IN the city of New York, the renowned headquarters of the United Nations on Tuesday, 26 November 2013, witnessed another milestone as the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee of the UN General Assembly made history by passing a resolution on privacy in the digital age.
For stakeholders in the human rights, especially those playing within the digital environment this was a major breakthrough for human rights advocates around the world, since it is the first resolution of this kind to focus on right to privacy.
For those at the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), given the recent Edward Snowden revelations and the current trend among several states to increase mass surveillance of electronic communications, this resolution will allows human rights advocates to campaign for better policies and legislations at national, regional and international levels.
For example, APC officials emphasised that “that unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as unlawful or arbitrary collection of personal data, as highly intrusive acts, violate the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and may contradict the tenets of a democratic society.”
Another positive aspect, according to them is that the resolution acknowledges the 2012 report by Frank La Rue, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on the implications of states’ surveillance on the human rights to privacy and to freedom of expression and association.
Additionally, the resolution opens up a space for further discussion of human rights online by asking the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to present a report on privacy and surveillance of digital communications at the Human Rights Council, as well as to the General Assembly in 2014, where a special session to examine the report and recommendations would be held.
DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that this resolution was based on a draft proposed by Brazil and Germany earlier in November this year and after negotiations with other states as well as the alleged lobbying of the United States (US) delegation, the resolution presented weaker language where, among other things, the link between privacy and freedom of expression was de-emphasised.
Despite these drawbacks, APC experts posited that it has already been used by advocacy groups at the national level. Shortly after, it was passed, for example, activists in Ecuador used it to lobby for the elimination of content in the new criminal code that infringes upon the right to privacy and legalises mass communications surveillance at the national level.
To this extent, APC salutes this resolution as a policy tool for rights groups to leverage their advocacy work. Joy Liddicoat from APC, said they welcome this opportunity to make a different , mostly on internet rights issues.
“We welcome the opportunity to bring internet rights issues before the Council and the General Assembly and will be advocating strongly for all rights and freedoms to be fully respected and protected online and offline,” she said, stressing that APC would continue to engage in joint civil society efforts to ensure that human rights on the internet are recognised, ensured and protected.
According to the resolution made available by DigitalSENSE Business News, at the United Nations Sixty-eighth session, the Third Committee agenda item 69 (b) on promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms met.
Some of the countries at the meeting include Argentina, Austria, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guatemala,
Indonesia, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Timor-Leste and Uruguay: revised draft resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age.
Following the resolution, the General Assembly, reaffirmed the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, reaffirming also the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The assembly also reaffirmed the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, noting that the rapid pace of technological development enables individuals all over the world to use new information and communication technologies and at the same time enhances the capacity of Governments, companies and individuals to undertake surveillance, interception and data collection, which may violate or abuse human rights, in particular the right to privacy, as set out in article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and is therefore an issue of increasing concern.
In addition, they reaffirmed the human right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, and the right to the protection of the law against such interferences, and recognizing that the exercise of the right to privacy is important for the realization of the right to freedom of expression and to hold opinions without interference, and one of the foundations of a democratic society.
They stressed the importance of the full respect for the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, including the fundamental importance of access to information and democratic participation, just as they welcomed the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-third session, on the implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression.
UN equally emphasized that unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as unlawful or arbitrary collection of personal data, as highly intrusive acts, violate the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and may contradict the tenets of a democratic society.
They noted that while concerns about public security may justify the gathering and protection of certain sensitive information, States must ensure full compliance with their obligations under international human rights law.
In furtherance, they deeply expressed concern at the negative impact that surveillance and/or interception of communications, including extraterritorial surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as the collection of personal data, in particular when carried out on a mass scale, may have on the exercise and enjoyment of human rights.
Above all, they reaffirmed that States must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism are in compliance with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.
Reiterating the right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, and the right to the protection of the law against such interference, as set out in article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Assembly recognized the global and open nature of the Internet and the rapid advancement in information and communication technologies as a driving force in accelerating progress towards development in its various forms;
Affirming that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, including the right to privacy.
Furthermore, they called upon all member states to respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context of digital communication; to take measures to put an end to violations of those rights and to create the conditions to prevent such violations, including by ensuring that relevant national legislation complies with their obligations under international human rights law.
In addition, UN committee calls for review of procedures, practices and legislation regarding the surveillance of communications, their interception and collection of personal data, including mass surveillance, interception and collection, with a view to upholding the right to privacy by ensuring the full and effective implementation of all their obligations under international human rights law.
As well, member states were asked to establish or maintain existing independent, effective domestic oversight mechanisms capable of ensuring transparency, as appropriate, and accountability for State surveillance of communications, their interception and collection of personal data.
Just as a request was made for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a report on the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance and/or interception of digital communications and collection of personal data, including on a mass scale, to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session and to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, with views and recommendations, to be considered by member states.
DigitalSENSE Business News recollects that the assembly decided to examine the question at its sixty-ninth session, under the sub-item entitled “Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms” of the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights.”
There is no doubt, therefore that this resolution is worthy of communication, although the core thing now is how the member states will perceive, interpret the resolution for the benefits of their citizens in a state like Nigeria, where the political office holders are not very comfortable with the avalanche of information sharing going on across social media platforms.
Like Mr. Frank La Rue recommended in his latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, the adoption of a resolution on the protection of the right to privacy in the digital age by the UN General Assembly, could be a first step, but “Much more can and must be done to ensure trust in the safety of communications around the world.”
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