APC Internet Rights Charter, 2002+ An overview Association for Progressive Communications

An overview

History of IRC developed first in 2001, in response to APC member strategic priority on 'securing internet rights,” (identified during the 2000 APC Council meeting) IRC linked to the APC Europe internet rights project of 1999-2001 (when APC first worked with groups like EFF) Other processes that fed into the APC IRC: People’s Communication Charter (with Cees Hamelink) this communications rights charter was part of the formation of the CRIS campaign-and was the product of groups from LAC and elsewhere that had a strong community media orientation Association for Progressive Communications

developed first in 2001, in response to APC member strategic priority on 'securing internet rights,” (identified during the 2000 APC Council meeting)

IRC linked to the APC Europe internet rights project of 1999-2001 (when APC first worked with groups like EFF)

Other processes that fed into the APC IRC:

People’s Communication Charter (with Cees Hamelink)

this communications rights charter was part of the formation of the CRIS campaign-and was the product of groups from LAC and elsewhere that had a strong community media orientation

Rights in focus Theme 1: The Right to Communicate Theme 2: Freedom of expression and information exchange Theme 3: Diversity, ownership and control of content Theme 4: Free/open source software, technology development and intellectual property rights Theme 5: Privacy Theme 6: Global, regional and national governance of the Internet Theme 7: Awareness, protection and realisation of rights See http://web.archive.org/web/20060207060642/rights.apc.org/charter.shtml Association for Progressive Communications

Theme 1: The Right to Communicate

Theme 2: Freedom of expression and information exchange

Theme 3: Diversity, ownership and control of content

Theme 4: Free/open source software, technology development and intellectual property rights

Theme 5: Privacy

Theme 6: Global, regional and national governance of the Internet

Theme 7: Awareness, protection and realisation of rights

See http://web.archive.org/web/20060207060642/rights.apc.org/charter.shtml

Purpose of the APC Internet Rights Charter intended to give people/members a sense of what our bottom line should be for national ICT policy advocacy it contributed to the early APC ICT policy monitor projects in LAC and Africa, by functioning as a policy 'check list' not intended as a “bill of rights” but for activists and users to think through what the internet should be like and what internet policies should contain it is a living document that will change & grow Association for Progressive Communications

intended to give people/members a sense of what our bottom line should be for national ICT policy advocacy

it contributed to the early APC ICT policy monitor projects in LAC and Africa, by functioning as a policy 'check list'

not intended as a “bill of rights” but for activists and users to think through what the internet should be like and what internet policies should contain

it is a living document that will change & grow

Purpose of the APC IRC (2) APC IRC revised in 2006 to include a reinterpretation of the UDHR from a internet perspective. ... and identifies specific clauses that seem particularly relevant to internet rights Circumvents the debate of whether communication rights are 'new rights' or not in recognition of concerns by Article 19 & other HR activists that campaigning for new rights could result in a reversal rather than extension of existing rights Overall aim: to produce a charter that addresses developing country issues as most of the mainstream HR discourse in the information society sector simply bypasses debate on the right to access for example. The IR charter is APC’s way of setting down what we feel are important and was being overlooked by others. Association for Progressive Communications

APC IRC revised in 2006 to include a reinterpretation of the UDHR from a internet perspective. ... and identifies specific clauses that seem particularly relevant to internet rights

Circumvents the debate of whether communication rights are 'new rights' or not in recognition of concerns by Article 19 & other HR activists that campaigning for new rights could result in a reversal rather than extension of existing rights

Overall aim: to produce a charter that addresses developing country issues as most of the mainstream HR discourse in the information society sector simply bypasses debate on the right to access for example. The IR charter is APC’s way of setting down what we feel are important and was being overlooked by others.

APC projects to implement the IRC APC members’ national ICT policy portals and integration of internet rights awareness-building into national ICT policy advocacy processes Translation/localisation of the IRC into 18 languages ... including Urdu, Filipino, Bengali. [ See http://www.apc.org/en/pubs/briefs/policy/all/apc-internet-rights-charter ] Rapid Response Network (RRN) - mirroring web sites of APC members threatened by government censorship. Association for Progressive Communications

APC members’ national ICT policy portals and integration of internet rights awareness-building into national ICT policy advocacy processes

Translation/localisation of the IRC into 18 languages ... including Urdu, Filipino, Bengali. [ See http://www.apc.org/en/pubs/briefs/policy/all/apc-internet-rights-charter ]

Rapid Response Network (RRN) - mirroring web sites of APC members threatened by government censorship.

Mainstreaming rights in cyberspace How do we move forward: APC is keen to collaborate around an action agenda, including perhaps: Summit/conference: on “development and the commons”? Any other ideas? Association for Progressive Communications

How do we move forward: APC is keen to collaborate around an action agenda, including perhaps:

Summit/conference: on “development and the commons”?

Any other ideas?