[hr-wsis] IGF - Real time transcription of discussions

[marzouki@ras.eu.org]

Dear all,

Discussions occurring at the IGF meeting are transcripted in real  
time and are availalable right after each half day session on IGF  
website (http://www.intgovforum.org/).
Already available:
- Morning Session 16 February : http://www.intgovforum.org/ 
contributions/IGF-1-0216.txt
- Afternoon Session 16 February : http://www.intgovforum.org/ 
contributions/IGF-1-021606pm.txt

Webcast of the meeting is also available at http:// 
streaming.polito.it/IGF-live, for those who can access it (I can't).

Below is the verbatim of Rikke's intervention on behalf of the caucus  
(Feb. 16 afternoon).
Written contribution from the caucus is also available on IGF  
website, together with the privacy and security working group  
contribution and many other written statements (http:// 
www.intgovforum.org/contributions.htm)/

Best,
Meryem

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>> Danish institute for human rights:  Thank you, chair.
My name is Rikke Frank Jorgensen.
I am from the Danish human rights institute.
I am part of the WSIS human rights caucus and also the privacy and  
security working group.
Both groups have made written contributions to this meeting, which I  
won't read out aloud.
But I would rather pick out a few points to reflect on the  
discussions that we have had today.
I was thinking this morning and also this afternoon during the  
discussion, what is it that's really special about this forum  
compared to other similar spaces, policy spaces we have?
And I think there are two things, at least, that are very special.
One is that we actually, with this forum, have a space that can  
provide policy analysis across existing issue-specific arenas.
I mean, this was stressed when it was set up.
And I think this is important to bear in mind.
And another specific aspect of it is that it is a child of the WSIS  
commitment to actually use ICT to promote development and human rights.
In other words, this space entails a commitment to actually advance  
the issues that was raised during the WSIS process and which is  
spelled out in detail in the political documents from Geneva and Tunis.
One of these issues that we have discussed again and again in the  
WSIS process is human rights compliance of future Internet governance  
mechanisms.
Another, more general, issue is the one of promoting an information  
society which actually enhance human rights protection both at  
national and international level.
And what we, as human rights caucus, would like to see advanced  
through the forum is that this so-called human rights-based approach  
to Internet policy develops into something that is more concrete,  
that we move forward when we say that we need to assess -- to use the  
human rights standards as they are spelled out in international law  
as actually assessing these policies.
If we look at the Internet policy arena globally from -- with human  
rights glasses on, there are a number of developments that are very  
worrying, most obviously in the field of privacy and freedom of  
expression.
It is no secret that in the current political climate that is so much  
driven by the so-called war on terror, international privacy  
standards, they are under the strongest pressure that they have been  
on since their adoption some 55 years ago.
And they are currently being restricted in a number of areas with  
little or no legal safeguards to ensure checks and balances.
With regard to freedom of expression, it is also well documented and  
well known that online freedom of expression is violated around the  
globe.
This is both in the form of outright censorship, but it's also by  
more subtle measures that include privatized censorship, filtered  
information access, commercial censorship of search items, and  
criminalization of content that is completely legitimate under  
international freedom of expression standards.
So these are just de facto policy developments, and they are not easy  
to address, they are very politically sensitive.
I am very much aware of that.
But, nevertheless, they are crucial to address if we really mean it  
when we say that we want an information society respectful of human  
rights.
So what I would like to see as concrete studies of working group  
under this forum to address some of these issues and to advance the  
discussion on them would be two studies, actually.
The first one would be on how human rights principles, as they are  
laid down in the international human rights treaties translate into  
Internet governance mechanisms.
How do we transform them into concrete policy recommendations which  
protect and uphold and respect these standards?
And this work should, of course, involve the relevant U.N. bodies,  
not least, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.
Another area would be privacy impact assessment of the regulation  
that's currently taking place in the field of cybercrime and  
counterterror.  To evaluate its compliance with human rights privacy  
standards and data protection guidelines.  And this work would  
involve the global network of privacy commissioners and could feed  
into the ongoing considerations in other fora for international legal  
standards in the privacy field.
Thank you.
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