[huridocs-tech] EUMAP / HREA papers: Information for Human Rights

NEW ARTICLES ONLINE AT EUMAP.ORG: Information for Human Rights (Part
I and Part II)
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NEW ARTICLES ONLINE AT EUMAP.ORG - INFORMATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Eumap.org - in collaboration with Human Rights Education Associates
(HREA) - is pleased to publish a feature on the most topical and
important issues regarding information and human rights. The feature
consists of two parts. The first part focuses on the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS). The second part is dedicated to case-studies
on specific uses of information to defend and promote human rights and
public interest issues around the globe.

Part I "The WSIS and beyond" deals with human rights and the information
society. Various UN and civil society agencies met in Geneva in 2003 at
the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with an aim to
work towards a "people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented
Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilise and
share information and knowledge". Although human rights were
specifically on the agenda, and the participants solemnly reaffirmed the
universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelation of human
rights, many activists felt that this important topic received only
marginal attention. The three different essays featured here scrutinise
both achievements and shortcomings of the first WSIS and the Declaration
of Principles and the Plan of Action adopted at the Summit.

* The role and responsibility of the EU in an development of the
inclusive and just information society is highlighted in the first
article of the selection, by a British scholar from the University of
Essex. The analysis shows that a so-called "digital divide" can have a
negative impact on human rights in the less developed countries; hopes
and expectations are placed on the upcoming second WSIS in Tunis in
January 2005.
* The second article, by members of the Danish National Institute for
Human Rights, sheds light on a very complex impact that the information
society can have on human rights - from potential conflicts between data
collection and privacy, to dangers of ever-expanding state surveillance
in the name of security, to possible infringements on free speech; it
also highlights a recent good practice: a multinational Forum to enable
human rights defenders world-wide.
* The third essay of the first part, by an Austrian academic, is
dedicated to the intricate nature of the relationship between various
rights, such as the right to information and the right to protection of
intellectual property. The article analyses how the information society
can resolve potential conflicts.

Part II "Case Studies from Around the Globe" provides snapshots of how
information serves to defend and promote human rights and public
interest issues in different countries. Electronic resources, in
particular the Internet, have become perhaps the most important resource
for information and documentation about human rights. Even in less
developed countries on the other side of the ''digital divide'' - or
perhaps because of the digital divide - the shared electronic resources
have come to compensate the informational gaps. Many organisations and
institutions promoting human rights use the power of new media,
particularly the Internet, to educate people about civil and human
rights issues, the rights of vulnerable groups, and to generate debate
on a variety of public interest issues.

* A highly successful online anti-torture campaign by Amnesty
International is analysed in depth in the article by a British scholar
from the Leeds Metropolitan University. The two-year AI campaign -
although subsequently discontinued - has been a powerful tool to address
and in many instances stop torture. However, while the Internet has its
undeniable benefits, it also has its limitations, and human rights
advocates are urged to consider how to tame the power of Internet for
the world-wide advocacy, without sacrificing quality and credibility.
* An experience of Nepal may be of use to anyone who is engaged in human
rights advocacy and aims to quickly and efficiently reach out to
communities often deprived of traditional means of information, either
due to the absence of infrastructure, or due to suppression of
information by states.
* As if in response: an expert web developer shares concerns about
overreliance on the Internet - over the traditional means of gathering
and distributing information - and risks that could pose.
* The discussion of state censorship and suppression of information in
China, a central theme of the article by an activist from the Garden
Networks, complements the discussion of various other issues raised in
the feature. A high-tech method of overcoming suppression of information
may be a (controversial) solution, sending a message to states that
sooner or later information becomes public knowledge, in spite of
censorship and suppression.
* The Internet is only as good as people using it. Both the tremendous
potential and inevitable limitations of using the Internet for educating
the public and reaching out to policy makers by human rights defenders
in Belarus are studied by the creators of a new portal there. In a
context of restricted freedom, the Internet could be a means to promote
human rights and influence decision-makers - but only when human rights
defenders are themselves sufficiently aware of the issues and tools at
hand.
* Finally, activists engaged in anticorruption and transparency issues,
including competition policy and consumer protection, might find very
useful the piece by the president of the US-based Antitrust Institute, a
virtual public interest network, which was started from scratch, but
which thanks to enthusiasm and commitment of its members has grown to be
taken seriously by the government and decision-makers in the US.

Part I: The World Summit and Beyond (available on:
http://www.eumap.org/journal/features/2004/infohr1/infohr/)
Part II: Case Studies From Across the Globe (available on:
http://www.eumap.org/journal/features/2004/infohr1/infohr2/)

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Eumap.org is an online centre for comprehensive resources, news, and
analyses, committed to delivering information on, and generating debate
about, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. EUMAP.ORG is the
website of the Open Society Institute's EU Monitoring and Advocacy
Program. To find out more about the Program click here:
http://www.eumap.org/about.

EUMAP has published reports on:

- Minority Protection (in the five largest EU members and ten candidate
countries)
- Corruption and Anti Corruption Policy
- Judicial Independence and Capacity
- Equal Opportunities for Men and Women (in cooperation with OSI's
Network Women's Program/NWP)

EUMAP reports are available here: http://www.eumap.org/reports.

Currently EUMAP carries out the following new monitoring projects:
- Access to Education and Employment for People with Intellectual
Disabilities (in cooperation with OSI's Mental Disability Advocacy
Program/MDAP)
- Broadcasting Regulation and Media Independence (in cooperation with
OSI's Network Media Program/NMP)

To contact EUMAP or receive further information on our activities,
please send us an email at eumap@osi.hu



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