EDRI - Governance

Britain takes another step toward a new Bill of Rights

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 18:50:31 +0000

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The London School of Economics has commenced a project to help pave the way for strengthened constitutional rights in Britain. The initiative is to be conducted over the next two years by the School's newly formed Policy Engagement Research Group that was founded earlier this year by Privacy International's Simon Davies and Gus Hosein.

The issue of constitutional reform, particularly a Bill of Rights, is on the agenda of the main political parties. This year, Opposition Leader David Cameron has made a commitment to replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights, while the Liberal Democrats are committed to a written constitution. Currently Britain relies on the Human Rights Act as the basis

ENDitorial : E-society in SE Europe

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 09:15:58 +0000

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More then 350 participants from 10 different countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Czech Republic and Ireland) participated at the second International E-Society.Mk Conference organized by Metamorphosis Foundation in Skopje from 15-17 November 2006.

The focus of the conference was regional approach to ICT policy creation. The conference provided broad participation of experts, policymakers, advocacy groups and other stakeholders from Macedonia, the South-East European (SEE) Region and EU to share knowledge and experiences through series of panel discussions and workshops. It provided an excellent opportunity for different stakeholders from the region to discuss challenges

News on CoE activities on Human Rights in the Information Society

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 19:39:52 +0100

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On 20 June, Rikke Frank Joergensen (Digital Rights Denmark) and Meryem Marzouki (Imaginons un réseau Internet solidaire, IRIS - France) participated as EDRI observers to the 5th Council of Europe meeting of the Group of Specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (MC-S-IS). Among the many points on the agenda, the following news are worth reporting at this step.

The draft Recommendation on empowering children in the new information and communications environment has been submitted to the CoE Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services (CDMC), where some member states (France, Germany, Russia) expressed their willing to make further comments before having it adopted.

Set up of the Internet Governance Forum Advisory Group

Wed, 24 May 2006 18:48:44 +0100

The Internet Governance Forum Advisory Group (IGF AG) to the UN Secretary-General, selected by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 17 May, met in Geneva on 22-23 May to discuss the agenda and the programme of the Athens Meeting (31 October - 3 November 2006).

Members of the group and observers had a two-day meeting meeting under the leadership of Nitin Desai and Markus Kummer.

In an open and transparent discussion, the draft of the program included main topics for each day of the coming IGF meeting in Athens. These are :
- Access ( Internet connectivity, policies and costs with following workshops on: open (file) standards, investment incentives, etc.)
- Security ( building trust online, protecting users from spam, phishing, viruses, maintain security while protecting privacy and workshops with

Role of the developing countries in WSIS process

Wed, 10 May 2006 19:30:30 +0100

A special panel discussed the role of the developing countries in the WSIS panel at this year conference Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2006 (CFP 2006) that took place in Washington DC between 2-5 May.

The participants tried to identify what was the place of the developing countries in shaping the future of the Internet in the WSIS debate and what were the results of the debate in these countries, but also the role the Internet could have in the economic and democratic development of these countries.

Bill Drake, director of the project on the Information Revolution and Global Governance, summarized some of the benefits of the WSIS process, among them noticing the first high level dialogue in the international arena on the information society and its role in bringing together civil society active

CoE works on new instrument on children empowerment on the net

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 18:38:32 +0000

The Council of Europe Group of Specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (CoE MC-S-IS) held its 4th meeting on 9-10 March in Strasbourg, with EDRI participating in its capacity of non governmental observer. Among the many issues on the agenda were:

- the analysis of answers to the questionnaire sent by the group to CoE member States on their implementation of the CoE Declaration of freedom of communication on the Internet (only 7 out of 46 answers received so far); -the review of the CoE Recommendation on media coverage of election campaigns taking into account new medias, the mapping of human rights issues and guidelines with regards to roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders; - the development of strategies promoting digital inclusion and Internet literacy;

Civil Rights and Consumer Protection in ICANN's policies

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:34:04 +0000

In a public call to action released on 13 February 2006, Annette Muehlberg, European member of At-large Advisory Committee (ALAC) and co-chair network new media asked for public support in building up a regional structure to represent individual's interests and concerns.

The petition with the title "Help to strengthen Civil Rights and Consumer Protection in ICANN's policies! " considers that:

"The question of how Internet Governance is shaped is one of the central sociopolitical tasks of the coming years. It will be a matter of how consumers and Internet users can become involved in the policy making of ICANN.

There is, nevertheless, a civil society element in ICANN, the At-large Advisory Committee (ALAC), composed to represent Internet users, five regions in world each providing 3 representatives. At this point these

First Consultations on Establishment of Internet Governance Forum

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 22:08:43 +0000

Following the agenda of the WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) in Tunis in November 2005, the stakeholders will attend a meeting in Geneva, on 16 and 17 February for consultations regarding the convening of an IGF ( Internet Governance Forum) for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue. The meeting in Geneva is meant to deal with the scope and priorities of the Forum, its programme and character. The Forum will be hosted by the Government of Greece sometime in 2006, probably in Autumn.

The Forum was proposed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to solve the mostly argued and controversial subject of Internet governance occurred in Tunis WSIS. ( see EDRI-Gram 3.23)

Although the Forum has no binding or decision-making power many expect it to bear a large influence and to result in solutions and best practices to

Post-WSIS civil society letter to Kofi Annan

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 21:02:41 +0000

After the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Tunis between 16 and 19 November 2005, a large number of attending civil society organisations decided to write another letter to Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations. During the WSIS the Tunisian government committed serious attacks on human rights and the right to freedom of expression. These attacks included harassment of delegates, assaults on Tunisian and international journalists and human rights defenders, denial of entry to the country, the blocking of websites, the censorship of documents and speeches, and the prevention and disruption of meetings. See also the report on the disturbance of a panel on freedom of expression, in EDRI-gram 3.23.

In the letter they ask him to investigate the attacks on human rights experienced by the participants during the Summit. "We believe it is essential that lessons are learnt from what has taken place here this week and we therefore call upon you, the Secretary General of the United Nations, to launch a full investigation into the attacks on human rights and freedom of expression that we have witnessed in Tunisia both in the run-up to and during the World Summit on the Information Society. We ask you to closely monitor the follow-up period in Tunisia."

Civil Society Tunis declaration

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 20:13:25 +0000

APC, the association for progressive communication, reports on the civil society press conference on 18 November. Civil society representatives from all continents lined up on a panel to deliver a stark closing statement. The civil society statement was not finalised, but four points are addressed: internet governance, human rights, financing and development, and follow-up. The press conference essentially driven by questions of the audience, revolved around issues of development through ICTs.

Renate Bloem of the Civil Society Bureau kicked off the conference by saluting some language used in the official Tunis Commitment such as multistakeholderism. She held up that civil society has become a force to be reckoned with. "We have moved to become a partner in negotiations," she

Agreement on internet governance issue

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 20:10:00 +0000

The day before official opening of the summit, delegates finally reached an agreement on the sensitive issue of global internet governance. Both the US and the EU claimed victory at the creation of a new Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The forum will be set up next year and decide upon public policy issues for the internet. It will be made up of governments as well as private and civil society, but it will not have power over existing bodies. There will not be any new oversight on ICANN. Governments will continue to discuss policy desires within the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of ICANN.

Today, e-zine The Register reports that the only dissonant came from ITU secretary-general Yoshio Utsumi. At the closing press conference he said that while it would continue to discuss issues in the newly created

Tunisian government blocks citizens counter summit

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 20:08:34 +0000

While the Tunisian authorities did all they could to prevent civil society events outside the Kram exhibition centre, on Wednesday 16 November civil society activists succeeded in getting the upper hand against state repression. A press conference to announce the cancellation of the Citizens Summit transformed into a major human rights event.

When civil society activists and journalists moved from the official WSIS Kram centre to the offices of the Tunisian Human Rights League on Wednesday afternoon – the day of the opening of the WSIS summit – they didn't know what to expect. All earlier meetings and press conferences outside the official summit area had been forcefully prevented by Tunisian police and secret service. What they found, however, was a room packed with international journalists, civil society and government delegates,

General disappointment in WSIS-host Tunisia

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 20:00:53 +0000

As host country of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Tunisia has not lived up to the optimistic expectations of some UN officials, but in stead exceeded the worst expectations of civil society. Many individuals searched their souls whether to attend the Summit or not. But the promise of a Citizens Summit, dedicated to the human rights demands of civil society and inclusive of the Tunisian people and organisations purposefully excluded by the Tunisian government, convinced many of them to come to Tunis and mingle amongst the 23.000 official participants.

In an opinion article titled 'No place to talk about Internet freedom' for the International Herald Tribune, Kamel Labidi, the former director of Amnesty International-Tunisia, describes Tunisia as "one of the Arabs

Citizens' Summit on the Information Society

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 09:14:39 +0000

A broad coalition of human rights organisations has announced they will organise a Citizens' Summit on the Information Society in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005, to coincide with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

Citizens groups, civil society organisations, national, regional and international institutions, government delegations and all other interested parties and individuals are invited to participate in the Citizen's Summit on the Information Society.

The CSIS program will consist of a series of panels and conferences addressing main WSIS issues from the public perspective. CSIS aims to first of all send a strong message of support and solidarity from the international civil society to the local civil society and citizens in Tunisia. Secondly, CSIS wants to offer a specific civil society perspective on the main issues debated at the WSIS. In the first phase, in Geneva in 2003, thanks also to constant pressure from civil society, the conference focussed on human rights and social justice as cornerstones of the Information Society.

EDRI - Governance

Recommended Reading

Britain takes another step toward a new Bill of Rights

ENDitorial : E-society in SE Europe

News on CoE activities on Human Rights in the Information Society

Set up of the Internet Governance Forum Advisory Group

Role of the developing countries in WSIS process

CoE works on new instrument on children empowerment on the net

Civil Rights and Consumer Protection in ICANN's policies

First Consultations on Establishment of Internet Governance Forum

Post-WSIS civil society letter to Kofi Annan

Civil Society Tunis declaration

Agreement on internet governance issue

Tunisian government blocks citizens counter summit

General disappointment in WSIS-host Tunisia

Citizens' Summit on the Information Society