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On December 10th, a small delegation of Wikimedians attended the
Council of Europe (CoE) seminar “Protecting human rights online:
Prevention rather than cure.” (Thanks Yana for the heads up.)<br>
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The context is that CoE has produced a guide to educate Internet
users on their online rights – a guide adopted by all 47 member
states in the CoE Committee of Ministers. It has so far been
officially translated into eight languages. The rights included
are rights based on the European Convention on Human Rights.<br>
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The Guide aims at explaining in a simple manner the practical
implications of rights such as free speech, access to ICT
infrastructure and education, privacy, and due process. The entire
text is 4 pages and can be found here:<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.coe.int/en/web/internet-users-rights/guide">http://www.coe.int/en/web/internet-users-rights/guide</a><br>
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Now the CoE are in the process of figuring out how to spread the
guide to as many Internet users as possible.<br>
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The main points made by CoE and other participants at the event:<br>
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<ul>
<li>No new rights are established. The guide just consolidates
and explains existing rights.</li>
<li>There is no distinction between online and offline human
rights. They apply equally.</li>
<li>The biggest threat to human rights online is the delegation
of policing responsibilities to Internet intermediaries.</li>
<li>Legal action is not the only way to approach violations of
online rights. Another option is to increase the awareness of
human rights among online service providers and public
authorities.</li>
<li>The focus should be on preventing violations of online
rights rather than on not on curing them. Spreading this guide
is a means to that end.</li>
</ul>
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The seminar was followed by a roundtable discussion with a smaller
number of participants. The CoE expressed an interest in what the
Wikimedia community can do to help disseminate the guide – both
the guide as a whole and the information in the guide.<br>
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Input on how the Wikimedians can best help getting this valuable
information into the hands of those who need it is much
appreciated.<br>
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Best regards,<br>
Karl and Neno<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Karl Sigfrid
+32 487 94 76 30
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:karl@wikimedia.be">karl@wikimedia.be</a>
Rue du Trone 51
1000 Brussels</pre>
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