IRHR - News
Online and offline sex worker rights are human rights
APC’s Connect Your Rights campaign is teaming up with the global campaign Take Back The Tech – fighting violence against women – on its 12th day of action (from 16). We are offering three stories to make the case for urgent action on sex worker rights, online and offline. Read more and be sure to sign our petition.
Uganda anti homosexuality bill boomeranging back on the web
Do you remember the culture jamming actions against official websites in Uganda last August? Anonymous activists managed to modify content on presidential and governmental websites in a way that showed the government as apologizing to the Ugandan LGBT community for repeated persecution of gays and lesbians. Just a few months later, Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill is there again and it could be passed into law imminently.
Statement of the WHRD International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders Day
On the occasion of November 29th, Women Human Rights Defenders Day, the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition stands in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of women activists around the world who – with exemplary courage, determination, and strength, uphold women’s human rights, the rights of communities, and of the environment.
Syria's internet shutdown violates international human rights law
At 10:26 UTC on November 29th, Syria’s international internet connectivity was shut down. APC strongly condemns this shut down, which threatens the safety and security of the Syrian people, and clearly violates international human rights law.
Take Back the Tech! 16 days x 16 stories. Tell. Listen. Act
Take Back the Tech! From 25 Nov to 10 Dec, take part in the 16 days of activism and take control of technology to tell, listen and share transformative stories. Document, inspire, converse and collectively envision the end to violence against women.
Landmark report on women’s rights on the internet
Women may not have been an active part of policy-making conversations when internet governance started, but the rapid pace of change online means they need to participate now to ensure that the future of the internet is shaped taking into account women’s rights. Read a report about “Women’s Rights on the Internet” on UNICEF’s The World We Want 2015 platform.
For a feminist view on the IGF
The 7th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) just drew to a close. Many views and analyses were published, most of them adopting a technical point of view. If you are interested in a slightly different take on the world’s most important internet governance encounter, consider reading up on GenderIT.org’s reports on gender peripheries of the IGF…
Joy Liddicoat of APC connects the dots between human rights and internet governance
In edition 4 of the MIND magazine, which questions human rights in internet governance, Joy Liddicoat of the Association for Progressive Communications makes the point that freedom of expression only takes its full force for democratic change when we can exercise it together with all of our other rights and freedoms. She argues that human rights must be a main focus of all discussions at the IGF.
Women human rights defenders and digital security: Reflections with a Latin American accent
A survey of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) conducted as part of APC’s Connect Your Rights! campaign revealed some interesting practices and perceptions in terms of their use of information and communications technologies in their work. Read an analysis.
APC in solidarity with the Open Letter of the 'Expression Online Initiative' at the 7th IGF
APC stands in solidarity with the Expression Online Initiative, which expressed serious concerns regarding violations of UN principles currently taking place at the 7th annual Internet Governance Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan. The violations include restrictions on freedom of expression and association and failure to guarantee equal rights for every participant. Read Expression Online’s open letter.
Human Rights and Internet Protocols: Comparing Processes and Principles
The Internet Society and APC are working on a paper which explores human rights and internet protocols, comparing the processes for their making and the principles by which they operate. The draft document takes a look at the parallels and differences between the open internet model of development and the exercise of human rights online, with the objective to foster discussions between the respective communities to advance an open human rights-fostering internet.
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.
