African Civil Society Groups Demand Internet Freedom

[Alex Gakuru]

 August 2012 <http://global-partners.co.uk/?p=1048>

A diverse group of civil society groups from across sub-Saharan Africa
today launched a statement affirming the internet’s central role as a space
to enable democratisation and promote human rights. The statement calls on
a wide range of stakeholders to strengthen their support for human rights
online, to extend initiatives to improve access to information, and to
facilitate effective civil society participation in all governance
processes addressing internet-related issues.

The civil society groups from the human rights, media and ICT sectors met
at the end of July in Nairobi, Kenya at a two day event organised by Global
Partners & Associates, the Association for Progressive Communications, the
Kenya Human Rights Commission and Ford Foundation East Africa.

The explosion of digital communication technologies is arguably the most
significant phenomenon of the last century, amplifying human potential
across all dimensions.  As such, the politically and economically powerful
are increasingly seeking to consolidate and further their power over and
within this new medium. The internet’s potential for democracy could be
lost if inappropriate forms of regulation and control are introduced,
restricting openness and creativity.

In this complex environment who is there to defend the public interest?
Until recently this task has fallen with the engineers responsible for
developing the internet, and a small number of “early adopters” within
civil society. However, a number of high profile threats to internet
freedom have emerged over the last couple of years. These include cuts to
internet access during the Arab Spring, threats of very restrictive
copyright and surveillance legislation in the United States, and demands
for a new internet governance regime that give governments greater control.
These threats to internet freedom have gradually brought a wider range of
human rights groups to the table. This event and the statement are
testimony to this, and hopefully signify the start of a larger, stronger
and more coordinated civil society voice for the internet.

Read the statement
here<http://global-partners.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Final-Statement-of-the-Pan-African-CS-Workshop-on-Who-Controls-the-Internet_02082012.pdf>

http://global-partners.co.uk/?p=1048
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