Meaning of a Global Perspective

“There is a widespread desire to tackle online interference with elections and political discourse. To date, much of the debate has focused on what processes should be established without adequate consideration of what norms should underpin those processes. Human rights law should be at the heart of any discussion of regulation, guidance, corporate or societal responses. The UN Secretary- General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation has recently reached a similar conclusion, stating ‘there is an urgent need to examine how time-honoured human rights frameworks and conventions should guide digital cooperation and digital technology’. This paper attempts to contribute to this examination. Chapter 2 of this paper clarifies terms and concepts discussed. Chapter 3 provides an overview of cyber activities that may influence voters. Chapter 4 summarizes a range of responses by states, the EU and digital platforms themselves. Chapter 5 discusses relevant human rights law, with specific reference to: the right to freedom of thought, and the right to hold opinions without interference; the right to privacy; the right to freedom of expression; and the right to participate in public affairs and vote. Chapter 6 offers some conclusions, and sets out recommendations on how human rights ought to guide state and corporate responses.”

Published by Access Now, this new report responds to states’ efforts to introduce platform regulation frameworks (like the EU’s Digital Services Act, for example). Many such laws aimed at regulating platforms turn into tools of oppression, as Access Now has documented extensively. To help ensure that policymakers seek platform accountability respecting international human rights standards and the rule of law, the report offers a checklist consisting of five principles: 1) Ensuring institutional checks and balances of state power; 2) Safeguarding an independent and impartial judiciary; 3) Establishing transparent and good governance; 4) Protecting and enabling free and safe civic space; 5) Establishing and adequately enforcing data protection principles before regulating online platforms.

In this thematic report, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, documents the interconnected erosion of both freedom of expression and the right to vote. “If public confidence in elections is to be restored, the decline in freedom of expression must be reversed,” the Rapporteur states and points to key vulnerabilities: political polarization, a surge of dis/misinformation and hate speech online, “the backsliding of social media platforms on their commitments to safety and electoral integrity,” and the weak state of the traditional media sector. In compiling the report, the Rapporteur conducted multiple consultations, including regional workshops in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Santiago, and Istanbul, and received dozens of written contributions from experts, including CGFoE.

The UN resolution acknowledges that some new and emerging technologies may not be compatible with international human rights law. Evidence shows that emotion recognition technologies are fundamentally incompatible with human rights, and future resolutions should ban these technologies. The resolution also introduces stronger language on remote biometric surveillance systems, such as facial recognition, which raises concerns about their proportionality. The increasing use of biometric technologies has chilling effects on freedom of expression and behaviour, deterring people from participating in public assemblies or expressing their ideas or religious beliefs. Governments are called to prohibit remote biometric identification in publicly accessible spaces and mass surveillance. However, the core group failed to address new challenges for privacy, such as social media monitoring. The resolution is urged to include strong recommendations to ensure social media intelligence collection, analysis, and sharing strictly conforms with human rights standards and data protection frameworks.

The latest report by the Human Rights Center “Viasna,” published over the summer, provides an updated review of the crackdown on rights and freedoms in Belarus, covering the period from March 2023 to March 2024. The report shows that, under the pretext of tackling extremism and terrorism, the Belarusian authorities have been amending legislation and using it to ramp up repression. The report outlines applicable international standards, surveys national legislation, explains the practice of designating individuals and legal entities as “extremist” and “terrorist,” and unpacks criminal prosecution practices employed to restrict free speech – on charges from the dissemination of fakes to “insulting government officials” to hooliganism, among many others.

"This paper considers the impact of digital transformation on internationally recognised human rights, legal and constitutional rights, and domestically protected interests. It considers specific case studies, and provides a brief overview of international and domestic initiatives to protect ‘rights in the digital age’. Developed in the context of the 2022 Ministerial meeting of the Committee on Digital Economy Policy, this paper sets the scene for further discussion and supports policy makers in designing and achieving a rights-oriented and human-centric digital transformation."

The Gender Apartheid Inquiry, conducted by a Panel of UK Parliamentarians and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, seeks to investigate the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan and Iran and join the conversation on codifying gender apartheid. The Inquiry’s recently published report argues that while the Rome Statute includes the crime of gender persecution, “the experience of women and girls in Afghanistan and Iran, although different in some respects, requires a more accurate representation in law” due to the institutionalization and scale of oppression. The report reviews the states of education, employment, movement, expression, assembly, association, and access to justice for women and girls in the two countries. The Inquiry then examines the gender apartheid concept and considers legal avenues for codifying it.

"In the present report, the Special Rapporteur explores the linkages between the right to freedom of expression, including the right to information, and sustainable development. She introduces a paradigm shift in looking at sustainable development through the lens of freedom of expression. While recognizing important progress made in normative standards for access to information, the Special Rapporteur highlights that more is needed to ensure that the voices of those most disadvantaged in society are heard. She argues that only when both access to information and the effective participation of youth, Indigenous communities, the media, human rights defenders, civil society actors and others are fulfilled will the promise to leave no one behind be realized. As world leaders prepare to gather at the United Nations Headquarters in September 2023 to review progress on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, the Special Rapporteur calls for renewed political commitment to uphold freedom of expression, an enabler of sustainable development."

Freedom of expression and access to information is an essential human rights right that enables public engagement and participation in decision-making. It is integrated into the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and is incorporated into Goal 16, which aims to promote peaceful societies, justice, and effective institutions. However, the world still has a long way to go to meet the SDGs by 2030, particularly Goal 16, which concerns freedom of expression. This briefing assesses the progress of achieving Goal 16 and its contribution to achieving all SDGs, identifies gaps in international processes, and provides recommendations for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The briefing aims to contribute to discussions at the SDGs Summit in September 2023 and help States and the international community determine what must be done to make the most of this stocktaking moment.

Published with the support of the UNESCO Pau Casals Chair, a joint initiative between the Pau Casals Foundation and the Open University of Catalonia, this research paper explores the legacy of Pau Casals, renowned Spanish cellist, composer, and advocate for peace, freedom, and democracy, who was forced into exile due to war in 1939. Human rights lawyer and researcher Laurence Cuny breaks down international protection mechanisms for artists at risk through a historical perspective: Part I unpacks the protection of artists as a human rights matter; Part II relays the contributions of Casals as a cultural rights defender; and Part III assesses the present-day structures of protection, their gaps, and ways that the role of Casals “continues to be of value to address these gaps.”