[governance] Fwd: Re: [igf_members] Proposal: Human Rights Roundtable

[parminder]

this is the comment I sent to the MAG (multistakeholder advisory group) 
of the IGF.



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [igf_members] Proposal: Human Rights Roundtable
Date: 	Tue, 16 Oct 2012 09:18:25 +0530
From: 	parminder <parminder at itforchange.net>
To: 	igf_members at intgovforum.org



Dear Alice/ All,

Apologies for intrusion by someone who, I understand, has an observer 
status on this list.

This initiative of a round table on human rights is very important. 
Since it is not just an workshop, but a higher level activity with some 
kind of a larger IGF/ MAG ownership (do I understand it right!), we have 
to be especially careful about framing the background note and agenda. 
In this regard I have the following observations to make.

(1) Consumer rights are not considered as human rights. Consumer rights 
are based on private contracts, although the consumer as the 
structurally weaker party in such contracts is provided some special 
general protections which are embodied in consumer rights. Human rights 
are based on the social contract. (There are those who go even further 
and claim that they are kind of part of our 'natural condition' but I 
dont buy that.)  I do not think we should include consumer rights as 
part of human rights. It greatly dilutes the discourse of human rights, 
and their legitimacy.

(2) The background note focusses exclusively on civil and political 
rights, like privacy, FoE, and does not mention social, economic and 
cultural rights at all. It is useful to refer in this regard the opening 
paragraphs of the Geneva Declaration that speaks of indivisibility of 
human rights, and the need to take all kinds and categories of human 
rights together. In context of the Internet, one can immediately think 
of human rights issues like, universal access (especially with some 
countries already treating it as a right) and net neutrality. There are 
others as well, like cultural rights involved in multilingualism, domain 
name allocations etc. It will be good if we can expand the note to give 
representation and space to all kinds of human rights and not just civil 
and political rights. Alternatively, maybe we can call the event as a 
round table on civil and political rights.

This is for your consideration.

Also, can I share this note with civil society groups for their comments?

best regards, parminder


On Friday 12 October 2012 12:05 PM, alice at apc.org wrote:
> Dear Colleaques,
>
> We wish to submit this proposal for a Human Rights round Table.
>
> Apologies for submitting it a bit late, but hope you will consider it.
>
> Best regards
> Alice
>
> ------------------------------
>
> HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDTABLE
> IGF 2012
>
> Background
>
> During the IGF MAG meeting held in May 2012 in Geneva, several ways to
> develop the cross-cutting issues (human rights and development) were
> proposed. Particularly,  the group in charge of structuring the Taking
> Stock and the Way Forward session suggested that the second part of the
> session includes feedback from the cross-cutting
>
> themes which could be developed through round tables. It was supported by
> other MAG members (see transcripts MAG meeting 17 May)[1].
>
> Additionally, it is important to mention as a background element, that
> approximately 40 workshop proposals for the 2012 Internet Governance Forum
> make specific reference to human rights related issues, including privacy,
> freedom of expression, data rights, cyber security, and internet
> intermediary liability.
>
> Consumer rights are a growing area of interest, including the need for
> transparency, regulatory oversight, and mechanisms for addressing consumer
> complaints.  Data ownership and privacy are major issues in this area.
>
> Human rights in relation to security is a major theme for the IGF,
> including cybercrime, and the tension between privacy and security. There
> are several proposed workshops on the protection of children and youth, as
> well as practical workshops on surveillance and data protection.
>
> Developing best practices and legal frameworks is discussed in many of the
> workshop proposals, particularly in light of increasing restrictions on
> freedom of expression, and new liabilities for internet intermediaries.
>
> Multi-stakeholderism is a cross-cutting theme in the workshop proposals,
> particularly with respect to determining best practices and frameworks.
>
> Based on it, Kenya, in partnership with APC, Finland and Sweden, would
> like to propose the organisation of a human rights round table which look
> at how HR issues related to the internet were addressed in the various
> main sessions and workshops.
>
>
> Objective
>
> The objective of the human rights round table is to gather comprehensive
> feedback from the various main sessions and workshops in relation to which
> human rights issues were addressed by the various stakeholders and to use
> those inputs to feed the Taking Stock and the Way Forward session.  It
> will help us to increase knowledge and understanding of the human rights
> and the internet specific concerns and challenges the various stakeholders
> have as well as their proposals to address them in the framework of the
> internet governance debate.  It will also help to increase understanding
> of the linkages between the HR issues addressed in the various main
> sessions and the main IGF theme.
>
> Themes in analysis will include privacy, censorship, intermediary
> liability, cybercrime, among others.
>
> Format
>
> The round table will be held in a multi-stakeholder environment in which
> speakers/participants who took part of the various main sessions and
> workshops bring their perspectives in a concrete manner to feed the TSWF
> session and propose ways to advance the HR discussion within the IGF.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> igf_members mailing list
> igf_members at intgovforum.org
> http://mail.intgovforum.org/mailman/listinfo/igf_members_intgovforum.org
>





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