IRHR - News
APC perspectives on the revision of the International Telecommunication Regulations
Current ITRs date from 1988 and considering the changes in the telecoms sector since then it is not surprising that they are up for review. The question is whether the upcoming WCIT poses a ‘threat’ to the internet. See APC’s perspective on the revision of the ITRs.
New publication: Infographic in Portuguese on the impact of the internet and human rights
The Association for Progressive Communications has started a project called Connect Your Rights! in early 2011. Meant to make the links between fundamental human rights offline and online, it published an infographic in mid-2012 to offer a visualization of the impact that the internet provokes on the human rights regime. After a successful first run in social media and at events worldwide, the infographic was translated to Portuguese by Brazilian group NUPEF.
New GenderIT.org edition is out! "Crossing borders: Cyberspace and national security"
This edition of GenderIT.org explores the online safety of women human rights defenders from the perspective of national security and counter-terrorism. While online & offline security measures adversely impact on women’s and sexual rights, women and sexual minorities are still two of the most invisible stakeholders in national security debates.
What are the digital security concerns and threats facing women human rights defenders?
One of the first steps to address violence against women is documenting the problem. APC’s Connect Your Rights! Campaign has conducted a survey of 40 women human rights defenders from across Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, on their online experiences, their security concerns and their training needs.
Focus on internet and human rights in South Africa: Interview with Jane Duncan
“South Africa has adopted some of the more problematic elements of the new post-9/11 surveillance regime, many of which have been authored in supposedly liberal democracies, while failing to incorporate key safeguards that may have been incorporated in these democracies,” says Jane Duncan in an interview for the forthcoming Global Information Society Watch.
Focus on internet and human rights in Saudi Arabia: Interview with Rafid Fatani
“Unfortunately I hold a pessimistic view with regards to content regulation in Saudi Arabia. That said, I think a good starting point is demanding more transparency with regards to blocked content,” says Rafid Fatani in an interview related to a forthcoming report he wrote for the Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch 2011 Update I).
Focus on internet and human rights in Indonesia: Interview with Ferdiansyah Thajib
“Both the issues of human rights and the rights of internet expression are still in the margins of the mainstream political stage in Indonesia,” says Ferdiansyah Thajib in an interview related to a forthcoming report he wrote for the Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch 2011 Update I).
Azerbaijan: Coalition submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review
The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan – of which APC is a member – has made a coalition submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review of Azerbaijan. The report, for which APC has contributed its expertise on “restrictions on freedom of expression online” is for consideration at the 16th session of the UN Human Rights Council’s working group in April/May 2013.
Internet revolutionaries and conservatives meet once again
During three days at the end of September, the Colombian capital Bogota was host to the Latin American and the Caribbean fifth preparatory meeting for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). A tale from the Latin American and Caribbean preparatory meeting to the Internet Governance Forum.
Philippines : Supreme Court to rule on controversial Cybercrime Prevention Act
On October 9, the Supreme Court of the Philippines will decide on the constitutionality of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. This cyberlaw has been contested from day one, after internet activists had pointed to truly problematic provisions incompatible with internet rights.
Focus on internet and human rights in Azerbaijan: Interview with Vugar Gojayev
Since the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2011, government has shown much desire to regulate the internet. The uprising in the Guba district in March 2012 has shown the pivotal role that social media can play in Azerbaijani political life, Vugar Gojayev told APCNews, in an interview for the forthcoming Global Information Society Watch report.
Focus on internet and human rights in Pakistan: Interview with Bytes for All
The media in Pakistan has been tardy to address threats to internet freedom – especially Urdu media. There is little to no coverage of internet rights violations and censorship the electronic media, Bytes for All told APCNews about in an interview for the forthcoming Global Information Society Watch report.
Focus on internet and human rights in Argentina: Interview with Nodo TAU
“The main issues that should be focused on in Argentina today are freedom of expression, access to information and free circulation of culture,” says Nodo TAU in an interview related to a forthcoming report they wrote for the Global Information Society Watch.
Internet and the UN Human Rights Council: The good, the bad and the road ahead
It’s been a year of increasing debates about the internet and human rights among governments in the UN. Read this account of the main developments since 2011 and the challenges ahead.
It’s OurTube: Religion-based censorship will only fuel hate speech
Bytes for All, Pakistan, strongly condemns hate speech on the Internet, however banning channels of communication, limiting access to information platforms, and steps to curtail free expression only serve to pave the way for politics-based control systems that curb the voices of individuals.
Pakistan: Bloggers and journalists to duck digital threats
“Pakistan is among the world’s most dangerous places for journalists,” reads a report recently produced and published by Bytes For All, Pakistan. Based on a research survey commissioned by Internews, the report takes a hard look at the awareness Pakistani journalists and bloggers have of their own digital security.
Victory for freedom of expression in South Korea
On the 23rd of August 2012, South Korean digital rights organisation Jinbonet won a long struggle. For the last five years, the APC member group fought an internet real name system regulation, ruled unconstitutional by the country’s highest court.
Macedonians under high (cyber) surveillance
Skopje is not exactly a landmark for free thinkers, social critics and other kinds of independent folks. However, that does not mean that discordant voices do not make themselves heard. A chronicle of media resistance in Macedonia.
New regulation threatens anonymity on the internet in Ecuador
The people of Ecuador are working together to get the government to change a new regulation that will allow the state to collect users’ personal data without a warrant.
South Sudan: The #OSJUBA event stresses early moves by net activists
Imagine a city torn by war, overwhelmed with daily influx of people from the countryside, becoming the capital of a country from one day to the next. And then picture crazy computer people ruffled together in an abandoned supermarket, thousands of kilometres away, in another city, trying to fix the first city. These two images put together are called #OSJUBA. OS for open source and Juba for the capital of the latest country in the world, South Sudan.
