The IRPC Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet: Five Years On
This meeting marks five years since the IRPC Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet begun as a collaborative, cross-sector project to develop a coherent and legally viable human rights framework that could be applied to Internet governance policy-making and processes. In that time it has moved from rough draft form to an authoritative working document that has framed and guided thinking across a number of sectors. This past year it has also started to be implemented on the ground. For instance, it has informed intergovernmental analyses of existing human rights for the online environment (e.g. the Council of Europe Guide on Human Rights for Internet Users) and legal analyses (e.g. the Chilean Institute of Human Rights). The Charter and its “Ten Punchy Principles” have proven their relevance as working models for grassroots awareness-raising campaigns (e.g. the Hivos IG-MENA Click Rights campaign), and innovative legislative initiatives (e.g. the NZ Greens’ Internet Rights and Freedoms Bill). The Charter work has also benefitted and learnt from precursor and parallel initiatives through the contributions of individuals and organizations in the IRPC such as the APC Bill of Internet Rights and the Brazilian Marco Civil da Internet. The IRPC Charter, as a whole and the 10 IRP Principles in particular, are also part of university curricula around the world, from Latin America to the Philippines, to the UK and the USA.
The current version of the Charter has made therefore achieved its goals and had a clear impact in human rights advocacy for the Internet. In addition it has been published in booklet form in five languages and so become accessible to new audiences online and in print form in this time. Because it has been developed as a comprehensive framework anchored in international human rights law and norms, the Charter has also been a formative contributor to increasing official recognition that online rights and fundamental freedoms matter too, e.g. the UNHRC 2012 Resolution and the NETmundial Outcome Document earlier this year. But these five years have also been marked by major technological developments, and revelations that have implications for how human rights can be protected and enjoyed online, and future roles and responsibilities for the Internet’s governance. Along with taking heart at these achievements comes the need to consider whether, and if so how, some parts of the Charter need revisiting in light of these changes.
Objectives and Agenda:
Roundtable: The first part of the meeting is a roundtable discussion. It assembles members of the original expert group who finalised the “collabowritten” draft developed by coalition participation, one of the current IRPC co-Chairs, and a representative from Article 19. Each speaker will nominate a section, or sub-section, that they consider needs revisiting or reconsideration and then present why and how they would revise that part. The outcomes of this discussion will be recorded as an initial outline for the next round of consultations to develop the next version of the IRPC Charter, pending support from the meeting and in collaboration with new partner organizations where pertinent.
Annual General Meeting: The second part of the session will be the coalition’s Annual General Meeting. A report of the past year’s activities and outputs will be available prior to the IGF. The IRPC Charter is available online in English and several other languages at http://Internetrightsandprinciples.org/site/.