The Charter of Human rights and principle for the internet is the basic policy that focuses more towards standardization. Its one of the basic rights and principle of user online and what they should know.
Specially in a developing country like ours where the internet penetration rate is 34.09 percent of the total population and the literacy rate is 53 percent the need of such charter is immense.
The role and objective of such charter cannot be defined within limitation of any boundaries where it can be used in various purpose and way for awareness, and building laws.
Specially in a developing country like ours where the internet penetration rate is 34.09 percent of the total population and the literacy rate is 53 percent the need of such charter is immense.
The role and objective of such charter cannot be defined within limitation of any boundaries where it can be used in various purpose and way for awareness, and building laws.
The Charter
of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet
This Charter of Human Rights and Principles
for the Internet has been developed by the Dynamic Coalition on Internet Rights
and Principles and draws inspiration from the Association for Progressive
Communications’ Internet Rights Charter and other pertinent documents.
The Charter builds on the WSIS Declaration
of Principles of Geneva and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, which
both recognize that Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) present
tremendous opportunities to enable individuals, communities and peoples to
achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and
improving their quality of life. Like the WSIS Declaration, this Charter aims
at building a people-centered information society, which respects and upholds
fundamental human rights that are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR).
This Charter interprets and explains
universal human rights standards in a new context - the Internet. The Charter re-emphasizes that human rights
apply online as they do offline: human rights standards, as defined in
international law, are non-negotiable.
The Charter also identifies internet policy principles which are
necessary to fulfill human rights in the Internet age – to support and expand
the capacity of the Internet as a medium for civil, political, economic, social
and cultural development.
Under International law, states are legally
obliged to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of their citizens.
Governments have the primary responsibility for realizing human rights within
their jurisdictions. The duty to protect requires governments to protect
against human rights violations committed by other actors, including businesses.
States are also obliged to take appropriate steps to investigate, punish and
redress human rights abuses which take place within their territory and/or
jurisdiction.
However, other actors also have
responsibilities under the International human rights regime. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights calls on “every individual and every organ of
society” to promote and respect human rights. While these responsibilities do
not equate to legal obligations (unless they have been enacted as such under national
legislation) they do form part of prevailing social norms which companies and
other private organizations should respect.
Thus while the primary responsibilities
under the Charter remain with governments, the Charter also provides guidance
to governments about how they must ensure that private companies are respecting
human rights, and guidelines to companies about how they should behave so as to
respect human rights in the Internet environment.
This Charter is still in draft form. The
final document will comprise of three sections. The first section (this
document) will interpret human rights in the context of an Internet enabled
social environment. The second section
will elaborate on implementation guidelines for specific actors and technologies.
The final section will explain and elaborate on each Charter article. It will
outline the drafting history of each article and list all supportive
documentation including International, regional and national law and
regulation, and standards set by civil society and other relevant institutions.
CHARTER
OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES FOR THE INTERNET
Version
1.1
Contents
Preamble
1) Right
to Access to the Internet
a) Quality
of service
b) Freedom
of choice of system and software use
c) Ensuring
digital inclusion
d) Net
neutrality and net equality
2) Right
to Non-Discrimination in Internet Access, Use and Governance
a) Equality
of access
b) Marginalized
groups
c) Gender
equality
3) Right
to Liberty and Security on the Internet
a) Protection
against all forms of crime
b) Security
of the Internet
4) Right
to Development through the Internet
a) Poverty
reduction and human development
b) Environmental
sustainability
5) Freedom
of Expression and Information on the Internet
a) Freedom
of Online protest
b) Freedom
from Censorship
c) Right
to Information
d) Freedom
of the Media
e) Freedom
from Hate Speech
6) Freedom
of Religion and Belief on the Internet
7) Freedom
of Online Assembly and Association
a) Participation
in Assembly and Association on the Internet
8) Right
to Privacy on the Internet
a) National
legislation on privacy
b) Privacy
policies and settings
c) Standards
of confidentiality and integrity of IT-Systems
d) Protection
of the virtual personality
e) Right
to anonymity and to use encryption
f) Freedom
from surveillance
g) Freedom
from defamation
9) Right
to Digital Data Protection
a) Protection
of Personal data
b) Obligations
of data collectors
c) Minimum
Standards on Use of Personal Data
d) Monitoring
by Independent Data Protection Authorities
10) Right
to Education on and about the Internet
a) Education
through the Internet
b) Education
about the Internet and Human Rights
11) Right
to Culture and Access to Knowledge on the Internet
a) Right
to participate in the cultural life of the community
b) Diversity
of languages and cultures
c) Right
to use one’s own language
d) Freedom
from Restrictions of Access to Knowledge by Licensing and Copyright
e) Knowledge
Commons and the Public Domain
f) Free/Open
Source Software and Open Standards
12) Rights
of Children and the Internet
a) Right
to benefit from the Internet
b) Freedom
from exploitation and child abuse imagery
c) Right
to have views heard
d) Best
interests of the Child
13) Rights
of People with Disabilities and the Internet
a) Accessibility
to the Internet
b) Availability
and affordability of the Internet
14) Right
to Work and the Internet
a) Respect
for Workers’ Rights
b) Internet
at the workplace
c) Work
on and through the Internet
15) Right
to Online Participation in Public Affairs
a) Right
to equal access to electronic services
b) Right
to participate in electronic government
16) Rights
to Consumer Protection on the Internet
17) Right
to Health and Social Services on the Internet
a) Access
to health-related content online
18) Right
to Legal Remedy and Fair Trial for actions involving the Internet
a) Right
to a Legal Remedy
b) Right
to a Fair trial
c) Right
to Due Process
19) Right
to Appropriate Social and International Order for the Internet
a) Governance
of the Internet for Human Rights
b) Multilingualism
and Pluralism on the Internet
c) Effective
Participation in Internet Governance
20) Duties
and Responsibilities on the Internet
a) Respect
for the Rights of Others
b) Responsibility
of power holders
21) General
Clauses
a) Interdependence
of all rights in the Charter
b) Limitations
on rights in the Charter
c) Non-exhaustive
nature of the Charter
d) Interpretation
of Rights and Freedoms of the Charter
Preamble
Whereas the Internet is a place where
people communicate, meet and congregate and a basic utility for people,
communities, organizations and institutions to accomplish all sorts of
activities in all areas of human and society endeavor;
Whereas affordable and knowledgeable access
to the Internet has become a fundamental need to fully realize all human rights
and fundamental freedoms, democracy, development and social justice;
Whereas the governance of the Internet,
from its infrastructure and protocols to its applications and usages, have
direct consequences on the realization of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms, democracy, development and social justice;
Whereas the full and universal enjoyment of
all human rights and fundamental freedoms requires the effective realization of
these rights also on the Internet;
Whereas the global nature of the Internet
is a precious asset to increase and sustain a better mutual knowledge,
understanding and acceptance of different peoples in a global word, beyond the
significance of local and regional particularities and various historical and
cultural backgrounds;
Whereas the universal, indivisible,
interdependent and interrelated nature of human rights outweighs the
specificities of any political, economic and cultural system;
Whereas the Internet has historically been
a publicly as well as privately ordered space, the realization and upholding of
all human rights in the digital environment require that states as well as all
other society actors fulfill their responsibilities in their respective
capacities;
Whereas a common understanding of how
universal human rights and freedoms apply in the digital environment is
necessary for the full realization of this pledge;
We bring this CHARTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND
PRINCIPLES FOR THE INTERNET as a common standard of achievement for all
stakeholders in the Internet environment. Every individual and every organ of
society shall act to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and, by
local and global measures, to secure their universal and effective recognition
and observance.
List
of Acronyms and Abbreviations
UDHR – Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
ICESCR – International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
CRC – Convention on the Rights of the Child
CRPD – Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities
1) Right
to Access to the Internet
Everyone has the right to access to, and
make use of, the Internet. This right underpins all other rights in this
Charter.
Access to and use of the Internet is
increasingly indispensible for the full enjoyment of human rights including the
right to freedom of expression, the right to education, the right to freedom of
peaceful assembly and association, the right to take part in the government of
a country, the right to work, and the right to rest and leisure. The right to
access to, and make use of, the Internet derives from its integral relationship
to all of these human rights.
The right to access to, and make use of,
the Internet shall be ensured for all and it shall not be subject to any
restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary in a
democratic society to protect national security, public order, public health or
morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other
rights recognized in the present Charter.
The right to access to, and make use of,
the Internet includes:
a) Quality
of service
The quality of service to which people are
entitled access shall evolve in line with advancing technological
possibilities.
b) Freedom
of choice of system and software use
Access includes freedom of choice of
system, application and software use. To facilitate this and to maintain
interconnectivity and innovation, communication infrastructures and protocols
should be interoperable, and standards should be open.
Everyone should be able to innovate in
content, applications, and services without having to undergo centralized
authorization and validation procedures
c) Ensuring
digital inclusion
Digital inclusion requires that all people
have access to, and effective use of, the range of digital media, communication
platforms and devices for information management and processing.
To this end active support shall be
available for self-managed and other community-based facilities and services.
Public Internet access points shall be made available, such as at telecentres,
libraries, community centres, clinics and schools. Access to the Internet via
mobile media must also be supported.
d) Net
neutrality and net equality
The Internet is a global commons. Its
architecture must be protected and promoted for it to be a vehicle for free,
open, equal and non-discriminating exchange of information, communication and
culture. There should be no special privileges for, or obstacles against, any
party or content on economic, social, cultural, or political grounds. This does
not preclude positive discrimination to promote equity and diversity on and
through the Internet.
2) Right
to Non-Discrimination in Internet Access, Use and Governance
As enshrined in Article 2 of the UDHR:
everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any
kind, "such as ethnicity, colour, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status".
Nothing in the present Charter may be
interpreted as preventing affirmative action designed at ensuring substantive
equality for marginalized peoples or groups.
On the Internet, the right to
non-discrimination in the enjoyment of all rights includes:
a) Equality
of access
Certain groups in society systematically
have more limited or restricted Internet access and the means and opportunities
for effective use than others. This can
amount to de-facto discrimination in terms of their ability to enjoy the human
rights that the Internet supports. Thus efforts to increase access and
effective use must recognize and address these inequalities.
b) Marginalized
groups
The specific needs of all people in using
the Internet must be addressed as part of their entitlement to dignity, to
participate in social and cultural life, and to respect for their human rights.
Special attention must be paid to the needs of marginalized groups including
the elderly, young people, ethnic and linguistic minorities, and indigenous
peoples, persons with disabilities and all sexuality and gender
identities.
All hardware, code, applications and
content should be designed using universal design principles so that they are
usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for
adaptation or specialized design. This includes the need for multiple languages
and scripts to be supported.
c) Gender
equality
Women and men have an equal right to learn
about, define, access, use and shape the Internet.
There must be full participation of women
in all areas related to the development of the Internet to ensure gender
equality.
3) Right
to Liberty and Security on the Internet
As enshrined in Article 3 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person".
All security measures must be consistent
with international human rights law and standards. This means that security
measures will be illegal where they restrict another human right (for example
the right to privacy or the right to freedom of expression) except for in
exceptional circumstances. All restrictions must be precise and narrowly
defined. All restrictions must be the minimum necessary to meet a genuine need
which is recognized as legal under International law, and proportionate to that
need. Restrictions must also meet additional criteria which is specific to each
right. No restrictions outside of these strict limits are permitted.
On the Internet, the right to life, liberty
and security includes:
a) Protection
against all forms of crime
Everyone shall be protected against all
forms of crime committed on or using the Internet including harassment,
cyber-stalking, people trafficking and misuse of one’s digital identity and
data.
b) Security
of the Internet
Everyone has the right to enjoy secure
connections to and on the Internet. This includes protection from services and
protocols that threaten the technical functioning of the Internet, such as
viruses, malware and phishing.
4) Right
to Development through the Internet
All UDHR human rights require economic,
social, cultural and political development in order to be fully realized, as
recognized in the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986.
The Internet has a vital role to play in
helping to achieve the full realization of human rights, in particular in
eradicating poverty, hunger, and diseases and promoting gender equality and
empowerment of women.
The right to development includes the full
enjoyment of all rights related to the Internet and set out in this Charter.
On the Internet, the right to development
includes:
a) Poverty
reduction and human development
Information and communication technologies
shall be designed, developed and implemented to contribute to sustainable human
development and empowerment.
b) Environmental
sustainability
The Internet must be used in a sustainable
way. This relates to the disposal of e-waste and to the use of the Internet for
the protection of the environment.
5) Freedom
of Expression and Information on the Internet
As enshrined in Article 19 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.
As laid out in the ICCPR, the right to
freedom of expression may be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall
only be such as are provided by law and are necessary for respect of the rights
or reputations of others; or for the protection of national security or of
public order, or of public health or morals. No restrictions to the right to
freedom of opinion are permissible.
Freedom of expression is essential in any
society for the enjoyment of other human rights and social goods including
democracy and human development.
On the Internet, the right to freedom of
expression and information includes:
a) Freedom
of Online protest
Everyone has the right to use the Internet
to organize and engage in online and offline protest.
b) Freedom
from Censorship
Everyone has the right to use the Internet
without censorship in any form. This includes freedom from any measures
designed to intimidate Internet users or close down expression online,
including: freedom from cyber attacks and freedom from harassment online.
Freedom from censorship online also
includes freedom from blocking and filtering. Blocking and filtering systems
which aim to prevent access to content and are not end-user controlled are a
form of prior censorship and cannot be justified.
Internet intermediaries must never be
pressured by states or other parties to remove, hide or block content, or
disclose information about Internet users.
c) Right
to Information
Everyone has the right to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through the Internet.
Everybody has the right of access to make
effective use of government information, which must be released in a timely and
accessible manner, according national and international law.
d) Freedom
of the Media
The freedom and pluralism of the media
shall be respected.
e) Freedom
from Hate Speech
The beliefs and opinions of others must be
respected, online as well as offline. As laid out in Article 20 of the ICCPR,
"any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes
incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by
law."
Certain very specific limitations to the
right to freedom of expression may be undertaken on the grounds that they cause
serious injury to the human rights of others. However, this must not be used to
protect abstract or subjective notions or concepts, or institutions, but rather
to protect individuals and groups of people.
Restrictions under this article must meet
the standards for all restrictions of the right to freedom of expression as
defined above.
6) Freedom
of Religion and Belief on the Internet
As enshrined in Article 18 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion". This right includes freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his or her religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance. This right also includes freedom
from religion. This right must not be used to illegally limit any other human
rights.
7) Freedom
of Online Assembly and Association
As enshrined in Article 20 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an
association".
On the Internet, the right to freedom of
assembly and association includes:
a) Participation
in Assembly and Association on the Internet
Everyone has the right to form, join, meet
or visit the website or network of an assembly, group or association for any
reason.
Access to assemblies and associations using
ICTs must not be blocked or filtered.
8) Right
to Privacy on the Internet
As enshrined in Article 12 of the UDHR:
"no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with
their privacy, family, home or correspondence. Everyone has the right to the
protection of the law against such interference or attacks".
On the Internet the right to privacy
includes:
a) National
legislation on privacy
States must establish, implement and
enforce comprehensive legal frameworks to protect the privacy and personal data
of citizens. These must be in line with
international human rights and consumer protection standards, and must include
protection from privacy violations by the state and by private companies.
b) Privacy
policies and settings
Privacy policy and settings of all services
must be easy to find, and the management of privacy settings must be
comprehensive and optimised for usability.
c) Standards
of confidentiality and integrity of IT-Systems
The right to privacy must be protected by
standards of confidentiality and integrity of IT-Systems, providing protection
against others accessing IT-Systems without consent.
d) Protection
of the virtual personality
Everyone has a right to a virtual
personality: The virtual personality of the human person, [i.e. the personal
identification in information systems] is inviolable.
Digital signatures, user names, passwords,
PIN and TAN codes must not be used or changed by others without the consent of
the owner.
The virtual personality of human persons
must be respected. However, the right to a virtual personality must not be
misused to the detriment of others.
e) Right
to anonymity and to use encryption
Every individual has the right to
communicate anonymously on the Internet.
Everyone has the right to use encryption
technology to ensure secure, private and anonymous communication.
f) Freedom
from surveillance
Everyone has the freedom to communicate
without arbitrary surveillance or interception (including behavioural tracking,
profiling, and cyber-stalking), or the threat of surveillance or interception.
Any agreement regarding access to online
services that includes acceptance of surveillance shall clearly state the
nature of the surveillance.
g) Freedom
from defamation
No one shall be subjected to unlawful
attacks on their honour and reputation on the Internet. Everyone has the right
to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. However
protection of reputation must not be used as an excuse to limit the right to
Freedom of Expression beyond the narrow limits of permitted restrictions.
9) Right
to Digital Data Protection
As enshrined in Art 12 of the UDHR everyone
has the right to privacy. An important aspect of this right is that everyone
has the right to protection of personal data concerning him or her.
On the Internet, the right to protection of
personal data includes:
a) Protection
of Personal data
Fair information practices should be
enacted into national law to place obligations on companies and governments who
collect and process personal data, and give rights to those individuals whose
personal data is collected.
b) Obligations
of data collectors
The collection, use, disclosure and
retention of personal data must all meet transparent privacy-protecting
standards.
Everyone has the right to exercise control
over the personal data collected about them and its usage. Whoever requires
personal data from persons, shall request the individual's informed consent
regarding the content, purposes, storage location, duration and mechanisms for
access, retrieval and correction of their personal data.
Everyone has a right to access, retrieve
and delete the personal data collected about them.
c) Minimum
Standards on Use of Personal Data
When personal information is required, only
the minimum data necessary must be collected and for the minimum period of time
for which this is required.
Data must be deleted when it is no longer
necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
Data collectors have an obligation to seek
active consent and to notify people when their information has been forwarded
to third parties, abused, lost, or stolen.
Appropriate security measures shall be
taken for the protection of personal data stored in automated data files
against accidental or unauthorised destruction or accidental loss as well as
against unauthorised access, alteration or dissemination.
d) Monitoring
by Independent Data Protection Authorities
Data protection should be monitored by
independent data protection authorities, which work transparently and without
commercial advantage or political influence.
10) Right
to Education on and about the Internet
As enshrined in article 26 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to education". Everyone has the right to be
educated about the Internet and to use the Internet for education.
On the Internet the right to education
includes:
a) Education
through the Internet
Virtual learning environments and other
sorts of multimedia, learning and teaching platforms shall take into account
local and regional variations in terms of language, pedagogy and
knowledge-traditions.
Publications, research, text books, course
materials and other kinds of learning materials shall be published as Open
Educational Resources with the right to freely use, copy, reuse, adapt,
translate and redistribute them.
Free or low-cost training opportunities,
methodologies and materials related to using the Internet for social
development shall be promoted.
b) Education
about the Internet and Human Rights
Everyone shall be educated about the
Internet
Education on the Internet shall include
raising awareness and respect for human rights (online and offline).
Digital literacy shall be a key component
of education. Knowledge and skills enable people to use and shape the Internet
to meet their needs.
11) Right
to Culture and Access to Knowledge on the Internet
As enshrined in Article 27 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the
community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its
benefits".
Also enshrined in Article 27 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material
interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production"
of which he or she is author.
Intellectual property is a social product
and has a social function. Thus, intellectual property protection must balance
the rights of creators with the public interest. Copyright regimes must not
disproportionately restrict the capacity of the Internet to support public
access to knowledge and culture.
On the Internet the right to freely
participate in culture includes:
a) Right
to participate in the cultural life of the community
Everyone has the right to use the Internet
to access knowledge, information and research. Everyone has the freedom to
access and share information of public value without being subject to
harassment or limitations.
Everyone has the right to make use of the
knowledge and instruments of the past to enhance the personal and collective
knowledge of the future.
b) Diversity
of languages and cultures
The public service value of the Internet
shall be protected, including access to quality and diverse information as well
as different cultural content.
The Internet shall represent a diversity of
cultures and languages in terms of appearance and functionality.
Cultural and linguistic diversity on the
Internet must be realized in all forms (e.g. text, images and sound).
Technological evolution and innovation to
promote diversity on the Internet shall be promoted.
Indigenous knowledge shall be protected and
promoted online.
c) Right
to use one’s own language
All individuals and communities have the
right to use their own language to create, disseminate, and share information
and knowledge through the Internet.
Special attention shall be given to
promoting access for minority languages. This includes promotion of the technology
and content required to access and use domain names, software, services and
content in minority languages and scripts.
d) Freedom
from Restrictions of Access to Knowledge by Licensing and Copyright
Creators have the right to be remunerated
and acknowledged for their work and innovations. However, this must be achieved
in ways which do not restrict further innovation or access to public and
educational knowledge and resources.
Licensing and copyright of content must
permit knowledge to be created, shared, used and built upon. Permissive
licensing models shall be used.
Internationally accepted ‘fair use’
exceptions and limitations to copyright must be used, including making copies
for personal and classroom use, format conversion, library lending, review,
critique, satire, research and sampling. Techniques which prevent ‘fair use’
exceptions must be prohibited.
e) Knowledge
Commons and the Public Domain
Publicly funded research and intellectual
and cultural work must be made available freely to the general public, where
possible.
f) Free/Open
Source Software and Open Standards
Open standards and open formats must be
made available.
Free/libre and Open Source Software (FOSS)
must be used, promoted and implemented in public and educational institutions
and services.
When a free solution or open standards do
not exist, the development of the needed software shall be promoted.
12) Rights
of Children and the Internet
Children are entitled to all of the rights
in the present Charter. Furthermore, as enshrined in Article 25 of the UDHR:
childhood is "entitled to special care and assistance". As enshrined
in Article 5 of the CRC young people are entitled to respect for their
“evolving capacities”.
In terms of the Internet this means that
children must both be given the freedom to use the Internet, and also protected
from the dangers associated with the Internet. The balance between these
priorities shall depend on the young person’s capabilities. The State must
respect the rights and responsibilities of parents and the extended family to
provide guidance for the child which is appropriate to her or his evolving
capacities.
On the internet the right to special care
and assistance and respect for evolving capacities of children includes:
a) Right
to benefit from the Internet
Children should be able to benefit from the
Internet according to their age. Children must have opportunities to use the
Internet to exercise their civil, political, economic, cultural and social
rights. These include rights to health, education, privacy, access to
information, freedom of expression and freedom of association.
b) Freedom
from exploitation and child abuse imagery
Children have a right to grow up and
develop in a safe environment that is free from sexual or other kinds of
exploitation. Steps must therefore be taken to prevent the use of the Internet
to violate the rights of children, including through trafficking and child
abuse imagery. However, such measures must be narrowly targeted and
proportionate. The effect of measures
taken on the free flow of information online must be given due consideration.
c) Right
to have views heard
Children who are capable of forming their
own views have the right to express them in all Internet policy matters that
affect them, and their views shall be given due weight according to their age
and maturity.
d) Best
interests of the Child
As enshrined in Article 3 of the CRC:
"in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or
private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities
or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary
consideration".
13) Rights
of People with Disabilities and the Internet
People with disabilities are entitled to
all of the rights in the present Charter. As enshrined in Article 4 of the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD),
“States Parties undertake to ensure and promote the full realisation of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities without
discrimination of any kind on the basis of disability”.
The Internet is important in enabling
persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental
freedoms. Special measures must be taken to ensure that the Internet is
accessible, available and affordable.
On the Internet, the rights of people with
disabilities include:
a) Accessibility
to the Internet
Persons with disabilities have a right to
access, on an equal basis with others, to the Internet.
Such access must be promoted through: the
development, promulgation and monitoring of minimum standards and guidelines
for accessibility; the provision of training on accessibility issues facing
persons with disabilities; and the promotion of other appropriate forms of
assistance to people with disabilities to ensure their access to information.
b) Availability
and affordability of the Internet
Steps must be taken to ensure the
availability and effective use of the Internet by people with disabilities.
Research and development must be undertaken
to promote the availability of Information and Communications Technologies in a
format suitable for persons with disabilities. Priority should be given to
developing technologies at an affordable cost.
Persons with disabilities have the right to
accessible information about assistive technologies, as well as other forms of
assistance, support, services and facilities.
14) Right
to Work and the Internet
As enshrined in Article 23 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to work".
On the Internet, the right to work
includes:
a) Respect
for Workers’ Rights
Everyone has the right to use the Internet
to form trade unions, including the right to promote one's own interests and
gather in freely elected organs of representation.
b) Internet
at the workplace
Workers and employees shall have Internet
access at their work place, where available.
Any restrictions on Internet use in the
work place shall be explicitly stated in staff or organizational policies.
The terms and conditions for surveillance
of the Internet use of employees must be clearly stated in work place policies
and comply with the right to data protection.
c) Work
on and through the Internet
All people shall have the right to seek
employment and to work through or by means of the Internet.
15) Right
to Online Participation in Public Affairs
As enshrined in Article 21 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to take part in the government of his [or her]
country, directly or through freely chosen representatives".
On the Internet the right to take part in
the government of one’s country includes:
a) Right
to equal access to electronic services
Article 21 of the UDHR also states that
“everyone has the right of equal access to public service in the country”.
Everyone has the right to equal access to electronic services in his country.
b) Right
to participate in electronic government
Where electronic government is available,
everyone must have the right to participate.
16) Rights
to Consumer Protection on the Internet
Everyone must respect, protect and fulfill
principles of consumer protection on the Internet.
E-Commerce must be regulated to ensure that
consumers receive the same level of protection as they enjoy in non-electronic
transactions.
17) Right
to Health and Social Services on the Internet
As enshrined in Article 25 of the UDHR:
"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health
and well-being of himself [or herself] and of his [or her] family, and
necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of
unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of
livelihood in circumstances beyond his [or her] control".
On the Internet the right to a standard of
living adequate for health includes:
a) Access
to health-related content online
Everyone shall have access to
health-related and social services on the Internet.
18) Right
to Legal Remedy and Fair Trial for actions involving the Internet
a) Right
to a Legal Remedy
As enshrined in Article 8 of the UDHR:
"everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national
tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him [or her] by the
constitution or by law".
b) Right
to a Fair trial
As enshrined in Article 10 of the UDHR: "everyone
is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and
impartial tribunal, in the determination of his [or her] rights and obligations
and of any criminal charge against him [or her]".
Criminal trials must follow fair trial
standards as defined by the UDHR (Articles 9 – 11) and the ICCPR (Articles 9
and 14 – 16) as well as other pertinent documents.
It is increasingly common for the right to
a fair trial and to an effective remedy to be violated in the Internet environment,
for example with Internet intermediary companies being asked to make judgements
about whether content is illegal and encouraged to remove content without a
court order. It is therefore necessary to reiterate that procedural rights must
be respected, protected and fulfilled on the Internet as they are offline.
c) Right
to Due Process
Everyone has the right to due process in
relation to any legal claims or possible violations of the law regarding the
Internet.
19) Right
to Appropriate Social and International Order for the Internet
As enshrined in Article 28 of the UDHR:
"Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the
rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized".
On the Internet the right to an appropriate
social and international order includes:
a) Governance
of the Internet for Human Rights
The Internet and the communications system
must be governed in such a way as to ensure that it upholds and expands human
rights to the fullest extent possible.
Internet governance must be driven by
principles of openness, inclusiveness and accountability and exercised in
transparent and multilateral manner.
b) Multilingualism
and Pluralism on the Internet
The Internet as a social and international
order shall enshrine principles of multilingualism, pluralism, and
heterogeneous forms of cultural life in both form and substance.
c) Effective
Participation in Internet Governance
Everyone has the right to participate in
the governance of the Internet.
The interests of all those affected by a
policy or decision shall be represented in the governance processes, which
shall enable all to participate in its development.
Full and effective participation of all, in
particular disadvantaged groups in global, regional and national
decision-making must be ensured.
20) Duties
and Responsibilities on the Internet
As enshrined in Article 29 of the UDHR:
"Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full
development of his personality is possible".
On the Internet the duties of everyone to
the community include:
a) Respect
for the Rights of Others
Everybody has the duty and responsibility
to respect the rights of all individuals in the online environment.
b) Responsibility
of power holders
Power holders must exercise their power
responsibly, refrain from violating human rights and respect, protect and
fulfill them to the fullest extent possible.
WSIS Civil Society Caucus, 2005, Civil
Society Declaration: Much More Could have been Achieved, Document WSIS-05/TUNIS/CONTR/13-E,
December 2005 18, www.itu.int/wsis/docs2/tunis/contributions/co13.doc
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