Tag: UNHRC

Today countries around the world urged the small island state of Nauru to restore access to social media and support free expression. Delivered in a session at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the recommendations — presented by official delegations from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Timor Leste, among others — represent a sharp rebuke after Nauru clamped down on free expression over the past year, including blocking Facebook. In a separate action, Access Now delivered a petition to the government of Nauru signed by more than 5,000 people calling on the government to restore full access to the internet.

Responding to civil society voices, and the leadership of Brazil and Germany, the Human Rights Council has moved decisively forward in the battle for privacy online.

The 28th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC28) is taking place right now through March 27 in Geneva. Access developed a policy brief with our partners at APC highlighting the key digital rights issues on the Council’s agenda, as well as relevant side events and countries under review in the Universal Periodic Review.

Access joined 62 other non-governmental organizations in calling for the UN Human Rights Council to appoint a new, independent expert on the right to privacy on Monday. The letter recommends a mandate of exploring the scope and content of the right to privacy and also that the expert should provide guidance to ensure that states, companies, and implement and enforce the right.

The UN Human Rights Council will review the human rights record of the government of Spain on Wednesday as part of its Universal Periodic Review. Access calls on UN member states to recommend that Spain halt the criminalization of encryption, and to protect the rights of all users in the country.

Access, in coordination with partners, has submitted a comment in advance of the Human Rights Council 2015 Universal Periodic Review of the United States of America, which calls for reform of current surveillance laws, including the establishment of remedial mechanisms.

This briefing note, prepared by APC and Access, highlights the key internet rights-related issues in the Human Rights Council’s agenda for the 27th session, as well as countries scrutinized in the Universal Periodic Review.

On June 25, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution to develop a treaty holding transnational companies legally responsible for human rights abuses.

As the 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) nears its close, the Council today adopted a resolution on the “The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet,” spearheaded by Sweden, Brazil, Tunisia, Nigeria, Turkey, Sweden, and the USA. As we noted in our HRC briefing note, this resolution follows up on the Council’s landmark resolution two years affirming that human rights apply online as they offline.

The 26th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) opened this week and there are a number of internet-related human rights issues on the agenda, including a new resolution on promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet.