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

[Avri Doria]

good idea.

avri

On 11 Jun 2013, at 14:53, McTim wrote:

> 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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