UN guaranteed individual rights on the Internet
An event of world significance took place on Thursday. The UN Human Rights Council adopted the first resolution on freedom of dissemination of information on the Internet. 47 UN member states have signed a document stating that the right to access the Internet is an inalienable human right and cannot be restricted by anyone.
The representative of the United States on the Council, Eileen Chamberlain Donahue, called the results of the vote extremely important. According to her, this is the first UN resolution that confirms the need to protect the rights of individuals on the Internet with the same persistence with which this is done in the "real world".
Swedish Foreign Minister Karl Bildt (the draft document was proposed by this country) called the vote “a victory for the Internet”: “We cannot recognize that the content of the Internet should be limited or manipulated depending on the changing preferences of political leaders. Only by ensuring access to an open and global Internet will be real development, ”he said.
But not everyone was in favor of adopting this resolution.
China and Cuba, known for their desire to introduce censorship on the Internet, criticized the resolution. The representative of Cuba said that the Internet space is for the most part controlled by one country - the United States, and that only 30% of the world's population have real access to information technology and the adoption of a resolution will not help to change this. After endorsing the document, the representative of China said that people, in particular young people, also need protection from harmful sites.
By the way, Russia was also not enthusiastic about the adoption of the resolution, but the essence of its claims is unknown.
On the contrary, the representative of Tunisia said that the Internet played an important role in mobilizing people in the revolution there.
The representative of the United States on the Council, Eileen Chamberlain Donahue, called the results of the vote extremely important. According to her, this is the first UN resolution that confirms the need to protect the rights of individuals on the Internet with the same persistence with which this is done in the "real world".
Swedish Foreign Minister Karl Bildt (the draft document was proposed by this country) called the vote “a victory for the Internet”: “We cannot recognize that the content of the Internet should be limited or manipulated depending on the changing preferences of political leaders. Only by ensuring access to an open and global Internet will be real development, ”he said.
But not everyone was in favor of adopting this resolution.
China and Cuba, known for their desire to introduce censorship on the Internet, criticized the resolution. The representative of Cuba said that the Internet space is for the most part controlled by one country - the United States, and that only 30% of the world's population have real access to information technology and the adoption of a resolution will not help to change this. After endorsing the document, the representative of China said that people, in particular young people, also need protection from harmful sites.
By the way, Russia was also not enthusiastic about the adoption of the resolution, but the essence of its claims is unknown.
On the contrary, the representative of Tunisia said that the Internet played an important role in mobilizing people in the revolution there.