Pakistan
"It's a sad day for rights activists: Islamabad High Court allows government to suspend mobile phone services," Pakistan-based rights activist Talal Raza said on 21 March, as Islamabad suffered from a network shutdown. The shutdown coincided with the rehearsal for the Pakistan Day Parade, to be held on 23 March, and has raised serious concerns among human rights defenders. In a statement shared on their website, APC member in Pakistan Media Matters for Democ...
This report looks at current trends and challenges with regard to internet rights in India, Malaysia and Pakistan, with a particular emphasis on online freedom of expression, association and assembly. It was produced in the framework of the Advocacy for Change through Technology in India, Malaysia and Pakistan (APC-IMPACT) project, a joint initiative between Digital Empowerment Foundation (India), EMPOWER (Malaysia) and Bytes for All, Pakistan (Pakistan).
The rights to freedom of assembly and of association (FoAA) are among the fundamental human rights, enshrined in the domestic law of Pakistan and the International Bill of Human Rights. These rights are among the fundamental requisites for a democracy and a vital means for exercising many other civil, political, cultural, economic and social rights, allowing people to express their political op...
The rights to freedom of assembly and of association (FoAA) are among the fundamental human rights enshrined in the domestic law of Pakistan and the International Bill of Human Rights. Domestically, FoAA is outlined in Articles 16 and 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Internationally, FoAA is outlined in Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Articles 21 and 22 of the...
The manner in which the government of Pakistan orchestrated the forceful enactment of the controversial Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 is demonstrative of its blatant disregard for human rights and due process. Civil society, citizens and journalists have repeatedly raised concerns about the provisions of this legislation and have warned of the undesirable consequences to the s...
With the increasing use of the internet in various aspects of daily life as well as for the exercise of fundamental freedoms, it is critical that governments fulfil their obligation to promote and protect human rights online. However, in Pakistan, many of the restrictions imposed on rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), such as freedom of expressi...
Pakistan’s new and controversial cyber crime bill is poised to become a law after the National Assembly passed it today. The bill now has the approval of both the upper and lower house of the Parliament and requires only the presidential signature before formally being enacted as a law. Media Matters for Democracy, Bytes for All, Pakistan and the Association for Progressive Communications (AP...
Joint written statement submitted by the Association for Progressive Communications to the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council: State of Internet Rights in India, Malaysia and Pakistan With the increasing use of the internet for the exercise of freedom of expression and exchange of opinion globally, governments must fulfill their obligation to promote and protect human rights online. Howev...
Bytes for All, Pakistan, Media Matters for Democracy and the Association for Progressive Communications express their grave concerns over the recent development regarding the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill in the national assembly and reject the bill in its current shape. Passage of the draconian law by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz dominated house is another painful moment in the legislat...
This regional research paper frames the discussions of freedom of assembly and association (FOAA) online, focusing on the challenges, trends, recommendations and areas for further study in India, Malaysia and Pakistan. It is part of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) project entitled “Networking for freedom online and offline: protecting freedom of information, expression an...
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2017
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