internet shutdowns
Update: On 10 October, Alaa was able to inform his lawyers, and put it officially on record, that he has been beaten, threatened and robbed at the Tora Prison. He was told if he spoke out it would become worse, and faces the risk of further beating and torture. In the words of his family, "Alaa decided, as always, not to be silent. We, now, must do our part." ------------------------------------------- At the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) we are al...
This article was originally published on the website of APC member organisation EngageMedia. As an organisation that stands for media freedom and digital rights, EngageMedia finds the recent threats against freedom of expression in West Papua concerning, including undue restriction and harassment, as well as internet blocking and throttling. UN Human Rights Council experts have urged the Indonesian government to protect the rights of activists in Papua and to allow unrestricted access to com...
Dear MTN Sudan CEO Melik Melamu & MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter: We write to urgently request that you publicly denounce the internet shutdowns in Sudan, and pledge your support to maintain unfettered internet access in the country, especially in moments of conflict or unrest. In line with your past commitments to respect digital rights in the places where you operate, it is crucial that you exe...
Speaker: Gayatri Khandhadai Thank you, Madam Vice President. The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Women and Media Collective draw the attention of this Council to the situation in Sri Lanka. Since the bombings on 21 April, the country has been under a state of emergency, where the police and the security forces have sweeping powers to search and detain citizens. The pres...
Speaker: Gayatri Khandhadai Madam Vice President, The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO) thank the Special Rapporteur for the update on the situation in Myanmar. We would like to draw the attention of Myanmar and the council to the rampant and unfettered spread of hate speech offline and online. We echo the observation of the...
Thank you Madam Vice President, The Association for Progressive Communications would like to draw the attention of this Council to the continuing violations of human rights in online contexts. As noted by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in his report to this Council, the internet has become central to the exercise of freedom of assembly an...
1. All governments have the duty to protect the right to freedom of expression and information, all the more so if they are democratically elected. However, the decision to shut down internet access in nine townships in Rakhine and Chin States without any prior notice or limitation clearly infringes these human rights and is a matter of great concern to our organizations as it should be to all ...
The Association for Progressive Communications, Hivos/Digital Defenders Partnership, Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, Columbia Global Centers | Tunis and close partners are hosting the seventh Disco-tech event on 10 June in conjunction with the 2019 RightsCon Summit in Tunis. We invite you to join us for this innovative peer-learning event on detecting, documenting and bypassing internet ...
“The internet was being used to promote racial hatred […] so we were forced to temporarily shut down internet services until we were able to take control of the situation,” stated Minister of External Affairs of Cameroon Lejeune Mbella Mbella to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) during the country’s review at the Committee on 20 and 21 February...
