African Declaration on Internet Rights and

FreedomsPresentation by:

Edetaen Ojo

Media Rights Agenda, Nigeria

Motivation

• To develop a set of principles which would inform – perhaps inspire – policy & legislative processes on Internet rights, freedoms & governance in Africa

• The principles should have broad application at national, sub-regional & regional levels.

• A major goal is to the Principles endorsed by national governments, regional bodies, international institutions & a range of actors & stakeholders.

Rationale• Access to the Internet is increasing rapidly

across the African continent

• But political leaders seeking to adopt policies, regulations or laws appear to be learning or replicating international worst practices

• In most cases, critical stakeholders are excluded from policy or legislative processes & their interests are not taken into account.

• Often, bad laws are taken from other regions & adapted in African countries.

Process• Following informal discussions among a small

group of CSOs on the continent, a Planning Meeting was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013 on the margins of the AfIGF.

• The meeting outlined a plan & strategies for actualizing the idea.

• This was followed in February 2014 by a larger two-day meeting in Johannesburg.

Process (Contd.)• The Johannesburg meeting brought together civil

society stakeholders from across Africa to discuss the initiative & agree on a broad outline for the Declaration

• The meeting constituted a “Drafting Team” to develop a draft Declaration.

• It was agreed that their work would be guided by established human rights principles, relevant regional & international instruments & the opinions of experts, e.g. the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion & Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion & Expression.

Process (Contd.)• An initial draft of the Declaration was

produced by a 2-person Drafting Team.

• The draft was subsequently subjected to comments & inputs from the entire Drafting Team.

• Comments & inputs were also received from other experts both from Africa & internationally.

Process (Contd.)• Based on the comments & inputs, a revised

draft of the Declaration was produced.

• The revised draft of the Declaration was launched for public comments on July 8, 2014, in the public consultation phase of the process.

• It was available for comments on a dedicated website:  www.africaninternetrights.org from then until August 4, 2014.

Process (Contd.)• The draft Declaration was presented &

discussed during the African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF) in Abuja, Nigeria, on July 12, 2014.

• It was also presented & discussed at a meeting of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), which took place in Lagos, Nigeria, on July 15, 2014.

Process (Contd.)• Comments & inputs were also actively sought

from other key stakeholder groups through direct engagements.

• Such key stakeholder groups included:

Representatives of national governments or government institutions;

Civil society organizations – national, regional & international

Media organizations, professional associations & unions;

Process (Contd.)Academic institutions;

Representatives of regional bodies, such as the AU Commission, NEPAD, the African Commission on Human &

Peoples’ Rights, including the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression &

Access to Information in Africa

Process (Contd.)• A Drafters’ Meeting was held in Jo’burg on

August 5 & 6, 2014.

• The meeting was convened to discuss the various comments & suggestions coming from the public consultations & engagements.

• Many of these comments & suggestions have been incorporated into the Declaration

• A further revised draft of the Declaration is now going through an internal confirmation process.

Key Elements• The latest version of the Declaration has

four main sections, namely:

Preamble

Key Principles

Application of the Principles (Realising the Principles)

Call to Action

Preamble• The Preamble acknowledges the Internet as “an

enabling space & resource for the realisation of all human rights”

• It references some regional & international instruments & documents that have facilitated human rights protection & the free flow of information, including:

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

The Windhoek Declaration on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press

PreambleThe African Charter on Broadcasting

The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa

The African Platform on Access to Information Declaration

The Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression & the Internet of the four Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression in 2011

PreambleThe UN Human Rights Council resolution

on The promotion, protection enjoyment of human rights on the Internet; &

The UN General Assembly resolution on The right to privacy in the digital age.

•  It asserts that “it is of critical importance that all African stakeholders make a commitment now to invest in creating an enabling and empowering Internet environment which truly serves the needs of African citizens”

Key Principles• The Declaration contains 11 “Key Principles”,

around:

Openness

Internet Access and Affordability

Freedom of Opinion and Expression

Right to Information

Freedom of Assembly and Association on the Internet

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

Key Principles Right to Development

Privacy

Security on the Internet

Right to Due Process

Democratic Internet Governance Framework

Application of Principles• In the section on the application of the

principles, which deals with realising the principles on the Internet, the Declaration touches upon the following issues:

Openness

Access and Affordability

Freedom of Expression and Opinion

Linguistic and cultural diversity

The Right to Development

Application of Principles (Contd.)Personal Data Protection

Surveillance

Marginalised Groups

Access to Knowledge and Education

Gender

Journalism and Citizen Reporting

Right to Information and Open Data

Democratic Internet Governance Framework 

Call to Action• The Call to Action section targets a number of

actors/stakeholders with specific requests, including for them to endorse the Declaration.

• Those targeted in the Call to Action include:

National Governments in Africa

Pan-African and African Regional Organisations and Institutions, including the AU, the ACHPR, the African Telecommunications Union

Call to Action (Contd.)International Organisations, including the

UN Secretary General, the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council, UNESCO & the ITU

Civil Society

Media Organisations

Companies operating in Africa

Technical communities

Academic, research & training institutions in Africa

Next Steps• There will be a soft launch of the Declaration

during the IGF in Istanbul, Turkey, on September 4, 2014

• There will also be a soft launch of the Declaration at the Highway Africa Conference in Rhodes University on September 7, 2014

• A hard launch will follow later in the year

• Ongoing advocacy programme to secure endorsements & ensure visibility.

Thank You!