[governance] {S} Internet surveillance (was Re: Is 'tit for tat'...)
Suresh Ramasubramanian
suresh at hserus.net
Tue Jun 11 21:00:35 EDT 2013
+1
--srs (iPad)
On 12-Jun-2013, at 2:45, Avri Doria <avri at ella.com> wrote:
> 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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>
>
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