[governance] China's remarks to the HRC panel on freedom of expression and the Internet

Thu Mar 1 12:17:47 EST 2012

Apologies for the typos and bad grammar, it's 5am here and I have been up
since 3am so still a bit cross eyed.

On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 5:14 AM, Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro <
salanieta.tamanikaiwaimaro at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Bill,
>
> A few key issues emerge that require consideration [good news is that we
> included them to our contributions to the MAG].
>
> There is no question against what is internationally agreed objectionable
> content which includes the like of Child Pornography, Hate Speech,
> Defamation, Direct and Public Incitement to commit Genocide, Advocacy of
> National, Racial and Religious Hatred, Incitement to discrimination,
> hostility and violence.
>
> Whilst the freedom of expression is not absolute,  Article 19 does give
> notion to special duties and responsibilities that it may be subject to
> certain restrictions such as for the respect of the rights and reputation
> of others, protection of national security, or of public order or of public
> health or morals.  China in a joint Statement  [China, Algeria, Bangladesh,
> Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Congo, Cuba, DPRK, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos,
> Malaysia, Mauritania, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine,
> Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkmenistan,
> Venezuela, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zimbabwe] alluded to this.
>
>
> Globally we continue to witness the extraordinary muzzling of  Freedom of
> Expression through justification of the exception. For example things like
> defamation is taken out of context in some instances. Eg. There are
> tyrannical usurpers who create draconian anti-sedition legal instruments
> and instances. There are instances of abuse of power and a direct
> violations of existing checks and balance mechanisms and removal of
> accountability. We hear of Jurisdictions that do not even publish Auditor
> General's reports or who have closed down these offices etc. We see the
> manipulation of the exception. I have seen countries continuously
> promulgate State of Emergencies to justify the muzzling of Freedom of
> Expression or others continuously invoke the Doctrine of Necessity to hide
> behind the veil of National Security.
>
> The National Security exception  and its boundaries in the midst of things
> like the Arab Springs and the Occupy "X" movements are undercurrents of a
> far deeper problem within those societies.
>
>  In China, the Artist Ai Wei Wei whose art has nudity and in some
> jurisdictions this against the "Public Moral" in China, possibly or we hear
> of how recently in Tunisia (
> http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/02/20/tunisia-a-year-after-the-revolution-limitations-on-freedom-of-expression-continue
> /<http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/02/20/tunisia-a-year-after-the-revolution-limitations-on-freedom-of-expression-continue/> )
> were arrested for publishing nudity in a newspaper.
>
> There are countries in the world whose public moral "accepts nudity" such
> as the tribal communities of  parts of Africa and the Pacific and other
> countries where this is frowned upon due to the "public moral" in their
> societies.
>
> Take for example, Michaelangelo's "David" which is acclaimed to be a
> masterpiece of Renaissance culture between 1501 and 1504. In some
> countries, it would be a violation of the "public moral" and in others, it
> would be a work of art. I remember going to watch the land diving [this is
> the origin of Bungee jumping] in Pentecost Island in Vanuatu a few years
> ago where man would jump off a huge man made wooden tower from the top of a
> mountain with only a vine attached to his legs as part of a male initiation
> rite. If you don't jump you are not considered a "man" in their society and
> can't speak in meetings etc. I was shocked because they were all naked.
> Friends of mine who went to do some brief work on the island were shocked
> but after a while, we began to notice that for them, it was normal and has
> been engrained as a part of their culture. Of course, in some cities, if
> you were to walk naked in the city, you would be arrested on the spot.
>
> I think in essence countries and people misinterpret Article 19 of the
> ICCPR when they fail to consider what I feel is an often overlooked part of
> the ICCPR which is the "preamble" which gives context and fully explains
> the spirit in which Article 19 was carefully crafted. I am copying part of
> the preamble here:
>
> "Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the
> Charter of the United Nations, *recognition of the inherent dignity and
> of the equal and inalienable rights *of *all members of the human family*is the
> *foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,*
>
> Recognizing that these *rights derive from the inherent dignity of the
> human person*,
>
> Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human
> Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom
> and freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are
> created whereby everyone may enjoy his *civil and political rights*, as
> well as his *economic, social and cultural rights*,
>              If we explore these building blocks that are mentioned in the
> preamble, we see the foundation is based on freedom, justice and peace. It
> is worthwhile asking whether our systems reflect that.
>              We see how the New Delhi (India)'s Court had mentioned that
> ISPs should filter obscene publications and have mechanisms in place. We
> see how this is provided for in their Obscene Publication Act etc.
>              One of the emerging issues in this regard is the *danger of
> lawful content* being filtered and how do we protect and safeguard this
> from happening. This lawful content if filtered is the muzzling of "freedom
> of expression".  EU law precludes the imposition of an injunction by a
> national court which requires an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to install
> a filtering system with a view to preventing the illegal downloading of
> files, see the Press Release:
> http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2011-11/cp110126en.pdf
>
>              The actual Judgment that was just released on the 24th
> November, 2011 is available here:
> http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=EN&Submit=Submit&numaff=C-70/10
>
>              What is the role of civil society, governments and private
> sector in ensuring that lawful content is not muzzled? What kind of
> Policies should be set in place? What kind of Standards should be set in
> place?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 4:12 AM, William Drake <william.drake at uzh.ch>wrote:
>
>>
>> http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/02/china-panel-on-right-to-freedom-of-expression-19th-session-human-rights-council.html
>>
>> On behalf of Algeria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia,
>> Congo, Cuba, DPRK, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritania, Myanmar,
>> Namibia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
>> Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Yemen,
>> Zimbabwe.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ***************************************************
>> William J. Drake
>> International Fellow & Lecturer
>> Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ
>> University of Zurich, Switzerland
>> william.drake at uzh.ch
>> www.mediachange.ch/people/william-j-drake
>> www.williamdrake.org
>> ****************************************************
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala
>
> Tweeter: @SalanietaT
> Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro
> Cell: +679 998 2851
>
>
>
>

-- 
Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala

Tweeter: @SalanietaT
Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro
Cell: +679 998 2851
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