IGF 2014

Human Rights for the Internet: From Principles to Action

A seachange has taken place as national legislatures and intergovernmental organizations now recognize that they have human rights responsibilities online as well as offline, e.g. the UN Human Rights Council resolution (2012), the successful passage into law of the rights-based Marco Civil for the Internet in Brazil (2014), the launching of the New Zealand Greens’ Internet Rights and Freedoms Bill (2014), and the central role given to human rights as part of Internet governance processes in the NETmundial Outcome Document (2014). These developments underscore the achievements of Civil Society Organizations, global networks of engaged academics, grassroots groups, and digital activists, and courageous individuals who have been working to raise awareness about human rights online, and how they impact on Internet governance agendas. This work has been gathering momentum since the IGF began, inspired by earlier precedents. It includes research and campaigns around specific human rights concerns for the online environment, e.g. privacy and freedom of expression, alongside cross-sector collaborations to generate authoritative human rights frameworks for decisions on how we design, access, and use the Internet.

In light of how these aspirations have become actions, the workshop brings together representatives from initiatives that (i) link their work in this area to the IRPC Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet, and (ii) those initiatives that underpin and develop the objectives and content of the IRPC Charter. All participants have contributed to this wider historic recognition of the formative role that international human rights law and norms play in the future of global Internet governance. It is also a workshop that is taking place in the “post-Snowden” context of Internet governance decision-making, which throws up a number of pressing issues around inclusiveness and participation, rule of law, jurisdiction, technical standards, and the ongoing need to educate and raise awareness about rights and fundamental freedoms in the online world. The accent is on bringing to the discussion current examples of how each project represented here has been implementing human rights issues for the Internet, for which constituency and for what purpose. We will address achievements as well as tackle the particular obstacles and opportunities that each initiative encounters. We will share knowledge and brainstorm ways forward. We also consider those sections of the IRPC Charter that need updating or reconsideration in light of the changing context of human rights and Internet governance discussions across stakeholder groups and terrains.

This workshop marks the next step in the “Charter 2.0” project set in motion at the Bali IGF now that the IRPC Charter has proven its worth at the level of national legislatures, grassroots awareness-raising, and global campaigns to call public and private Internet service providers to account in how they ensure human rights online can be protected and enjoyed. It links to two other workshops co-organized by the IRP Coalition that flesh out the details of rights-based Internet governance principles at the individual and process level.

Agenda: The session will be divided into two parts: 1) brief panellist interventions and audience Q&A, 2) Break-out groups led by panellists to brainstorm, and where appropriate take part in some “policy-jamming” on specific points. Remote Participants will also be invited to provide examples and suggestions to the panellists about how they can move their work forward.

Outcomes: All participants will take away with them at least one concrete recommendation or insight from the session for their work. The session itself will also generate 3-6 concrete recommendations for further action that apply to all participants.