[governance] {S} Internet surveillance (was Re: Is 'tit for tat'...)

[McTim]

I think it would be far easier and probably more useful to sign on to
the statement APC had read out in Geneva:

Civil Society Statement read by the Association for Progressive
Communications to the Human Rights Council on the impact of State
Surveillance on Human Rights addressing the PRISM/NSA case.

Thank you Mr. President. I speak on behalf of several civil society
organizations from around the world. We express strong concern over
recent revelations of surveillance of internet and telephone
communications of US and non-US nationals by the government of the
United States of America and the fact that US authorities makes the
results of that surveillance available to other governments such as
the United Kingdom. Of equal concern is the indication of apparent
complicity of some US-based Internet companies with global reach.
These revelations suggest a blatant and systematic disregard for human
rights as articulated in Articles 17 and 19 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as Articles 12
and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Just last year the Council unanimously adopted Resolution 20/8, which
"Affirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be
protected online, in particular freedom of expression ..." But during
this session the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Mr.
Frank La Rue, reported (A/HRC/23/40) worrying new trends in state
surveillance of communications with serious implications for the
exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and
expression. The Special Rapporteur notes that inadequate and
non-existent legal frameworks "create a fertile ground for arbitrary
and unlawful infringements of the right to privacy in communications
and, consequently, also threaten the protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and expression".

The application of surveillance mechanisms to the heart of global
digital communications drastically threatens the protection of human
rights in the digital age. As Frank La Rue notes in reference to such
actions: "This raises serious concern with regard to the
extra-territorial commission of human rights violations and the
inability of individuals to know that they might be subject to foreign
surveillance, challenge decisions with respect to foreign
surveillance, or seek remedies." This recent case is an example of
human rights violations specifically relevant to the Internet, and one
foreshadowed in the Council's 2012 Expert Panel on Freedom of
Expression and the Internet.

We call for protection of those who have made these violations public.
As Mr La Rue notes, laws "must not be used to target whistleblowers
... nor should they hamper the legitimate oversight of government
action by citizens. "We urge States protect those whistleblowers
involved in this case and to support their efforts to combat
violations of the fundamental human rights of all global citizens.
Whistleblowers play a critical role in promoting transparency and
upholding the human rights of all.

We call on the Human Rights Council to act swiftly to prevent the
creation of a global Internet based surveillance system by:

1) convening a special session to examine this case

2) supporting a multistakeholder process to implement the
recommendation of Mr La Rue that the Human Rights Committee develop a
new General Comment 16 on the right to privacy in light of
technological advancements, and,

3) requesting the High Commissioner to prepare a report that:
a) formally asks states to report on practices and laws in place on
surveillance and what corrective steps will they will take to meet
human rights standards, and,
b) examines the implications of this case in in the light of the Human
Rights Council endorsed United Nations Guiding Principles on Business
and Human Rights, the “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework of
A/HRC/RES/17/4.
1

Statement endorsed by:

Access, International
Association for Progressive Communications (APC), International
Center for Technology and Society (CTS/FGV), Brazil
Global Voices Advocacy, International
IT for Change, India
Bolo Bhi, Pakistan
La Quadrature du Net, Europe, France
The Internet Democracy Project, India
Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan
Privacy International
PROTESTE - Associação de Consumidores, Brazil



On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 12:14 PM, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:
> Note: The "{S}" in the Subject: line is intent as an indication that
> this threda is about developing a statement.
>
> Parminder <parminder at itforchange.net> wrote:
>
>> (Proposed text below - very rough first draft to get things rolling)
>
> Now online in an etherpad at:
> http://igcaucus.org:9001/p/internet-surveillance
>
> Greetings,
> Norbert
>
> --
> Recommendations for effective and constructive participation in IGC:
> 1. Respond to the content of assertions and arguments, not to the person
> 2. Be conservative in what you send, be liberal in what you accept
>
>
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-- 
Cheers,

McTim
"A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A
route indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel

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