[governance] IGF workshop: Internet for All (v 2.0)

[Avri Doria]

Hi,

Perhaps there isn't anything to subtract from article 19 other then  
the effects of article 29?  i sometimes worry that people are so  
focused on the positive value of 19 that they miss the fact that 29  
allows a lot of abrogation of that positiveness.

Unfortunately article 29 made into the WSIS texts as well.

a.

For anyone who does not remember 29 - the get out of FOE free article:

Article 29.

       (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the  
free and full development of his personality is possible.

       (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall  
be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely  
for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights  
and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of  
morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

       (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised  
contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.


On 2 Jul 2008, at 17:30, KovenRonald at aol.com wrote:

> Dear All --
>
> On the question of freedom of expression and the Internet, the  
> position of the press freedom groups of the Coordinating Committee  
> of Press Freedom Organizations, to which the World Press Freedom  
> Committee belongs, has been the same as that taken by leading  
> delegations such as that of Canada and others in the WSIS, that  
> there should be "no new rights" but that there is a need for  
> reaffirmation of existing rights, notably Article 19 of the  
> Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
>
> In this 60th anniversary year of the UDHR, the Coordinating  
> Committee adopted a resolution just last month in Belgrade that  
> there is nothing to add or to subtract from Art. 19 and that it is  
> time to work for its full implenentation in the world. I append the  
> text below.
>
> While I understand the desire to explore other aspects of Internet  
> access, I strongly feel that, when it comes to freedom of  
> expression, any attempts to "improve" on Art. 19 in an  
> intergovernmental context will only lead to watering down its  
> unqualified call for free speech, on and off-line.
>
> It was a major struggle to get Art. 19 into the final WSIS texts, a  
> struggle in which pretty much all of the civil society groups took  
> part cooperatively. Nothing being proposed here should now come to  
> undermine the notable success of that effort.
>
> We are prepared to reiterate the above points in Hyderabad.
>
> Best regards,
> Ronald Koven
> European Representative
> World Press Freedom Committee
>
> COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
> INTER AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
> INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTING
> INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE
> WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS
> WORLD PRESS FREEDOM COMMITTEE
>
> Resolution on Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
>
> The Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations, meeting  
> in Belgrade June 18, 2008, hailed forthcoming United Nations  
> commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration  
> of Human Rights and called upon UN bodies and their member states to  
> act to implement their pledge of freedom of expression and of press  
> freedom, as contained in the Declaration's Article 19:
>
>      "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression;  
> this right includes freedom to      hold opinions without  
> interference and to seek, receive and impart information and  
> ideas      through any media and regardless of frontiers."
>
> While means of enforcement were not provided for when the UN voted  
> that text on Dec. 10, 1948, it has been widely recognized by the  
> world's most prestigious national and international courts as now  
> constituting international customary law. It was a pledge by the  
> international community to enshrine free speech and a free press  
> among the fundamental rights for everyone everywhere.
>
> Article 19 has stood the test of time. The text was prescient. There  
> is nothing to add and nothing to subtract. Its provision of the free  
> flow of "information and ideas through any media and regardless of  
> frontiers" made it possible to move from a world in which short wave  
> radio was the main transfrontier news outlet to one that encompasses  
> all later developments in communications technology, including  
> direct satellite broadcasting and the Internet.
>
> Contrary to some later assertions, it was not produced solely by  
> Western countries but by a globally representative group of  
> countries. The Drafting Committee that wrote it comprised Australia,  
> Chile, China, France, Lebanon, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and  
> United States, represented by Eleanor Roosevelt, who chaired the  
> Committee. It was adopted without dissent by the UN General Assembly.
>
> The only problem with Article 19 is that it is not respected nor  
> implemented everywhere. The time is long past for the United Nations  
> to move to make it so. Those countries that ignore their commitments  
> to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press should be  
> enjoined to do so.
>
> Failure to honor those commitments should be treated as a serious  
> breach and should be sanctioned by such measures as exclusion from  
> UN human rights bodies. The UN system should reinforce its aid to  
> the development of independent news outlets everywhere.
>
> We members of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom  
> Organizations, representing journalists and news outlets throughout  
> the world, call upon the United Nations and its agencies to move now  
> from their promise of global press freedom to adopt measures for  
> implementation needed to transform that promise into practice.
>
>
>
> **************
> Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient  
> used cars.
> (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)  
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