JustNet Coalition petitions ITU Plenipotentiary on Internet Governance rights

ITRealms:

A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) and individuals under the aegis of Just Net Coalition from across the globe has petitioned the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on Internet Governance (IG) rights, reports ITRealms.

The petition signed by the co-convener, Mr. Norbert Bollow, was sent to the 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union expressing concerns with issues of Internet governance, from the perspective of all human rights, including democracy and social justice.

ITRealms gathered that JNC statement was addressed to ITU conference that will take place from 20 October to 7 November 2014, in Busan, South Korea, part of which states:

“As we stand on the cusp of a social revolution mediated through ICTs, of which the Internet is a central paradigm, it is important for the Conference to take note of key global issues that are in its ambit so as to address them and contribute positively to the further development of ICTs in general and the Internet in particular.

“It will be a missed opportunity and a great disservice to the world if the Conference gets bogged down over the issue as to whether Internet is telecommunication or not, and accordingly whether the ITU should be dealing with Internet related public policy issues.

“Surely it is more productive to recognize, as many have done, that the ITU does have an important role to play with respect to certain issues, and to concentrate on agreeing on a programme with respect to those issues.

“In that light, the Just Net Coalition calls on the Plenipotentiary Conference to:

1.       Resolve that there is a need to develop a comprehensive treaty on cyber-security and cyber-peace with discussions to be initiated by the ITU given the strong need for domain knowledge including core technical knowledge.

2.     

  As a first step in that direction, call upon all states to accede to the 2014 International Telecommunication Regulations, which include an article on network security.

Recognize and endorse the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) on the protection and promotion of the right to privacy, in the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance and/or the interception of digital communications and the collection of personal data, including on a mass scale.”

+RemmyNweke (ITRealms)
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