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World Summit on the Information Society

Rights & Democracy Launches New Publication Amid Human Rights Controversy At World Summit On The Information Society.

MONTREAL, September 19, 2003 - As part of its efforts at the PrepCom 3 of the World Summit on the Information Society, taking place in Geneva from 15-26 September, Rights & Democracy is releasing an essay by award-winning author Deborah Hurley called, Pole Star: Human Rights in the Information Society. The essay reviews specific challenges and opportunities for human rights posed by the information society - privacy, security, freedom of expression, freedom of movement and association, as well as access to technology and information, intellectual property rights and the right to education.

Our key recommendations include:

  • The Declaration of the World Summit on the Information Society should record the commitment of States to establish human rights as the platform on which the information society will be constructed.
  • A World Commission of the Information Society should be formed to articulate and establish, based on human rights, the necessary norms and institutions for the information society.
  • All States should undertake the specific legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives required to implement a common vision of an information society based on human rights. More generally, all States should ratify and concretely implement the international human rights instruments that comprise the International Bill of Human Rights and should accept the jurisdiction of relevant human rights bodies.
  • The United Nations Commission on Human Rights should appoint a Special Rapporteur on the Information Society to complete a study of human rights and the information society, as an input to the 2005 WSIS and the World Commission of the Information Society.

 

Two other publications will also be launched by the Human Rights Caucus on Friday, Sept. 19: Privacy and Human Rights 2003: An International Survey of Privacy Laws and Developments by Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International and A Global Report on Censorship, Surveillance and Control of the Internet by Privacy International and GreenNet Educational Trust.

In light of this interest in ensuring a human rights framework for the Information Society, Rights & Democracy is accordingly concerned by Tunisian President Ben Ali's appointment of Gen. Habib Ammar as president of the WSIS Organization Committee for its second phase (2003-2005). According to the World Organization Against Torture, Gen. Habib Ammar has a history of human rights violations in Tunisia. He was responsible for Tunisia's secret services at a time when torture was rampant and particularly brutal. Gen. Ammar's tenure as Tunisia's Minister of the Interior was also characterized by human rights violations. (see www.omct.org for more details)

Rights & Democracy is also increasingly concerned about the process unfolding in preparation for the Summit, scheduled to take place from December 10-12, 2003, in Geneva. We have been informed that access to the WSIS has been denied to at least two organizations: Human Rights in China (based in New York and Hong Kong), which repeatedly sees its access to international fora closed due to pressure by Chinese authorities; and Reporters Without Borders, even though it represents a very important voice for freedom of expression around the world.

Rights & Democracy is calling on President Ben Ali to appoint a new President to the WSIS possessing the necessary credibility for such an event and to ensure that all civil society organizations in Tunisia who wish to participate in the WSIS can do so freely. Rights & Democracy is also calling on the WSIS Secretariat to accredit both Human Rights in China and Reporters Without Borders, organizations working directly on the issues of concern to the information society. If the World Summit on the Information Society is to make a positive contribution, it must encourage all groups defending human rights to participate.

Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution created by an Act of Parliament in 1988 to promote, advocate and defend the democratic and human rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights. In cooperation with civil society and governments in Canada and abroad, Rights & Democracy initiates and supports programmes to strengthen laws and democratic institutions, principally in developing countries.

For More Information

Please contact Steve Smith (ext 255) or Louis Moubarak (ext 261) at Rights & Democracy, 514-283-6073.