1. The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Presentation by: Edetaen Ojo Media Rights Agenda, Nigeria

2. Purpose of the Session To familiarize AFEX members/other participants with an initiative aimed at shoring up Internet policy in Africa, namely: the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms; To solicit endorsements from AFEX members/other participants for the African Declaration

3. Motivation for the African Declaration The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms was developed by a coalition of African civil society organisations to guide the creation of a positive, rights-based and democratically governed Internet policy environment in Africa. The initiative builds on a rich heritage of civil society freedom of expression advocacy & standard setting in Africa.

4. Organizations Promoting the Initiative Africa Centre for Open Governance Article 19 Association for Progressive Communications CIVICUS Collaboration on Internet ICT Policy in East & Southern Africa Commission on Human Rights & Good Governance DotAfrica Eduardo Mondlane University Global Partners Digital The Institute for Social Accountability

5. Organizations Promoting the Initiative Internet Society Ghana Kenya Human Rights Commission Kenya ICT Action Network - Kictanet Media Foundation for West Africa Media Institute of Southern Africa Media Rights Agenda Paradigm Initiative Nigeria Protégé QV South African Human Rights Commission Support for Information Technology Web We Want

6. Context of the African Declaration Access to the Internet is increasing rapidly across the African continent. Millions of citizens are getting online & finding their voices on social media platforms. They are venturing into public debates, commenting on a wide range of issues, including government activities & performance Many political leaders in African countries are scared of this development & what it could mean for them, if unchecked.

7. Context of the African Declaration As in some other parts of the world, African leaders are seeking to adopt policies, regulations or laws to control the Internet. In effect, many African countries are transiting from low regulatory Internet environments to what is likely to become very heavily regulated environments. A careful observation will show a clear pattern in the way that different countries are adopting Laws to regulate the Internet.

8. Context of the African Declaration In many African countries, a number of Bills, draft laws & regulations are awaiting adoption either through the legislative process or through administrative mechanisms. Many countries have already passed such laws. These instruments regulate or seek to regulate the Internet, the use of the Internet or other digital communication in the respective countries.

9. Context of the African Declaration The regulatory approach is essentially aimed at prohibiting certain types of behaviours online In many of such cases, online behaviour is prohibited with punitive sanctions, such as imprisonment or fines or both. There is usually no attempt by these laws or regulations to affirm the rights of people. In many cases, they even violate established human rights without adequate safeguards.

10. Context of the African Declaration Many African governments do not have the technical & legal expertise to legislate on such a complex issue like the Internet They therefore often depend on other countries to pass their own laws. But in their efforts to regulate the Internet & online activities, such governments often appear to lean towards the worst examples & to replicate “international worst practice”

11. Context of the African Declaration The tendency is therefore for many African governments to take laws of questionable legitimacy from other countries or other regions & adapt them in African countries with little or no changes. Usually, the contexts & local conditions in these countries of origin are very different. In addition, many critical stakeholders are frequently excluded from the ensuing policy or legislative processes.

12. Context of the African Declaration Many of these instruments tend to invade privacy, repress freedom of expression online & violate other rights. Such other rights include the right to fair hearing as the instruments often impose sanctions to punish certain types of behaviour without the requirement for due process, i.e. that such persons should first be tried & convicted by appropriate Courts of Law before being sanctioned.

13. Context of the African Declaration But we also have to acknowledge that there is a legitimate desire by governments to curb criminal activities online, particularly financial crimes & terrorist activities. However, there are also clear instances where the pursuit of these apparently legitimate objectives, have also been used to introduce provisions which have no direct relevance to these goals but are merely intended to curtail criticism of government.

14. Goal of the Declaration The Declaration therefore seeks to promote human rights standards & principles of openness in internet policy formulation & implementation on the continent. The Declaration is intended to elaborate on the principles which are necessary to uphold human & people’s rights on the internet It is also aimed at cultivating an internet environment that can best meet Africa’s social & economic development needs & goals.

15. Process of Developing Declaration The development of the Declaration was guided by:  Established human rights principles  Relevant regional & international instruments  Decisions of international courts & tribunals; and  The opinions of experts, e.g. the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Expression.

16. Process of Developing Declaration Although drafted by CSOs, the Declaration was developed through a broadly consultative process, with comments & inputs from key stakeholders, including:  Representatives of national governments or government institutions;  Civil society organizations – national, regional & international  Media organizations, professional associations & unions;

17. Process of Developing Declaration  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  Legal & subject experts both from within Africa & internationally  Ordinary individuals & Internet users

18. Process of Developing Declaration Between February & June 2014, a number of drafts of the Declaration were developed, facilitated by a drafting group. After the internal drafting process, the group agreed on a first public draft of the Declaration that was then shared online for an open public consultation between June & August 2014 During this period, the draft Declaration was presented at a series of events across Africa.

19. Process of Developing Declaration About 40 submissions from a range of stakeholder groups were received during the consultation process. The feedback was incorporated into a final version of the Declaration in August 2014 A final version was then produced in English, French, Portuguese & Arabic. The Declaration thereafter went live online on September 2, 2014 at: www.africaninternetrights.org www.africaninternetrights.org

20. Process of Developing Declaration The Declaration was launched at the 9 th IGF in Istanbul on September 4, 2014. It was also launched at the 2014 Highway Africa Conference at Rhodes University in South Africa on September 8, 2014. Following these steps, the promoters have also engaged various actors & organizations as part of a political engagement & public awareness strategy to increase the visibility & impact of the Declaration.

21. Key Elements of the Declaration The first version of the Declaration is currently being reviewed to update & strengthen it. The current version of the Declaration has four main sections, namely:  Preamble  Key Principles  Application of Principles  Call to Governments And All Other Stakeholders

22. 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

23. Preamble  The African Charter on Broadcasting  The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa  The African Platform on Access to Information Declaration (APAI Declaration)  The Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression & the Internet of the four Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression in 2011

24. Preamble  The 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”

25. Key Principles The current version of the Declaration contains 12 “Key Principles”, around:  Openness  Internet Access and Affordability  Freedom of Expression  Right to Information  Freedom of Assembly and Association on the Internet  Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

26. Key Principles  Right to Development & Access to Knowledge  Privacy & Personal Data Protection  Security, Stability and Resilience of the Internet  Marginalized Groups and Groups at Risk  Right to Due Process  Democratic Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance  Gender Equality

27. Application of Principles In this section, which deals with realising the principles on the Internet, the Declaration touches upon the following issues:  Openness  Internet Access and Affordability  Freedom of Expression  Right to Information  Freedom of Assembly and Association and the Internet  Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

28. Application of Principles (Contd.)  The Right to Development & Access to Knowledge  Privacy & Personal Data Protection  Security, Stability & Resilience of the Internet  Marginalised Groups & Groups at Risk  Right to Due Process  Democratic Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance  Gender Equality

29. 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:  All African Stakeholders  National Governments in Africa  Pan-African & African Regional Organisations & Institutions, including the AU, the ACHPR & the ATU

30. Call to Action (Contd.)  International Organisations, including UNESCO & the ITU  Civil Society  Media Organisations  All Intermediaries  Technical communities  Academic, research & training institutions in Africa

31. Conclusion UNESCO has given strong support to the Declaration in different ways. At its launch in Instanbul, UNESCO’s Deputy Director-General, Mr Getachew Engida, described the Declaration as “a significant milestone”, saying UNESCO sees is “as a significant normative achievement for the African continent and beyond”

32. Conclusion The Declaration has also received strong endorsement from the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, David Kaye. Speaking at a Roundtable on the Declaration held during the 10 th IGF in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, last November, David Kaye described the Declaration as “critical” & encouraged stakeholders to use the principles contained in the Declaration to litigate at various regional courts.

33. Conclusion Read the full text of the Declaration at: http://www.africaninternetrights.org/ http://www.africaninternetrights.org/ Please endorse the Declaration, either as an individual or on behalf of your organization. Most importantly, use the Declaration for advocacy on Internet rights & freedoms in your country & sub-region.

34. The End!