[Chapter-delegates] The Internet and Human Rights

[Markus Kummer]

Dear Chapter Delegates and Members,
 
In planning our future activities we thought it would be timely to put a greater emphasis on Human Rights, in particular on freedom of expression and opinion, the free flow of information, access to information and knowledge and the right to association.  These rights, as enshrined recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are very much in line with ISOC’s principles.
 
Human Rights and the Internet have come to the fore in recent years. Increased attempts by Governments (in all parts of the world) to control their citizen's access and use of the global network, and this often in disregard of basic principles of human rights and/or due process, make it more urgent to address these issues. The paper on DNS filtering takes them up from a technical angle and we intend to pursue this also from a public policy perspective. We think that ISIC, thanks to its technical expertise, can add value to this debate.
 
The Public Policy team is following the 18th Human Rights Council (HRC), currently held at the United Nations in Geneva (12-30 September 2011). Of particular interest is a proposal by the Swedish Government to set up a multi-stakeholder Expert Panel on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Expression on the Internet. The proposal is expected to be endorsed next week by the Human Rights Council and the panel will meet to discuss this theme at the 19th Session of the HRC in March 2012. We have met the Swedish delegation and expressed ISOC’s interest to be part of this panel.
 
We are planning to issue a press release next week welcoming the creation of this expert panel. As we develop further ISOC's engagement and policy positions on human rights, we welcome your comments and perspectives in this area.
 
Best regards,
Markus