Forum:
Commission V
Issue:
Internet based identity theft and fraud
Position:
President of Commission V
Introduction Up to the late twentieth century there had been no serious cyber attacks or infringement of government policy for the enhancement of political and social objectives. This was mainly before the technology boom; when terrorists and frauds preferred the use of actual bombs to the highly intellectual system of cybernet. However, with the increasing access to the Internet, the potential of identity theft and fraud, the most common form of cybercrime, has increased. While all the members of the UN agree that identity fraud and theft are criminalized acts of wrongdoing, the members are divided on the question of what to consider as crime. Should government controls be implemented to guarantee the safety of the cyber environment, or would such limits infringe upon the democratic phenomenon of the freedom of expression? Moreover, members of the UN are challenged with the increasing problem of digital divide, a divide that must be halted to increase the capacity building and transfer of technical information, necessary for the tackling of cybercrime, and for the harmonization of international cyber law.
Definition of Key Terms Identity Fraud Deceptive cyber scheme specifically organized to steal authority or identity, through message boards, e-mail, and websites. Digital Divide Discrepancy between the legal and technical cyber matters, as well as the gap between the developing and the developed countries’ recourses in tackling identity theft and fraud.
Sophistication
The increasing skill and capacity of hackers or criminals to comprehend and access digital technology and security servers. Commercialization The formulation of unregulated electronic commerce to deceive, blackmail, and harass its consumers. Integration Combination of a variety of cyber crimes for one enterprise, usually financial gain, through such detrimental methods as blackmail, extortion, and etc.
General Overview The UN, in its most recent conferences as in the Internet Governance Forum in Egypt, has been examining the cooperation among states in tackling the issue, the modification of online data, internet vandalism, and the progress of public policy concerning identity theft and fraud. Yet, the prime challenge that has risen from such observation was the increased need for the fusion of the digital divide, need for capacity building, and the consensus on unified action. Digital divide and the “infostate� The issue of digital divide has risen with the gap between the developing and the developed nations. The latter, naturally at the lower end of the infostate (the communication and education level of a country) are more vulnerable to internet based identity theft and fraud than developed countries at the higher end of the infostate. The key difference in the technical infrastructure of varying countries further invokes the digital divide, for a country at the lower end of the infostate will not have the technical potential to control the internet without infringing upon the freedom of expression, thus it will not be able to impose any legislative action in behalf of the issue. On the contrary, a developed country with a high infostate will be able to financially provide for the technical control and governance of the state, without infringing upon the freedom of expression. Moreover, computer viruses are more likely to formulate in advanced countries with advanced technology as opposed to countries with limited or less advanced technical knowledge or access. The resulting virus worms spread throughout the cyber network and further increase the possibilities for identity theft and fraud. Absences that must be fulfilled through capacity building
Indeed while barriers in developing countries have a justifiable economic cause, the ever growing international barriers include the absence of an advanced multilingual internet. Over the past decade such halted international cooperation over the cyber net has been exemplified in the only handful of international treaties and legislative actions dealing with the issue. One of the vary few multilateral and bilateral treaties were those conducted by the Council of Europe, and the Korean Institute of Criminology, which work in cooperation with the government to oversee internet security policies. According to the internet Governance Forums of the past five years, to harmonize the international internet law, capacity building is a requirement that must be achieved through means of cooperation of Interpol, Group of Eight, Computer Emergency Response Reams, as well as the establishment of more multilateral treaties and emergence of other such international organizations. Increasing sophistication, commercialization, integration and domain name With the ever increasing technological development, assists its ever increasing features of sophistication, commercialization, and integration. Consequently an increase in sophistication is largely due to an increase in the speed with which identity information is stolen from the internet and the rising access and use of wireless network; both paving the way for more phishing and illegal internet activity. Similarly, identity theft and fraud is also caused by online commercialization, as hackers provide “fee-for-services”, exploiting the consumer by gaining access to domain names and their passwords, obtained from the cheap registrants. The third feature, integration, is the byproduct of successful extortion and targeting schemes through digital technology. All three components have been increasingly exemplified in the development of the issue of the hijacking and stealing of the domain name. Domain names are purchased at a very cheap price from registrants, who place few if any protective measures on the domain names. Changing the domain names, and the absence of a protective registration increases the probability for the occurrence of identifying theft and fraud. Many users forget (sometimes intentionally) to pay the bill of their domains. As a result, hackers can easily access the unprotected domain names and then offer “feefor-services,” blackmailing the users to pay them with anything unfavorable to the user. Otherwise, hackers threaten to convey phonographic and discreet information about the user. Moreover the botnets full of spam, infect computers with millions of Trojans, formulating the impediments in the users’ access to any personal information. In the most recent Internet Governance Forum of the UN, members have called upon the establishment of policy controls, urging for a requirement for registrars to educate the registrants on DNS (domain name system) policy. Considering that 4-5million computers have been infected,
and that national legislations on domain users and overall internet policy are only a handful, it is only legitimate to ask for more stringent governance of the internet. Two camps on perspective While most members agree that the internet should be left unregulated, they also agree that some policy measures should exist to limit obstructive and abusive measures. Some countries, as in the Internet Governance Forum of Athens had argued for the continuance of the laissez faire policy on the internet, while others had argued to preserve the freedom of expression through legislative means of government control. Further, countries disagree on what to consider as a crime. For example, in Thailand and Turkey the lese-majesty is considered a major crime, whereas in the United States lese-majesty falls primarily under the right to the freedom of speech. With such differences in ideology, it is even more difficult to implement an international law, successfully tackling this issue.
Major Parties Involved and Their Views Here are the major parties and their views during the Eleventh UN Congress On Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice: Microsoft Corporation The Microsoft Corporation representatives felt that they had a very large responsibility to produce usable technology to ensure that crimes do not occur. They also saw that the information technology industry must provide training for law enforcement and help in capacity-building. Interpol Interpol expressed that with the increasing videos being circulated with kidnapping victims are highly secure communication networks between the police departments and kidnappers. They stress that capturing images of crimes were essential to solving some cases.. United States The United States settled on the fact that the world needs to develop greater outreach and partnerships with the private sector since it controlled the vast majority of critical infrastructure. Regarding development projects, she said the United States had two outreach programs through the World Bank and the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) that looked at the information security standards when new telecommunications were going into a country. France France believes that it is necessary to monitor the Internet in order to identify illicit material of a terrorist or racist nature. France also felt that technology research centers had to be established in order to stay a step ahead of offenders. World Federation of Scientists World Federation of Scientists said the focus today had been primarily on individual victims. They think that everyone is missing the larger threat of cybercrime to society like critical infrastructure countries. In almost all countries, those critical entities were in private hands, including air traffic control, banking and energy. Today, the stabilizing features of interwoven societies were managed and controlled by digital means.
UN involvement, Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events In the most recent Internet Governance Forum of the UN, members have called upon the establishment of policy controls, urging for a requirement for registrars to educate the registrants on DNS (domain name system) policy.
Possible Solutions The internet has become a crucial part of the lives of a large portion of the world’s population, which justifies the importance of its maintenance, security and availability at all times. Many individuals and even many corporations and governments depend on the cyber system to prevent chaos and enforce order. It seems best to have strict surveillance and protection of cyber systems around the world .This may be achieved by programming software to protect computer systems at all times and maybe insisting on all individuals, corporations and governments to use these programs at all times. By protecting even one individual’s identity in the cyber world many other crimes could be prevented.
Bibliography United Nations. "Eleventh UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice." United Nations. N.p., 22 Apr. 2005. Web. 19 Dec. 2009. <http://www.un.org/events/11thcongress/docs/bkkcp19e.pdf>.
United Nations. "Participants in United Nations Forum on Internet Governance Address Key Themes of Net Openness, Security at Rio De Janeiro Event." United Nations. United Nations, 17 Nov. 2007. Web. 19 Dec. 2009. <http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/pi1814.doc.htm>. United Nations. "Video on Demand - The Internet Governance Forum." United Nations. United Nations, 17 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Dec. 2009. <http://www.un.org/webcast/igf/ondemand.asp?mediaID=ws091117-redsea-am2>.
Forum:
Commission V
Issue:
Limited/blocked Internet Access in the World
Introduction
The internet is currently one of the largest and fastest sources of knowledge in the world.
With access to internet, people around the world can acquire almost any knowledge they wish to obtain. With its mighty power of presenting important knowledge the internet is also a very dangerous source for propaganda, marketing of personal information and child pornography. These are the main reasons why some government bodies have banned or limited access to specific internet sites. The IGF (Internet Governance Forum) has adjourned 4 times and plans on completing its 5th conference in 2010. Since many of the UN members (especially those in the IGF) agree that internet access is a crucial part of developing countries, the UN has launched many programs to help countries that cannot provide internet access. Also lately there have been many complaints on how internet access should be a human right. This brings up the controversial topic of banning and limiting internet. Should specific internet limitations be set to protect the mental being of children and stop unwanted propaganda? Or should there be freedom speech and allow the access of all internet sites for everyone?
Definition of Key Terms Marketing of Personal Information
The act of taking and selling or buying personal information such as names, addresses, phone
numbers, e-‐mail addresses, credit card numbers...etc. of an individual, via the internet.
General Overview The most recent UN conferences related to internet access and internet limitation (the IGF in Egypt) focused particularly on legal and regulatory frameworks, regulating and restricting access and content. In the last IGF the subject of the importance of internet access and needed measures of improving internet access was discussed. The subject of internet censorship has not been openly argued.
Internet Access Worldwide As the cyber net platform of sending and receiving information around the world in short amounts of time develops at a tremendous speed some countries or areas have not been able to catch up to this high tempo pace. In areas like Central and Northern Africa and Southern Asia there is very low access to internet. The reason of low access to internet is mainly because of the low funds available for improving internet access for public use. The consequences of having lack of internet access are shortages on education, health and acquiring knowledge. Access of internet is accepted as a human right by many governments and a majority of organizations are pushing to make it an actual human right in the future. The UN has launched programs that will help internet access throughout the world, especially in Asia. Organizations like ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) have been very helpful in this area. Below is a map from 2000 showing how much the internet is accessed throughout the world:
As seen clearly in this map the amount of internet access In Africa and Asia are significantly lower than that of Europe, Australia and the Americas. In the latest IGF in 2009 it has come upon the agreement that new programs are to be brought to life. Internet Censorship Internet censorship takes places in all countries according to their government’s different policies. It seems that there are more negotiations between governments and website firms rather than negotiations between governments. Here is a map from 2009 showing how much blocking and limitations are set by governments around the world:
Legend: Blue = Least Limitation, Yellow = Medium Limitation, Red = High Limitation,
Black = Very High Limitation.
As seen from the map above there are a lot of internet access limitations taking
place. The reasons of these limitations are mostly websites of insulting religion, insulting ethnic groups and pornography. But these limitations also include press organizations, which bring up the argument of if internet limitations are cutting off the freedom of media and speech.
Here are the blockages and limitations on internet access of a few countries. The following information has been quoted directly off wikipedia.com:
Canada “In a few cases, information which the government is actively attempting to keep out of Canadian broadcast and print media (such as names of young offenders or information on criminal trials subject to publication bans) is available to Canadian users via Internet from sites hosted outside Canada.” France “French courts demanded Yahoo! block Nazi material in the case LICRA vs. Yahoo. The Hadopi law, enacted in 2009, allows disconnecting from the Internet users that have been caught illegally downloading copyrighted content, or failing to secure their system again such illegal downloads; as of August 2009, this law is to be supplemented by a Hadopi2 law. The LOPPSI law, brought before Parliament in 2009, will authorize a blacklist of sites providing child pornography, established by the Ministry of the Interior, which Internet service providers will have to block.” Germany “The Cabinet of Germany passed a federal law regarding internet censorship for child pornography access and distribution in the internet on 18 June 2009. In the coalition talks between CDU and FDP succeeding the German Elections in September 2009 both parties agreed to try to delete illegal sites instead of blocking them. After one year the success of the deletion policy will be assessed.” India “As of July 2006[update] the Indian government has directed ISPs to block seventeen websites, including some hosted on the Geocities, Blogspot and Typepad domains. Initial implementation difficulties led to these domains being blocked entirely. Access to sites on these domains other than the specifically banned ones was restored by most ISPs after about a week. The first documented incident of Internet censorship in India was the Yahoo! Groups
ban of 23 September 2003. Kynhun, a Yahoo! group linked to the outlawed "Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council", a minor separatist group, was ordered banned by the Department of Telecommunications. Difficulties in implementing the ban by the ISP's ultimately led to all Yahoo! groups being banned for a period of about two weeks.” Russia “Russia pressured Lithuania into shutting down the Kavkaz-‐Center website, a site that hosts videos on attacks on Russian forces in Chechnya, and reports on the Second Chechen War from a Chechen separatist perspective. In February 2008, it became known that six Russian internet providers with ties to the government were blocking access to an opposition aggregate news site. After this became public, the biggest of these companies dropped the block and explained that it was "testing content filters". The other five blocks remain in place. In 2007 a lawsuit against Savva Terentiev, a musician from Syktyvkar, was started because of a commentary in a LiveJournal blog, in which he sharply criticised local police forces. He was accused of "provoking antagonism between social groups". Although several philological expert examinations of the text denied these accusations, arguing that this was just a relational expression, he received a one-‐year suspended jail sentence. Censorship of health-‐ related issues on the Internet in Russia mounts, and encompasses the entire world to English Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation as well. It violates basic human rights of Russian-‐ reading audience on health and freedom of expression. United Kingdom British Telecommunications ISP passes internet traffic through a service called ‘Cleanfeed’ which uses data provided by the Internet Watch Foundation to identify pages believed to contain indecent photographs of children. When such a page is found, the system creates a 'URL not found page' error rather than deliver the actual page or a warning page.” United States of America “In 1996 the United States enacted the Communications Decency Act, which severely restricted online speech that could potentially be seen by a minor – which, it was argued, was most of online speech. Free speech advocates, however, managed to have most of the act overturned by the courts. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act criminalizes the discussion and dissemination of technology that could be used to circumvent copyright
protection mechanisms, and makes it easier to act against alleged copyright infringement on the Internet. Many school districts in the United States frequently censor material deemed inappropriate for the school setting. In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) which requires schools and public libraries receiving federal funding to install internet filters or blocking software. Congress is also considering legislation to require schools, some businesses and libraries to block access to social networking websites, The Deleting Online Predators Act. Opponents of Internet censorship argue that the free speech provisions of the First Amendment bars the government from any law or regulation that censors the Internet. A 4 January 2007 restraining order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein forbade a large number of activists in the psychiatric survivors movement from posting links on their websites to ostensibly leaked documents which purportedly show that Eli Lilly and Company intentionally withheld information as to the lethal side-‐effects of Zyprexa. The Electronic Frontier Foundation appealed this as prior restraint on the right to link to and post documents, saying that citizen-‐journalists should have the same First Amendment rights as major media outlets. It was later held that the judgment was unenforceable, though First Amendment claims were rejected.”
Major Parties Involved and Their Views IGF (Internet Governance Forum) The IGF is a forum founded and run by the UN in which topics of internet issues are discussed and suggested resolutions are concluded on. The IGF believes that internet access is one of the main sources of knowledge for people and that internet access equality is of their first priority. All attending governments concur that internet access is a needed resource for developing countries.
Timeline of Events Location & Date
Description of Event
Greece -‐ Athens, 30 October – 2 November 2006
The Inaugural Meeting of the IGF
Brazil -‐ Rio de Janeiro, 12-‐15 November 2007
The Second Meeting of the IGF
Asia, 18 March 2008
UN launches initiative to improve Internet access in Asia-‐Pacific region
India -‐ Hyderabad, 3-‐6 December 2008
Egypt -‐ Sharm El Sheikh, 15-‐18 November 2009
The Third Annual IGF Meeting The Fourth Annual IGF Meeting
UN involvement, Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events UNESCAP (The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) have started a program where the internet access in Asia-‐Pacific region will be improved. This plan started in 2008 and hasn’t exactly caused any significant changes in the internet access in Asia and the Pacific region.
Possible Solutions -
Internet access should be considered a human right by all governments and all people of the world must be able to take sanctuary into this right whenever needed.
-
A larger fund raising organization must be established or existing ones may be improved like improving UNESCAP.
-
The topic of blocked and limited internet access must be separately discussed amongst all concerned governments and organizations (firms) in a new annual conference or in the IGF.
-
All governments must help conclude all disagreements between all governments and firms.
-
An annual conference, either new or part of the IGF, must take place to audit the recent events on internet access around the world.
Bibliography "UN launches initiative to improve Internet access in Asia-‐Pacific region." Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World. Web. <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25929>. "The IGF 2009 Meeting." The Internet Governance Forum. Web. <http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/index.php/the-‐meeting>. "Internet Censorship." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship#India>
Forum:
Commission V
Issue:
The issue of sustaining international free press and supporting private media in the field of freedom of speech and expression
Introduction Theoretically, the freedom of expression is the essential right of mankind. While this is symbolically accepted by everyone, the interpretation of it varies from country to country, as each mold the dough of ideology to fit their own mentality. With such differences, there are obvious discrepancies between those who place few if any limits on speech and press and those who choose to censor any radical novice. Yet, the question that rises from this dispute is: what is the role of the media in our society today? What balance should there be between the freedom of expression and the responsibility to withhold prejudice and incite hatred?
Definition of Key Terms Impunity Exemption from punishment and prosecution, even if committing an illegal crime. Blasphemy Profane language against any religion or belief, used to incite hatred and violence.
General Overview Sixty-eight journalists have been killed this year, seven-hundred and ninety-five have been killed since 1992, five-hundred and fourteen murdered with impunity since 1992, and some one-hundred and thirty six imprisoned. While this is not the peak, it has evolved from a daily event into an issue, largely due to the: censorship by government, impunities, and illegal activities of terrorist groups. Hence, efforts made to sustain international free press are largely at a stalemate in the dispute between the Western and the Eastern world, as well as between the governments and their suppressed peoples.
Freedom of expression in friction with government Five-hundred annual cases of attacks on media mostly by the government have been recorded by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Moreover, 125 editors were imprisoned in the world in 2005. In most of these cases, the government’s repressive role is one of the main causes. With truthful ideas displayed for public knowledge, totalitarian governments respond to press as means of threatening their political schemes. Freedom of expression never correlates with autocracy, as in Iran, China, Cuba, and many other countries. Even in the most democratic countries as the U.S., infringement on freedom of expression has become common. In 2003, ninety-two were killed for trying to reveal information about the US’ role in Iraq. Hence, the lack of the governments’ political will to sustain free press and free speech diminished public support and knowledge of what is true and what should be reported or censored. This in turn, forces journalists to have to censor themselves in fear of oppression. If they don’t their penalty is usually death. Furthermore with authoritarian governments censoring any form of media including the Internet, journalists are commonly forced to publish for the government, as the public has little clue of what is wrong and right. Moreover, the government’s opposition to any “radical idea,” and the lack of effective opposition-parties, causes the public to label independent publications as de-facto oppositions. Such opposition publication in friction with authoritarian policy are prone to arrest and death. Freedom of expression in friction with illegal groups, not tackled by governments Furthermore, many journalists are killed by mafias and terrorist groups as in Italy, and Iraq, due to either the lack of a well-rounded government, or the lack of government involvement or the government’s overall inability to tackle the issue. Such has been the case in Colombia, Iraq, Netherlands, and in many other countries. This indicates the lack of participation or representation in UN, EU and other such organizations, usually because of the status of the belittling status of a developing country, which evidently cannot financially afford the technology and even the status to voice a significant concern on the issue. Moreover weak governments can be threatened by terrorist groups, or are in support of terror groups themselves. This in turn complicates the issue, and further halts the efforts of the international community to sustain free speech and press. Impunity With few if any punishments and investigations on behalf of the death of journalists and attacks against media, the issue of sustaining free press is largely forsaken. Many organizations fighting for the freedom of expression such as the Committee to Protect
Journalists, International Free Press Society, and Council of Europe have decried such impunities. The recognition of impunity as a severe issue has only been recent, as the issue of sustaining free press has come to a peak in the last decade. Hence, only now the UN and freedom organizations are pointing at Russia, Colombia, and Philippines, commonly issuing impunities, as one of the main causes for the 500 annual cases of attacks on media, and the increasing number of cases dealing with the murder or kidnappings of journalists. Most censored countries The CPJ has reported the countries with the most repressive governments. The top ten censored are: North Korea, Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritrea, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Syria, and Belarus. Each of these countries has used at least nine to seventeen censorship benchmarks. All media is under state control, and private media is usually not allowed for publication. Negative coverage of the government or publication of any form of radical idea is censored. North Korea is the most censored country, deeming its people as the most isolated in the world. Belarus is the most censored country in Europe, as are its ex-Soviet counterparts. In fact, the newly independent republics are more censored and under repressive means today than they were under the USSR’s “glasnost” period. Friction between two camps While the more liberal stance on the issue is portrayed by the “freedom fighters,” their opposition deems the issue as not an effort to sustain international free press, but to instead eradicate Islam, and the Arab world. The fight for the freedom of expression indeed had reached its peak with the Danish cartoons of Muhammad. Muslim countries, especially practicing the Sharia law condemned efforts for freedom of expression, especially used to insult their religion. Indeed, the Western world had at times abused the right for the freedom of expression, as was the case with Geert Wilders and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, when using derogative terms to describe Muhammad. Such words did incite hatred, however, were later deemed as merely practicing right of the freedom of expression. In fact many of the freedom activists in organizations such as International Free Press have included anti-Muslim activists, thus further increasing the tension between the two camps of opposition. Moreover, proponents of freedom of speech also support blasphemous language, indication of antiMuslim fervor in the Western World. However, the interpretation of what to consider as blasphemy or not differs among the two camps, both with different ideologies.
Major Parties Involved and Their Views
International Free Press Society The International Free Press (IFPS), an extension of the Danish Free Press Society, peaked with the Danish cartoons of Muhammad. The organization has many Islam-critical members such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Bruce Bawer, and thus is generally viewed as an antiMuslim group. It awards and supports all oppressed and arrested journalists for their courage to convey radical ideas. Moreover, the IFPS are convinced that the Islamic world is staging a jihad against the Judeo-Christian Western world. Hence, their view of Muslims is largely defined through the image of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hezbollah. The applause the West and decry the Arab world. They believe it is ok to offend religion, for the sake of the freedom of press and speech. The IFPS claims that only through the freedom of speech could the jihad die out. Further, their view of the ideal freedom of press and speech is the Western societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach to the issue. In their view, even in America and Eastern Europe, is the freedom of expression threatened. Moreover, the organization defends and raises money for persecuted individuals and organizations. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) The CPJ focuses on the protection of journalists arrested and killed with impunity. It keeps record of the numbers killed and promotes public protests in countries with the most repressive policies towards journalists. They are the organizers and members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEE). Recently, they have published a report on the Ten Most Censored Countries. One of their most active programs is in the Middle East, where totalitarian governments are the causes for journalistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; death. CPJ believes that without the protection of journalists, there is no free media, and thus no real democracy. International Press Institute (IPI) With over 120 members, the IPI is the most active organization in the issue of sustaining free press. As a member of the IFEE and the Tunisia Monitoring group, as well as an affiliate of the Southeast Europe Media Organization, the IPI also has National Committees in some countries such as Nepal and Azerbaijan. Its activities are divided into four groups: death watch, justice denied campaign, international missions, and watch list. The IPI reasons that free media is necessary for the welfare of the country. Although it acknowledges that terrorist and illegal groups could be responsible for the limits on the freedom of expression, it holds the government responsible for all of these limits, as it believes that free press can only be sustained through the opportunity possessed by the government.
Council of Europe The Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, and the European Union (EU) court of the Council of Europe has been active in embracing Article 10 (of the EU court) of the freedom of expression. In 27, May 2009 they will be meeting to see if the EU has met the guidelines of Article 10. Moreover, the Council of Europe has actively participated in the Internet Governance Forum in Egypt, through several written documents. It will be reviewing the concept of media and press this year. The Council believes in the need of benchmarks for the media, and it will be defining them this year. Organization of the Islamic Conference and Arab League These Muslim organizations oppose the IFPS, as they believe excessive freedom of speech would not only limit their political goals, but also threaten the Islamic community. When the Danish cartoons of Muhammad had been revealed, the organizations asked the UN for an Anti-Blasphemy Resolution, which it did pass. The West decries this resolution whereas the Islamic organizations applaud it, as it supports their view that blasphemy is not an appropriate form of freedom of speech.
Timeline of Events Injustice towards the press has been ever-present. The following timeline begins with the latest countries adopting a constitution embracing the right to the freedom of expression, and then continues by listing several significant or common events of each year to convey a glimpse of the hundreds of similar cases. Date
Description of Event
December 4, 1982
China adopts a constitution (freedom of expression) under Article 35.
1990 Dec 3 1996 Nov 13, 2001 Nov. 13, 2001
USSR breaks up during the Perestroika; countries adopt freedom of expression. Serbian authorities close Radio B-92 and Radio 92 is banned by government authorities The US destroys AlJeezari radio station. Belarusian High Economic Court decides to close the Hrodno-based independent Pahonya
Oct. 16, 2001
Both Bakinskiy Bul'var and Milletin Sesi were shut down by the court
December 10, 2002
Chinese college student went missing after criticizing the government
online. Nov 26 2002
Muslims of the Nigerian state of Zamfara issued a fatwa, calling upon the death of Isioma Daniel, a writer for the private daily This Day,
November 2002-
The Chinese government tries to suppress media information on the
May 2004
SARS outbreak
Aug. 23, 2003
Syrian government's closes the satirical weekly Al-Domari.
2004
Dutch Cartoon crisis: caricatures of Muhammad.
Dec. 29, 2009
Eleven Iranian journalists jailed in midst of Ashura protests.
UN involvement, Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events The UN has mostly been supporting the freedom of expression and press, yet still preserving its respect for the mentality and culture of the opposition. It has been carrying out conferences and making statements supporting the press. However, beyond its usual neutral statements it has established and written a handful of significant documents and decrees: •
General Conference 35th session in Paris, 22 October 2009 (35 C/INF .39)
•
World Press Freedom Day May 3 (of every year)
•
SC Condemns Attacks Against Journalists in Conflict Situations, 1738, (SC/8929)
•
Declaration of Windhoek May 3, 1991
•
U.N. Anti-Blasphemy Resolution, 2007, (62/145)
•
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 10, 1948
Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue One of UN’s earliest and most successful attempts to resolve the issue of sustaining free press was the Declaration of the Windhoek on May 3, 1991. This declaration encompasses the problems that African journalists faced in the 90s. Seeing that problems of intimidation and imprisonment were common worldwide, the declaration was adopted by the UNESCO seminar on May 3, also declared as the World Press Freedom Day, as the problems faced by African journalists were similar if not almost the same to those that most journalists faced a decade ago and today. The declaration is used today by African as well as international activists to promote their rights; for example, African activists use it to enhance works on African Charter on Broadcasting. Moreover, the World Press Freedom Day brings journalists and media professionals from all over the world to discuss and mark on the limits of free press. It has been recognized by all organizations in support of the freedom of speech. By far it is UN’s best
accomplishment, as it underscores the issue of free press and the need to take action in behalf of it. Finally, the Anti-Blasphemy Resolution has set the balance between the Arab and the Western Europe, as it justly rejects blasphemy as part of the freedom of speech. Although, organizations, such as the International Free Press Society as well as much of the Western World have looked down upon this resolution as a document in support of the terror-ridden Islamists, it has been supported by the U.S, Canada, and many other democratic nations, as the resolution firmly supports the idea that the freedom of speech in form of hatred, or one that incites hatred is an act of wrongdoing.
Possible Solutions Demonstrate link between poverty and the freedom of press The poorer a country is, the more corruption it possesses. The more corruption, the less is there freedom of press. While the United Nations has lightly touched upon this issue, it is left at ease and largely unstressed by most prominent organizations such as Council of Europe and CPJ. Demonstrating a stronger link between the two in the most eccentric way, as in printing consumer products with little signs on it such as “Developed Media is a Developed Nation” would definitely grasp the attention of the public, especially the more open-minded youth, which should be the exact target of any solutions streaming for change. In a more serious scope, the organizations present should encourage their developed countries to influence their neighboring countries. For example, Kazakhstan’s development since the break up of the USSR is beyond that of Uzbekistan or any other ex-Soviet country. Setting itself as an example through the many business deals it carries out in Central Asia would definitely influence its neighboring countries. Similarly, the Council of Europe should encourage its Western members to influence its eastern countries in similar business deals. Set an ultimatum for will of membership As Turkey wants to be a member of the EU, so does much of the Caucasus. Setting an ultimatum, requiring legislative free press, would surely speed up change. Moreover, to those developing countries complaining about their limited or transparent rights in the UN, or merely about their developing country status, a firmer statement of policy would halt limits on free speech by the government. Establish IPI national committees in all regions
Establishing International Press Institutes’ national committees in just one or two countries is not going to mark on any change considering that a committee in Tunisia will not mark on a significant change in the entire continent of Africa. Instead marking national committees, or even liaison partnerships with existing press committees in the more developed regions of each continent such as Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, and Georgia, would then mark on actual change.
Bibliography "Wikepedia." International Free Press Society. Wikipedia, Apr. 2009. Web. 29 Dec. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Free_Press_Society>. Freemedia.at. International Press Institute, 2009. Web. 26 Dec. 2009. <http://www.freemedia.at/our-‐activities/. United Nations. United Nations, 7 May 2009. Web. 25 Dec. 2009. <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30735>. UNESCO. UNESCO, May 2006. Web. 26 Dec. 2009. <http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/21513/11432186411WPFD_concept_note. pdf/WPFD%2Bconcept%2Bnote.pdf>. Seattletimes. The Seattle Times, 4 July 2004. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009414766_guests05freepr ess.html>. Freedomhouse.org. Freedom House, 12 Jan. 2009. Web. 25 Dec. 2009. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=445>. Freedomhouse.org. Freedom House. Web. 29 Dec. 2009. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=139&edition=8>. UNESCO. UNESCO, 7 Apr. 2008. Web. 18 Dec. 2009. < http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-‐ URL_ID=42217&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html>.
UN.org. United Nations, 2 May 2006. Web. 24 Dec. 2009. <http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2006/060502_Cooper.doc.htm> .] UN.org. United Nations, 3 May 2006. Web. 27 Dec. 2009. <http://www.un.org/events/pressday/2006/factsheet.html>. CPJ.org. Committee to Protect Journalists, 2009. Web. 27 Dec. 2009. <http://cpj.org/killed/impunity.php>
Appendix or Appendices Please include any materials that you may wish to Appendix in this section. Also, Roman numerals must be used in labeling the different appendices. It is highly recommended that any useful links be placed in this section. I. Imprisoned (2009) • • • • • • • • •
China: 24 Iran: 23 Cuba: 22 Eritrea: 19 Burma: 9 Uzbekistan: 7 Azerbaijan: 6 Ethiopia: 4 Egypt: 3
• • • • • • • •
http://cpj.org/imprisoned/2009.php II. Journalists jailed by year • • • • • • • • • •
2009: 136 2008: 125 2007: 127 2006: 134 2005: 125 2004: 122 2003: 138 2002: 139 2001: 118 2000: 81
Tunisia: 2 Yemen: 2 Cambodia: 1 Cameroon: 1 Gambia: 1 India: 1 Iraq (in U.S. custody): 1 Kazakhstan: 1
• • • • • • • • •
Mauritania: 1 Morocco: 1 Russia: 1 Saudi Arabia: 1 Sri Lanka : 1 Syria: 1 Turkey: 1 Venezuela: 1 Vietnam: 1
III. Numbers killed (2009)
1. Iraq: 141 2. Philippines: 67 3. Algeria: 60 4. Russia: 52 5. Colombia: 42 6. Somalia: 32 7. Pakistan: 26
8. India: 26 9. Turkey: 20 10. Afghanistan: 19 11. Bosnia: 19 12. Sri Lanka: 18 13. Mexico: 18 14. Tajikistan: 17
15. Rwanda: 16 16. Brazil: 16 17. Sierra Leone: 16 18. Bangladesh: 12 19. Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: 10 20. Yugoslavia: 8
http://cpj.org/killed/ *If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask the DSGs, PGA or SG* Please be aware that you are expected to only use the sections mentioned (below is a summary which you could use as an outline). 1. Introduction 2. Definition of Key Terms 3. General Overview 4. Major Parties Involved and Their Views 5. Timeline of Events 6. UN Involvement, Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events 7. Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue 8. Possible Solutions 9. Bibliography 10. Appendix or Appendices
To end with a very important note: plagiarism will NOT be tolerated. Severe cases of plagiarism can lead to losing your position. We will find out if you plagiarize.