[governance] Inputs for synthesis paper

[Sivasubramanian Muthusamy]

Hello Parminder and All,

The topic proposed as the theme for the forthcoming IGF - "Rights" needs to
be very very carefully worded, especially because the word "Rights" have
varying connotations in diplomatic parlance.
*
There are two general concepts of rights, the idea of natural rights, which
holds that we abtain certain rights from nature that cannot be legitimately
modified by any legislative authority, and the idea of legal rights which
holds that all rights are arbitrary, created by legislative authority and
always subject to change.

*At the IGF, the proponents of greater role for Governments would be prone
to interpret the term "Rights" in the later context.

*Rights serve as rules of interaction between people, and, as such, they
place constraints and obligations upon the actions of individuals or groups
(for example, if one has a right to life, others cannot have the liberty to
kill).

*What if the proposed topic leads to a discussion on "Who is going to accord
the rights and what mechanisms are needed (on the part of Governments) to
guarantee the rights ? That would be contrary to the Internet Model which
needs to be thoroughly understood, unambiguously by all parties to the
debate on Governance.

In other words, if not carefully worded or discussed, this topic of Rights
would become a veiled topic of Controls that would go towards disturbing the
essential characteristics of the Internet.

Sivasubramanian Muthusamy
India.
-- 
http://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasubramanianmuthusamy


On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 11:40 PM, Hakikur Rahman <email at hakik.org> wrote:

> More or less agreed, but openness and diversity depend on a few other
> parameters as stated in the statement. Right to freedom of expression is
> part of them.
>
> Best regards,
> Hakik
>
>
> At 11:02 PM 9/6/2008, McTim wrote:
>
>> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 2:05 PM, Parminder <parminder at itforchange.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >
>> > "The openness and diversity of the internet are underpinned by widely
>> > recognized (but still imperfectly enforced) basic human rights: the
>> > individual right to freedom of expression and to privacy. It may also be
>> > useful to explore if and how positive and collective rights may be
>> > meaningful in relation to the Internet ­ for instance a right to
>> Internet
>> > access, or a right of cultural expression - including the right to have
>> an
>> > Internet in ones own language, which can inform the important IGF
>> thematic
>> > area of cultural diversity."
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Pleas let me know if you at all agree with this or not.
>>
>> Not really. IMO, the openness and diversity of the internet are
>> underpinned by it's decentralized architecture which maximizes end
>> users' power to choose, creat and use the hardware, software, and
>> services that best meet their needs.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Cheers,
>>
>> McTim
>> mctim.blogspot.com
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>
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