internet shutdown
Oral Statement Delivered Under General Debate Item 3 UN Human Rights Council 40th Session 8 March 2019 Speaker: Gayatri Khandhadai Thank you Mr. President. The Association for Progressive Communications echoes the deep alarm expressed by the Secretary-General at the opening of this session over the shrinking of civic space online. In every region of the world, restrictive laws are being applied online to censor independent voices, squash dissent and create a chilling effect on civil so...
In regards to internet freedom, Africa got off to an awful start in 2019. Internet disruptions were registered in five countries (Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sudan and Zimbabwe) within the first three weeks of the year. The disruptions were related to elections, protests against government policies, and what seemed like a coup attempt. With several nations set to conduct elections during the course of 2019, many more shutdowns could be witnessed. This report presents observatio...
As African citizens become progressively aware of their rights, more will take to the streets to demand that their leaders meet their needs. Civil disobedience is a tool that some governments on the continent are increasingly realising can be fuelled and sustained by the internet, and this has seen more governments impose an internet shutdown. This has become a go-to solution at both country an...
Re: Internet shutdown in upcoming elections in Nigeria Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) Nigerian Communications Commission CC: Maria Arena, Chief Observer European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria We the #KeepItOn Coalition welcome your statement dated 1 February 2019 reaffirming your commitment to ensure the stability...
Intentional disruptions of internet access – commonly known as internet shutdowns – restrict a range of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs). Ahead of Cameroon’s review at the 65th session of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) (18 February-8 March 2019), where the government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Eco...
This report focuses on the relationship between meaningful access to the internet and the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs) in Cameroon, and in particular, the violation of these rights that come with internet shutdowns. Accordingly, it relates to articles 1, 2, 6, 12, 13 and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). While access ...
On 11 January, while researching the current wave of internet shutdowns in Africa, we contacted our Harare-based colleague Chief K.Masimba Biriwasha, coordinator of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms project, to get his insights. He responded three days later: "Sorry for the delay, I was experiencing outages myself. Zimbabwe is on shutdown." Throughout the African continent...
Re: Internet shutdown in Zimbabwe Your Excellency Minister Kazembe Kazembe, Minister of Information and Communication Technology and Cyber Security We are writing to urgently request that you ensure the stability and openness of the internet in Zimbabwe. We have received reports that your government has shut down the internet. On behalf of the more than 170 organizations from over 60 countries ...
Re: Internet shutdown in Eastern Ethiopia Your Excellency, We are writing to urgently request that you ensure the stability and openness of the internet. We have received reports that your government has shut down the internet in Jijiga, Dire Dawa, and Harar cities in Ethiopia. On behalf of the more than 150 organizations from over 50 countries that make up the #KeepitOn Coalition, we implore ...
Internet shutdowns: A study of social impact in India is the second in the series of DEF’s efforts for advocacy against internet shutdowns. The previous research report, Anatomy of virtual curfews: Human rights vs national security, highlights the existing and emerging threats to fundamental rights and human rights on account of arbitrary, unnecessary, and disproportionate imposition of Inter...
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2019
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