News
Azerbaijan: Q&A on Human Rights and the Internet
APCNews has interviewed Rebecca Vincent, a human rights consultant who is currently working with ARTICLE 19 to coordinate the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan, a coalition of international organisations working to promote and protect freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. Here’s her take on the human rights situation on Azerbaijan’s net.
Launch of Solar Powered Long-Distance Wireless Workshop
The PISCES Project workshop on Wireless Networking in the Developing World got off to a great start on Tuesday, July 31, 2012.
Freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association and the internet
Campaigning through websites, microblogging and other uses of technology help increase the membership and reach of associations and provide powerful ways to organise peaceful assemblies. This issue paper by Alex Comninos sheds a new light on how the internet impacts the exercise of the right to freedom of association and freedom of assembly.
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.
A practical guide to sustainable IT
This practical guide by Paul Mobbs offers a detailed, “hands-on” introduction to thinking about sustainable computing holistically; from make buying technology, through to the software and peripherals you use; how you store and work with information, manage your security, save power, and maintain and dispose of your old hardware, etc.
Who controls the Internet? Final statement of the Pan African Civil Society Workshop
From July 26-27, diverse civil society organisations from the human rights, media and ICT policy sectors met in Nairobi to discuss “Who controls the internet” at a Pan African Civil Society workshop. This is their final statement.
Internet rights at the 13th session of the Universal Periodic Review: responses and follow-up
In May 2012, APC supported participation in the 13th session of the UPR by members and networks from Ecuador, India, Brazil, South Africa and the Philippines, following stakeholder report submissions made in late 2011. Several governments expressed interest in internet-related issues, including the right to information, freedom of expression, and cybersecurity.
Connect Your Rights! New and upcoming challenges
In the past months many liberal democracies, such as the USA and the United Kingdom, have adopted repressive measures and made clear attempts to the free and democratic participation of people online. In parallel, activists all around the world are using the internet and social networks to denounce these rights abuses and work together to create more just and efficient legislations.
Have you watched our videos on spectrum for development videos yet?
Together with CIESPAL and with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), APC has developed seven videos that explain what radio spectrum is and how it can affect our rights.
Create, connect, transform: Allied Media Conference engages media & communications tools to improve communities
From June 28th to July 1st 2012, grassroots organisations from the US, Canada and Mexico, came together at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit, Michigan to “cultivate strategies for a more just and creative world.”
APC announces new project: “End violence: women's rights and safety online”
APC starts a new project “End violence: women’s rights and safety online” based on experience and knowledge gathered in past years. What shows, and organisations providing support services to victims of violence have indicated, is that for evidence-building to be effective, a better system for documenting technology-related violations is needed.
The UN recognises freedom of expression on the internet as a human right
“The same rights that people have offline must also be protected online,” says an unprecedented resolution approved recently by the Human Rights Council.
Locking up cyberspace for minorities in Pakistan
Since 2007, freedom of expression on the internet has been compromised in Pakistan. The authorities started with blocking blasphemous content, went on to national security issues, then religious morality, and they are now targeting online content pertaining to minorities.
Uganda is a ripe state for open governance data
In the context of APC’s Action Research Network project, CIPESA developed a series of reports as a result of their research in open government data in Uganda, which shows the increasing demand for transparency and accountability through the use of ICT, as well as the existence of great expectations of the benefits that OGD could bring to the country.
Declaration of internet freedom
A collective that believes the internet should be an open and free space has agreed on some basic principles to start a global conversation: expression, access, openness, innovation and privacy. Join APC in supporting the declaration.
Open Letter: Google in Pakistan - Local and global civil society raises eyebrows
The Association for Progressive Communications and its member group in Pakistan, Bytes For All, is deeply concerned about Google’s latest business trip to Pakistan. Here are a few questions on Google’s planned policy on data retention and collection.
UN Human Rights Council holds first-ever discussion on Women Human Rights Defenders
The 20th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council convened a 3-hour panel on 26 June on Women Human Rights Defenders as part of its annual full-day discussion on women’s human rights.
Rio+20: A voice from Dhaka, Bangladesh
As sustainable development was being discussed in the UN Conference Rio+20, The Guardian asked a number of activists and researchers what they thought about the conference and which changes they had seen since the first summit 20 years ago. Read what APC member VOICE’s Ahmed Swapan Mahmud had to say about Bangladesh.
Internet: APC sees progress in the full recognition of the freedom of association and assembly
“As an international network and non-profit organisation that believes the internet is a global public good, we would like to extend our congratulation to the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for this work,” said APC in reference to a landmark report discussed at the UN in May 2012.
Three days of action
The Association for Progressive Communications is running three days of action this week – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – as part of its Connect Your Rights! campaign. Help us spread the word that Internet Rights are Human Rights! with three simple actions for you and your friends can undertake.
