis of international human rights "law" or declarations,
> have put an end to an act of censorship or some other form of
> suppression of free speech in some country? If I am a blogger in China
> or Burma or the U.S. or Venezuela and my rights to free expression are
> violated can I petition the UN, or initiate litigation based on
> international rights and get that changed?

  Again, I also as earlier on this thread, plead ignorance as well.
And I second your questions here Milton.  Although I had already
ask sever of them in a different form.

>
>
> > I was interested in an idea put forward by the WSIS human
> > rights caucus about the creation of an internet governance
> > institution that would be responsible for monitoring
> > governance policy and processes and assessing whether they
> > uphold or undermine minimum rights standards.  Does anyone
> > know if there was any more work done on that front?
>
> Of course not, if by "additional work" you mean a commitment was made by
> the UN system and its member states to invest resources in it and
> execute it. The problem is that there is no consensus among states on
> what rights exist and even if there was consensus in principle states
> would always disagree that they were violating them once so accused.

  Very good point!

>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>      governance at lists.cpsr.org
> To be removed from the list, send any message to:
>      governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org
>
> For all list information and functions, see:
>      http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance

Regards,

Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 281k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Obedience of the law is the greatest freedom" -
   Abraham Lincoln

"Credit should go with the performance of duty and not with what is
very often the accident of glory" - Theodore Roosevelt

"If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
===============================================================
Updated 1/26/04
CSO/DIR. Internet Network Eng. SR. Eng. Network data security IDNS.
div. of Information Network Eng.  INEG. INC.
ABA member in good standing member ID 01257402 E-Mail
jwkckid1 at ix.netcom.com
My Phone: 214-244-4827

____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, send any message to:
     governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org

For all list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance