
Français		Home		Contact Us		Help		Search		canada.gc.ca		Canada International

Home > Media Room

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Canadian Offices Abroad

Services for Canadian Travellers

Services for Business

Canada in the World

About the Department

SPEECHES

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996

Print friendly version - Printing Tips

<html> <head> <meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8"> <title>MR. AXWORTHY - ADDRESS TO THE NGO FORUM ON THE INTERNET AND HUMAN RIGHTS - MONTREAL, QUEBEC</title> </head> <body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0"> 98/54 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE LLOYD AXWORTHY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE NGO FORUM ON THE INTERNET AND HUMAN RIGHTS MONTREAL, Quebec September 11, 1998 This document is also available on the Department`s Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca We are here to examine how we can maximize the Internet's potential for good as a tool to promote and protect human rights -- its use for human rights education, as a means of organizing human rights defenders and getting information on human rights violations out to the world... ...The information superhighway can transport the best but it can also transport the worst. Hate speech, child pornography and child prostitution have moved onto the Net and they have to be dislodged. The aim is not to control the Internet per se, but to take aim at those who would misuse it for criminal and other illegal activities that can hurt or harm. The Internet should not be a law-free zone... In addition to better enforcement of domestic and international criminal laws, other means are being developed to address harmful and illegal content on the Net; these include self-regulation, software filtering, voluntary codes of conduct, and various forms of Internet watch activities to protect consumers and children. Next January in Paris, UNESCO will convene an international meeting of officials and experts on child pornography to co-ordinate a worldwide offensive against pedophile materials on the Internet. The newly minted International Criminal Court [ICC] has helped give definition to a range of international crimes and a mechanism to enforce the international Rule of Law. The Internet offers a potentially powerful way to make the most of this new instrument. It can disseminate information on the court's objectives and offer a channel to gain support for the Court's work. It can provide access and links to sites with key documents, such as the International Law Web site. It could perhaps provide a cyberforum where experts can assist the ICC from their own desktops. In these ways the Internet can extend the reach and ensure the effectiveness of the Court. Thus there is a serious agenda of potential actions to ensure that today's talking stick is not used to foment hatred and exploitation but is used instead to support those working against such evils. Yet we should not be overly preoccupied with the dark side of the Internet because the technology has a mind-boggling potential to break through barriers and overcome political obstacles -- to educate, inform and be an agent of political change. Putting information and communication technologies at the service of human needs means developing ways to deal with harmful and illegal uses, but we must take care that in doing so we do not destroy the very attributes that make these technologies such powerful tools for human rights advocacy in the first place. The revolution in communications and information technology is taking place at the same time as two other global trends: increasing democratization and the growing importance of global governance. One of the key questions for this conference is how we can link all these three trends. Information technology is reorganizing international politics, giving power and influence to the disenfranchised, empowering new groups and reshaping the constellation of international players. The Internet is an unparallelled tool in a complex world where soft power -- influencing events by using attractive ideas, promoting shared values and partnership -- is emerging as a way of pursuing our goals. I have seen first-hand the power of the new communications in the landmines campaign, where the Internet gave international civil society a new say in pushing forward shared objectives. Clearly, the new information and communications technologies are instruments for change. Our concern here is how to use them to achieve our goals of more democratic societies and better governance, with respect for the rule of human rights law. Democratization does not happen simply by holding elections. Democratization requires an active, effective civil society. It requires citizens who are ready, willing and able to participate in the political life of their country, and who are not only permitted but encouraged to do so. The Internet has the potential to shelter and nourish opposition groups who are seeking democratic change under repressive regimes. It can help overcome the monopolies of state-controlled media. Governments are still coming to grips with this new phenomenon. Some have not fully comprehended it. Some are reacting out of fear, trying to seal off their populations from the connection and influence of the Net -- an effort that frankly is futile. In new democracies, the Net can increase democratic awareness and popular participation. Canada has supported the establishment of an electronic conferencing service which links up parliamentarians from nine South African provinces. This project is part of our efforts to help South Africa rebuild and reform its post-apartheid governance institutions. The Internet also allows human rights defenders to educate, organize and get information about human rights violations out to the international community at the click of a mouse button. The reports of the UN Special Rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression -- a Canadian initiative -- are now widely available on the Net. This helps the international community track violations and marshal condemnation of governments that violate the human rights of their citizens. The Web site of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights allows complaints of human rights violations to be instantly transmitted to Geneva, where the human rights treaty bodies and rapporteurs can take urgent action to prevent further violations. Dozens of Internet mailing lists, Web pages, Usenet groups and other tools are springing up around the world to track human rights abuses. Urgent appeals and public campaigns in response to violations can be received instantly -- and can prevent further abuses. When the interest of major television networks has cooled and moved on, the Internet can help keep the heat on, focussing international attention on ongoing human rights abuses. A few examples come to mind. One is BurmaNet, where a network of volunteers in Thailand and Burma take original reporting from inside Burma and post it on the Net. Or consider what happened in Serbia in the winter of 1996, when students were protesting the government's refusal to respect election results; they succeeded in circumventing state controls on the media by operating a Web site to get news to the Serbian and international community. The potential of the Internet is limited only by the people who are able to take advantage of it. The Internet can only be a truly universal instrument for human rights if it is both equitable and accessible. Equity and accessibility are closely linked. Universal access, including targeted measures for marginalized groups, must be central to our efforts. If the Net is to serve human rights, it has to reach both urban and rural communities, developing and industrialized countries, women and men. The Net will only be a half-developed tool if it fails to respond to the needs of half the world's population. During preparations for the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, we saw women's groups from North and South forging links over the Net, exchanging information, establishing coalitions and building bridges. The Beijing Conference launched a global dialogue on gender and the information revolution, and this dialogue will be crucial in building an equitable and powerful framework for human rights and the Internet. Young people, the most active Internet users, are also applying their energy and imagination to ensuring universal access. The Youth International Internship Program has supported the training of developing-country NGOs in the uses of the Internet. Since 1997, over 100 young Canadians have worked with human rights organizations, many helping to provide them with technology training including Web site creation, Internet research methodology and electronic publishing. The examples I have cited demonstrate the power of the Internet to advance the cause of human rights. But they are just the beginning. We should continue to look for other ways to build on these successes, in particular by taking further advantage of the Net's interactive capabilities. To that end, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is looking at ways to adapt our own Human Rights Web site. We hope it already serves the needs of human rights defenders, students, academics and citizens interested in human rights. It is both an information and research resource and a reference tool through hyperlinks to a literal world of human rights information -- including For the Record, a new annual report prepared by Human Rights Internet with the support of the Department, on the work of the United Nations human rights system. We would like your ideas about how to make the Human Rights Web site function better for you, as people working daily to defend and teach about human rights. For example, we are considering creating, in partnership with civil society, an interactive cyberforum where those concerned or affected by human rights issues could exchange information and views. We would want to take into account existing resources and work closely with you, the NGO community, and others in developing this project. I hope, therefore, that in your deliberations here you will consider the utility of such an idea. The recommendations from this week's Conference in Montréal will be fed into the Canadian International Information Strategy [CIIS], a process I launched in 1996 to leverage Canada's strengths in modern communications in support of our foreign policy. Under the CIIS, we plan to develop a Canada Internet Channel. This premier Web site will showcase Canadian innovation and culture. It will engage others in the discussion of issues of importance to Canadians -- issues such as human rights, disarmament and democratic development. And it will draw additional international attention to the work many NGOs are doing on the World Wide Web. The Internet can be a powerful tool for human rights. Where human rights organizers once spent time clipping newspaper articles and organizing phone trees, now communication can be instantaneous and universal. International human rights standards can be made available to children around the world in order to help foster a global culture of human rights. Through the Net, governments can work in partnership with non-governmental organizations to provide human rights expertise and technical assistance. In this way, the Internet can work to close the gap between international human rights standards and practice on the ground. As a result, the old adage that says "The pen is mightier than the sword" can perhaps be updated for the 20th century to read "The mouse is mightier than the missile." Through your discussions here, you will begin to tackle some very complex questions. How can the Internet be used as a positive force for human rights -- for advocacy, awareness and urgent action in response to violations -- while guarding against its use as a tool to spread hatred? I have no illusions about the difficulty of the issues facing us in conceptual, legal and practical terms. But today's information and communications technology has enormous potential to move the human rights agenda forward. We have only glimpsed the possibilities and begun to take a few small steps. With further imagination and ingenuity we can certainly transform this technology into the new millennium's talking stick. Thank you. </body> </html>

2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996

Print friendly version - Printing Tips



Last Updated: 2006-10-30	Top of Page	Important Notices