AW: AW: [governance] CS letter to UNGA

Kettemann, Matthias (matthias.kettemann@uni-graz.at) matthias.kettemann at uni-graz.at
Tue Sep 27 14:05:07 EDT 2011


Dear all, 

here is my suggestion for formulating the critique from a human rights perspective:

*******
We welcome the commitment, in para. (a) of the letter, to the Charter of the United Nations, including "respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms", but would like to caution that the reference to "respect for the diversity of history, culture and social systems of all countries" might be interpreted as diminishing the commitment of the UNGA to the universality of human rights.
 We further applaud international efforts to combat online crime and curtail online terrorist activities, as states would pledge under para. (c) of the proposal. However, we would like to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the broad language that provides for cooperation in "curbing the dissemination of information that incites terrorism, secessionism or extremism or that undermines other countries’ political, economic and social stability, as well as their spiritual and cultural environment". These references can be easily interpreted by governments as allowing them to severely limit within their countries the right to freedom of expression, as laid down in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
*****

I would also change the order of the two paragraphs of our letter, so that our reference to para. d comes before g. 


Kind regards

Matthias

________________________________________
Von: "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang" [wolfgang.kleinwaechter at medienkomm.uni-halle.de]
Gesendet: Dienstag, 27. September 2011 16:28
An: Kettemann, Matthias (matthias.kettemann at uni-graz.at); governance at lists.cpsr.org
Betreff: AW: AW: [governance] CS letter to UNGA

good idea

w


________________________________

Von: Kettemann, Matthias (matthias.kettemann at uni-graz.at) [mailto:matthias.kettemann at uni-graz.at]
Gesendet: Di 27.09.2011 16:23
An: governance at lists.cpsr.org; Kleinwächter, Wolfgang
Betreff: Re: AW: [governance] CS letter to UNGA



Hi

I was just wondering whether we shouldn't also include a reference to human rights and their protection, which are endangered by the very vague para c.

Kind regards

Matthias

Am 27.09.2011 um 17:16 schrieb "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang" <wolfgang.kleinwaechter at medienkomm.uni-halle.de>:

> We could change this sentence as follows:
>
> Old:
> While we share a number of visions as that "it is of great significance that the common challenges in the sphere of information security should be dealt with through international cooperation and in the spirit of mutual respect"
>
> New:
> While we share a number of visions as that it is of great significance that Internet security "should be dealt with through international cooperation and in the spirit of mutual resperct"....
>
> ________________________________
>
> Von: governance at lists.cpsr.org im Auftrag von parminder
> Gesendet: Di 27.09.2011 15:33
> An: governance at lists.cpsr.org
> Betreff: Re: [governance] CS letter to UNGA
>
>
> I request time time till tomorrow to give my comments. I dont agree to our endorsing their concept of 'information security' but dont have time to give detailed comments right now. parminder
>
> On Tuesday 27 September 2011 05:59 PM, "Kleinwächter, Wolfgang" wrote:
>
>    Hi
>
>    here is a very first draft of the letter. Additions,m changeas, enhancements are welcome.
>
>    And lets start to invite other NGOs / CS Orgs to join.
>
>    Wolfgang
>
>
>    Nairobi, September 29, 2011
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>    Kul Gutam, President of the 66th UN General Assembly
>
>
>
>    Dear Mr. President,
>
>
>
>    on behalf of a group of non-governmental and civil society organizations assembled  in Nairobi for the 6th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), we want to draw your attention to an issue which has raised our concerns.
>
>
>
>    Four member states of the UN have proposed under Item 93 of the provisional agenda of the 66th UN General Assembly an "International Code of Conduct for Information Security" (A66/356). While we share a number of visions as that "it is of great significance that the common challenges in the sphere of information security should be dealt with through international cooperation and in the spirit of mutual respect" and "highlighting the importance of the security, continuity and stability of the Internet and the need to protect the Internet and other information and communications technology networks from threats and vulnerabilities, and reaffirming the need for a common understanding of the issues of Internet security and for further cooperation at the national and international levels", we have concerns in particular with two paragraphs of the proposed code of conduct which touch key issues of Internet Governance.
>
>
>
>    The Tunis agenda, adopted by Heads of UN member states at the 2nd phase of the World Summit on the Information Society has defined Internet Governance as "the development and application by Governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet."
>
>
>
>    What we miss in the proposed code of conduct is any reference to the multistakeholder approach and the role of civil society in strengthening the security and stability of the Internet as proposed by the Code of Conduct.
>
>
>
>    In Paragraph .g of the proposed code, the need is underlined to establish "a multilateral, transparent and democratic Internet management system to ensure an equitable distribution of resources, facilitate access for all and ensure a stable and secure functioning of the Internet." While we agree with the general idea we believe that a stable and secure functioning of the Internet  can be reached only by involving all stakeholders, including civil society.
>
>
>
>    In Paragraph .d it is proposed that states should "lead all elements of society, including its information and communication partnerships with the private sector, to understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to information security, in order to facilitate the creation of a culture of information security and the protection of critical information infrastructure." Our concern is that this excludes civil society which plays an important role in the creation of a culture of information security.
>
>
>
>    We express our hope that the UN committee which will deal with the proposed document will take into consideration our concerns.
>
>
>
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