GENEVA – The United Nations Human Rights Council has for the first time endorsed a resolution upholding the principle of freedom of expression and information on the Internet. The announcement reaffirms the critical role that social media networks played in the Arab Spring.
In a landmark resolution, the Council’s 47 members states agreed on Thursday that the right should be protected by all nations and access to the Internet should also be guaranteed.
Both China and Cuba have attempted to limit access to the Internet in the past but signed on recognizing “the global and open nature of the Internet as a driving force in accelerating progress towards development.”
China’s support for the resolution came with the stipulation that the “free flow of information on the Internet and the safe flow of information on the Internet are mutually dependent,” and therefore no one expects its so-called “Great Firewall of China” to be dismantled any time soon.
The resolution follows a United Nations report released last year that argued disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law.
Carl Bildt, foreign minister of Sweden, wrote in a New York Times op-ed Thursday that the resolution was necessary to protect bloggers and online activists from harassment and to highlight abuses happening in some countries.
“Today, with nearly the entire globe covered by mobile networks, the problem of physical access to the Internet is almost a forgotten issue. What is increasingly worrying is what kind of access people are being offered,” writes Bildt.
“We cannot accept that the Internet’s content should be limited or manipulated depending on the flavor-of-the-month of political leaders. Only by securing access to the open and global Internet will true development take place.”
