Human rights in the information
society
The
Council
of Europe considers that
building an inclusive information society, based on respect for
human rights, requires new forms of solidarity, partnership and
cooperation among governments, civil society, the private sector
and international organisations. It hopes that, through open
discussions and exchanges of information worldwide, a
multi-stakeholder governance approach will emerge. Such an
approach should assist in the development of new regulatory and
non-regulatory models capable of providing flexible responses to
the issues and challenges created by the rapid development of the
information society.
On 12 and 13 September 2005,
around 100 representatives of states, industry (including
internet service providers, mobile phone operators, the gaming
industry and software manufacturers), civil society and the
media, as well as other organisations, institutions and experts,
gathered at the Council of Europe's headquarters in Strasbourg to
take part in the Pan-European Forum on “Human Rights
in the Information Society: Responsible Behaviour by Key
Actors”.
The Forum was
opened by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, and chaired by Henry Ingberg, General Secretary of the Belgian
Ministry of the French-speaking Community (pictured
right). HRC Director Mark Kelly moderated the session of the Forum which
examined the issue of responsible behaviour by states; the panel
for that session included Elisabet Fura-Sandstrom,
Swedish Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, Monica
Macovei, Minister of Justice of Romania and Lynda
Bergsma, President of the Alliance for a Media Literate America.
In the light of a recent Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on Human
Rights and the Rule of Law in the Information Society and Council
of Europe priorities regarding the protection of children and
internet content, the Forum identified and discussed responsible
and irresponsible behaviour by key actors in the information
society and how states, industry and civil society can work
together (inter alia through partnerships, policy making,
greater awareness and education) to ensure the promotion and
protection of human rights in the information society.
Rapporteurs Rachel
O'Connell (pictured left) and Jo Bryce of
the University of Central Lancashire, presented the conclusions
and results of the Forum.
Further information about the
Forum, including a range of background documents, is available on
the website of the Media Division of Council of Europe's Directorate
General of Human Rights.
All photographs © Council of Europe,
2005
The discussions at the
Pan-European Forum will inform the Council of Europe's
contribution to the UN's World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS), which will be
held in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005. The Council of Europe
will, in particular, host an event in Tunis called "From
here to e-democracy: promoting e-participation and dealing with
harmful content", which will be moderated by HRC
Director Mark Kelly.
| Message
from Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General,
to the World Summit on the Information Society: "We are going through a
historic transformation in the way we live, learn, work,
communicate and do business. We must do so not passively,
but as makers of our own destiny. Technology has produced
the information age. Now it is up to all of us to build
an Information Society.
This Summit is unique.
While most global conferences focus on global threats,
WSIS will consider how best to use a new global asset.
We are all familiar with
the extraordinary power of information and communications
technologies. From trade to telemedicine, from education
to environmental protection, we have in our hands, on our
desktops and in the skies above, the ability to improve
standards of living for millions upon millions of
people.
Information and
communication technologies are not a panacea or magic
formula. But they can improve the lives of everyone on
this planet. We have tools that can propel us toward the
Millennium Development Goals; instruments with which to
advance the cause of freedom and democracy; vehicles with
which to propagate knowledge and mutual understanding. We
have all of this potential. The challenge before this
Summit is what to do with it."
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