draft for submission

[Meryem Marzouki <marzouki@ras.eu.org>]

Hi,

Here is a proposal of a reworked document, taking into account comments 
made on the list. Please read the two options proposed (in capitalized 
letters) after the general introduction, and comment on which we should 
take.
Meryem
========
TOWARDS AN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SOCIETY
RESPECTFUL OF CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS,
AS WELL AS  ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS OF CITIZENS

Human Rights in the Information Society (HRIS) Caucus
May 31, 2003

Input Document to the intersessional meeting of July 15-18, 2003, 
Paris, France


The development of an information and communication society has to 
build on a core set of principles that are fundamental for democratic 
societies. International human rights (HR) standards represent such 
principles and should serve as the international framework guiding 
regional and national policies and actions.

A human rights approach would imply:

- Reference to the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and 
Cultural Rights, in the WSIS Declaration.
- Underlining the importance of HR standards as the core set of 
principles guiding the development of the information society.
- Taking human dignity and human needs as the starting point of 
reference rather than technological considerations.
- Using the improvement of HR standards such as human and social 
development, democracy and participation as focus points for setting 
goals and measures for progress.
- Ensuring basic human rights principles such as equality and 
anti-discrimination on all levels of policy and action plans. This 
implies stressing access, empowerment and integrity not least for 
vulnerable and marginalized groups.
- Recognizing that respect for, and strengthening of, the right to 
freedom of expression and access to information is crucial for creating 
a democratic information society.
- Stressing the right to education as essential for the eradication of 
poverty and for strengthening local capacity.
- Recognizing that security measures should always be consistent with 
the individuals right to privacy.
- Stressing a commitment to build better democracy based on a higher 
degree of transparency, enhanced participation and good governance at 
national, regional and global level.
- Promoting the development of an enabling environment where national 
ICT policy and legislation are implemented with due respect for human 
rights principles.

The HRIS caucus believes that it is not sufficient to assert that “the 
essential requirements for the development of an equitable Information 
Society” should be “in accordance” with Article 19 of the United 
Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Instead, the document should 
declare once and for all that Article 19 must be enforced. In addition, 
the principles of a better balanced flow of information, free 
circulation of ideas, press freedom, participation in the communication 
process, and knowledge sharing will become truly meaningful only when 
they are viewed as being supported by a consistent articulation of 
rights, not just Article 19.

Moreover, the HRIS caucus considers that an information and 
communication society should be developed in order to guarantee 
democratic and equitable access and participation. This implies to 
acknowledge and declare information and its means of production, 
management and circulation as common goods towards which each social 
actor have rights and responsibilities, in order to ensure the minimal 
equitable conditions for the overall development of intellectual 
creativity, technological innovation, effective technology use and 
successful participation in the information and communication society.

Finally, the HRIS caucus reaffirms that good governance of an 
information and communication society must be based on the values of 
participation, transparency, accountability and the rule of law. This 
implies in particular the democratic management of international bodies 
dealing with ICTs. Given the borderless characteristics of ICTs, an 
appropriate framework for establishing the competence of jurisdictions 
should also be elaborated, so as to ensure the respect of both 
principles of legality and sovereignty.

To these ends, the HRIS caucus recommends that the following 
international human rights should be precisely translated within the 
specific framework of information and communication, into precise 
guarantees to be enforced in concert:


HERE, WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS:
- OPTIONS 1: WORK ON THE PRECISE DEFINITIONS OF THESE RIGHTS, LIKE FOR 
THE EXAMPLE OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND KNWOLEDGE BELOW
- OPTION 2: SIMPLY LIST THE RELEVANT RIGHTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL 
COVENANTS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ??

OPTION 1 EXAMPLE:
Right to education and knowledge:

- Everyone must be able to acquire basic information and electronic 
education, in order to be able to master social transformations in all 
their practical and civic aspects;
- The respect of intellectual property should not prevail on the right 
to education and knowledge. This right must indeed be exercised through 
the concept of fair use, i.e. use for non-commercial purposes, 
education, and research;
- Intellectual work and ideas, including programming methods and 
algorithms, should not be patentable. The production and use of free 
and open software and content must thus be encouraged and covered by 
public policy;
- Access to public data without charge is a necessary condition so that 
everyone has the means to exercise his citizenship;
- Access to infrastructure under acceptable economic conditions must be 
guaranteed, by supporting the possibility of being a provider as well 
as a consumer of information. This guarantee implies the negotiation of 
agreements for the contractual connections between the areas of the 
world and the States of these areas, whose cost must equitably be 
shared. This also implies the existence and the sustainability of local 
telecommunication operators.

- Freedom of expression:

- Freedom of communication:

- Freedom of information:

- Right to privacy and personal data protection:

- Right to human dignity:

- Right to education and knowledge:

- Right to decent working conditions:

- ...
OPTION 2 EXAMPLE:

Article 12 -- Privacy;
Article 18 -- Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion;
Article 19 -- Freedom of expression and the right to seek, receive, and 
impart
                      information through any media;
Article 20 -- Freedom of peaceful assembly;
Article 26 -- The right to education; and,
Article 27 -- The right to participate in the cultural life of the 
community as well as
                      intellectual property rights.
Article 10 -- right to a fair trial
Article 11 -- presumption of innocence (both as arguments against ISP 
liability used as a mean of privatized censorship)

========

About the Human Rights in the Information Society Caucus

The Human Rights in the Information Society (HRIS) Caucus has been 
formed by the end of PrepCom1 by civil society organizations in order 
to ensure that human rights are duly taken into account in the WSIS 
process by governments as well as by NGOs.

Its objectives are:
1. Putting human rights on the agenda of the WSIS. Human rights are 
intended, as defined in the UNDH, the International Covenant on Civil 
and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, 
Social and Cultural Rights, as civil and political rights of citizens, 
as well as their economic, cultural and social rights.
2. Developing detailed inputs and contributions on how Human rights, as 
broadly defined, can be precisely translated within the specific 
framework of information and communication, in order to build a common 
vision of this society.
3. Raising awareness of NGOs and the public on the importance of 
addressing human rights in the information society, having noted that 
major organization dedicated to promoting Human Rights in the 
Information Society are not yet part of the WSIS process. This is also 
the case of general-purpose human rights organization, as well as trade 
unions.

Current members of the HRIS caucus are:
- American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU). www.aclu.org
- Article19. www.article19.org
- Association for Progressive Communications (APC). www.apc.org
- Carrefour Mondial de l'Internet Citoyen (CMIC). www.globalcn.org
- Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR). www.cpsr.org
- Consumer Project on Technology (CPTech). www.cptech.org
- Cyber-Rights and Cyber-Liberties (CR&CL UK). www.cyber-rights.org
- Danish Institute for Human Rights. www.humanrights.dk
- Danish United Nations Association (UNA-DK). www.una.dk
- Digital Rights Denmark. www.digitalrights.dk
- Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). www.epic.org
- Int. Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (ICHRDD). 
www.ichrdd.ca
- Imaginons un Réseau Internet Solidaire (IRIS). www.iris.sgdg.org
- Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT). www.omct.org
- Panos London. www.panos.org.uk
- PromoCulture/Centre Africain d'Echange Culturel
- U.S. National Comm. on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS). 
www.nclis.gov
- Vancouver Community Net (VCN). www.vcn.bc.ca
- VIBE!AT. www.vibe.at

Coordinators of the HRIS caucus are:
- Meryem Marzouki, IRIS, France (Meryem.Marzouki@iris.sgdg.org)
- Rikke Frank Jorgensen, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark 
(rfj@humanrights.dk)

Web site and mailing list of the HRIS caucus: 
www.iris.sgdg.org/actions/smsi/hr-wsis/