Welcome to the 38th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks.
As the Nigerian telecoms regulator is reviewing its licensing processes, CITAD is calling for the inclusion of community networks as a special category of licences to help reach the more than 50% of Nigerians who still have no access to the internet, which has become more vital than ever.
APC has joined with over 150 other civil society organisations and independent experts to call for the moratorium following media revelations that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware has been used to facilitate human rights violations around the world on a massive scale.
Open letter
Joint open letter by civil society organisations and independent experts calling on states to implement an immediate moratorium on the sale, transfer and use of surveillance technologyDozens of civil society organisations and independent experts joined forces to express their alarm at the media revelations that NSO Group’s spyware has been used to facilitate human rights violations around the world on a massive scale and to call on states to take immediate measures.
Report
Mapping and Analysis of Privacy Laws and Policies in Africa: Summary ReportWhile privacy has become ever more crucial in a world where digital technologies are key to livelihoods and the promotion of other rights, there are insufficient protections for the right to privacy in many African countries, and some have steadily taken measures to undermine this right.
Statement
HRC47: NGO joint end-of-session statementIn this joint statement, APC and other civil society organisations share their perspectives on the recently concluded 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council, held in Geneva from 21 June to 13 July in a hybrid format that combined face-to-face and online sessions.
Submission
Digital rights in Zimbabwe: Joint submission to the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of ZimbabweThis UPR submission was co-authored by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe Chapter, Small Media and Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), and supported by APC and numerous other global and regional organisations.
Report
Platforms, Power and Politics: Perspectives from domestic and care work in IndiaThis report presents the findings of a two-year research project undertaken by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) to study the entry of digital platforms in domestic and care work in India. The project was supported by APC as part of the Feminist Internet Research Network.
Submission
Gender justice and the right to freedom of opinion and expressionIn this response to the call by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression for contributions to the thematic report to be presented to the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, APC addresses the issue of gender justice and its intersection with these rights from a feminist lens.
Statement
Joint civil society statement: People’s health and rights – and not intellectual property and profit – should be at the centre of responses to the COVID-19 crisisAs international, regional and national civil society organisations working at the intersection of technology and human rights, we call on the world's governments to lift the intellectual property barriers that hinder universal access to health care and free COVID-19 vaccination for all.
Statement
End the wave of digital censorship in IndiaAPC joins with other civil society organisations to denounce the escalating situation of digital authoritarianism in India, including the efforts to intimidate web platforms into compliance with the government's censorship measures.
How are APC members improving their communities’ lives? Delhi-based not-for-profit organisation Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) works on bridging the digital divide in rural areas in India.
In India, the drive for the digitisation of services, combined with offline violence, marginalisation and stigma, make it almost impossible for transgender persons to be considered as people who deserve equal rights.
The integrated biometric database system in Kenya exposes multilayered challenges of statelessness, loss of basic human rights and obstacles to availing government services. Through conversations with Mariam, a Nubian woman we learn about the tedious and lengthy process to obtain an ID card.
Columns
In this weekly column, longstanding associate of APC David Souter looks at different aspects of the digital society. Issues covered include internet governance and sustainable development, human rights and the environment, policy, practice and the use of ICTs.
How are APC members improving their communities' lives? In this section we're highlighting stories of impact and change by our members, supported by APC sub-granting.
Other APC sites
