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Archive for the ‘United Nations’ Category

UN: Disconnecting File-Sharers Breaches Human Rights: “

According to a UN report published in May and set to be adopted today, tough provisions in the UK’s Digital Economy Act and and France’s ‘Hadopi’ legislation breach human rights.

The Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression details concern for measures being put in place by various governments to punish online copyright infringement. In many cases those measures include the draconian step of denying citizens’ Internet access.

‘While blocking and filtering measures deny users access to specific content on the Internet, States have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely,’ says the report.

‘The Special Rapporteur considers cutting off users from Internet access, regardless of
the justification provided, including on the grounds of violating intellectual property rights law, to be disproportionate and thus a violation of article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’

The report highlights the so-called 3 strikes-style schemes adopted by France and the UK, noting that the author of the report, Frank La Rue, is ‘alarmed’ by proposals to severely punish Internet users if they violate intellectual property rights.

‘This also includes legislation based on the concept of ‘graduated response’, which imposes a series of penalties on copyright infringers that could lead to suspension of Internet service, such as the so-called ‘three-strikes-law’ in France and the Digital Economy Act 2010 of the United Kingdom,’ notes the report.

In addition to calling on governments to maintain Internet access ‘during times of political unrest,’ the report goes on to urge States to change copyright laws, not in favor of the music and movie industries as has been the recent trend, but in keeping with citizens’ rights.

‘In particular, the Special Rapporteur urges States to repeal or amend existing intellectual copyright laws which permit users to be disconnected from Internet access, and to refrain from adopting such laws,’ the report adds.

Whether or not the report will carry any influence with these so-far stubborn governments remains to be seen, but the Open Rights Group are keeping up the pressure on Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. ORG have written to Hunt asking for his reaction to the Special Rapporteur’s report and his recommendation that the Digital Economy Act’s disconnection provisions should be repealed.

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Source: UN: Disconnecting File-Sharers Breaches Human Rights

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(Via TorrentFreak.)

UN split on cybercrime conventions: “A United Nations committee on international crime prevention is split on how to deal with cybercrime. Some countries want the existing European convention to be adopted worldwide, while others want a completely new agreement to be created.“

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

UN issues call for international privacy agreement: “

Countering counter-terror powers

A UN watchdog has called for a new international agreement on privacy following a review of the expanding global array of surveillance measures and databases advanced by governments in the cause of counter-terrorism.…

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(Via The Register – Public Sector.)

UN urges fight against hate speech in cyberspace, June 16 2009

The United Nations on Tuesday appealed to parents, the Internet industry and policy-makers to join hands to eradicate hate speech from cyberspace.

Addressing a day-long seminar titled “Unlearning Intolerance” on the danger of “cyberhate,” UN chief Ban Ki-moon lauded the benefits of the Internet but regretted that “there are those who use information technology to reinforce stereotypes, to spread misinformation and propagate hate.”

“Some of the newest technologies are being used to peddle some of the oldest fears,” he warned, decrying what he called “digital demonization… targeting innocents because of their faith, their raace, their ethnicity, their sexual orientation.”

The secretary general said the Internet industry “can help ensure that hate speech does not proliferate online” and urged policy-makers to “take a hard look at this problem and work to safeguard people while balancing basic freedoms and human rights.”

He also stressed that parents have a responsibility to teach their children to safely surf the Internet.

The world body began its “Unlearning Intolerance” series in 2004 with a forum on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and has continued the program with lectures and seminars since then.

Speakers at Tuesday’s seminar included UN Under Secretary-General for Public Information Kiyo Akasaka, chief security officer at News Corporation and MySpace Hemanshu Nigam, and Ban’s special representative on violence against children Marta Santos Pais.

Media For Freedom – news, articles and views e-magazine: “Holocaust Denial at the UN Durban II Planning Committee:
‘Anti-racism’ Forum Provides Platform for Antisemites

The Durban II planning committee, now meeting in Geneva, today took up the Holocaust sections of the ‘draft outcome document.’ In final form it is scheduled for adoption at the April Conference. Anne Bayefsky, Editor of EYEontheUN, commented: ‘The Durban II platform was the perfect opportunity for Iran and Syria to deny the facts of the Holocaust. Providing a forum to spew antisemitism is apparently the UN’s idea of combating racism.’

Today’s events ought to signal an end to the U.S. State Department discussion about whether it is in the best interests of the United States to attend Durban II. ‘If Secretary of State Clinton agrees to go to Durban II, or engage in a political dialogue over the draft outcome document,’ says Professor Bayefsky, ’she will legitimize an avenue for spreading hate – not tolerance.’

The draft under discussion affirmed ‘…that the Holocaust…resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with numerous members of other minorities…’ Syria objected and called for the words to be removed on the following grounds: ‘I don’t think we should get into a kind of statistical debate. As far as I know that there is no agreement on the consensus on the percentage of those who perished in the Holocaust. Maybe there is some kind of consensus on the figures on the percentage, but we are not quite sure. Maybe those who perished half of the jewish people, maybe less than half, maybe third, maybe less…’

Then the European Union suggested the addition of a new paragraph: ‘Recalls and urges states to implement UN General Assembly Resolutions 60/7 and 61/255 which observe that remembrance of the Holocaust is critical to prevent further acts of genocide; condemned without reservation any denial of the Holocaust; and urge all member states to reject denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or in part, or in any activities.’

Iran objected: ‘There is a notion inside this paragraph where there is talk about condemning without reservation any denial of holocaust. This entails with it implicit restriction on elaboration and review, or critical examination and review and study of holocaust – which is a very clear example of a violation of freedom of expression…a fundamental principle right for a democratic society….We suggest the deletion of this paragraph.’

Neither of the paragraphs could be agreed upon since the Durban II process is to work by consensus.

At the Durban I Conference a minimalist reference to the Holocaust was agreed upon in exchange for condemnation of Israel as racist. Today it emerged that the same ‘trade-off’ is in the offing for Durban II.

The Planning Committee also took up the latest draft sections alleging Israel is racist – the only such country-specific allegation in a document purportedly having global application. They include:

* ‘Expresses deep concern at the practices of racial discrimination against the Palestinian people as well as other inhabitants of the Arab occupied territories’
* ‘…the Palestinian people…have been subjected to… torture…’
* ‘…a foreign occupation founded on settlements, laws based on racial discrimination… contradicts the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations…’

The European Union indicated it wanted the sections removed. Saudi Arabia called the provisions ‘very important’, and talked about Israeli ‘massacres’ and the ’suffering of the Palestinian people.’

Pakistan told the EU that the paragraphs condemning racist Israel were in the document to stay since Israeli racism was already a feature of the first Durban Declaration and Programme of Action: ‘May I remind – we are not here to renegotiate the Durban Declaration and it is already there; we are at the Review Conference and we cannot renegotiate. We have to review what…has been implemented or not, what’s lacking and what possible course of action we can suggest for addressing this particular cause.’ Pakistan is correct that the allegation of racist Israel is a part of the Durban I Declaration. No amount of negotiation will change that, and on Tuesday of this week’s meeting the European Union already agreed to ‘reaffirm’ Durban I.

All participants are aware Durban I was widely perceived as being an antisemitic and anti-Israel hatefest. The prospect of President Obama announcing the U.S. will not attend, and some European Union countries deciding not to participate, is the elephant in the negotiating room. But the Palestinian delegation made it clear that they will not permit their chief Durban II interest – labeling Israelis as racists – to go off the agenda in exchange for Western participation. ‘We will not allow taking the issue of Palestine as hostage to the…ongoing process of negotiations or the Durban Review Conference in general.’ On the contrary, they are convinced the European Union will agree to some form of a condemnation of Israel, regardless of the fact that no other country is in the docket. They watched it happen at Durban I in 2001 and they expect more of the same at Durban II.

U.N. agency eyes curbs on Internet anonymity | Politics and Law – CNET News: “”

Posted by Declan McCullagh, U.N. agency eyes curbs on Internet anonymity, September 12, 2008 4:00 AM PDT

A United Nations agency is quietly drafting technical standards, proposed by the Chinese government, to define methods of tracing the original source of Internet communications and potentially curbing the ability of users to remain anonymous.
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