Day 2 | Session 4: Treaties, instruments and standards: A baseline for international advocacy

Wednesday, 30 June, 2021 [4:00 - 5:30 UTC]

Objective: This session will introduce participants to key documents that help lay out the standards for digital rights. They form the basis of all forms of international advocacy. Through this session, participants will be equipped with knowledge on the types of instruments and standards they set out as the basis for advocating for change.

Session plan:

• Kinds of instruments that set out the standards for digital rights:
• Instruments and their enforceability (treaties, declarations, resolutions and general comments)
• Other documents (ex. Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports, UN Special Rapporteur reports and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports)
• Instruments to use:
• Digital rights - Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant for Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Rabat Plan of Action
• Gender rights - Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• Infrastructure - International Telecommunications Union (ITU) documentation, ICESCR (right to scientific development)
• Soft standards for specific issues

*Reading materials and Tables are hyperlinked, please click the text to access

Reading Materials:

Suggested Readings 

1. Arturo J. Carrillo, Primer on Researching International Law to Advance Digital Rights
   
2. Council of Europe, Legal Protection of Human Rights
3. Global Information Society Watch, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Internet
   
4. APC, Inside the Information Society: Connecting ICTs to economic, social and cultural rights 

Additional Readings 

1. Article 19, Freedom of expression and ICTs: Overview of international standards
   
2. Global Network Initiative, Digital Freedoms in International Law: Practical Steps to protect Human Rights Online
   
3. The Danish Institute for Human Rights, ICT and Human Rights
4. The Rise of International Advocacy

Representations:

1. Human Rights Instruments 
2. Status of Ratification
3. UDHR
4. UDHR Memory Aid
5. Bill of Rights 
6. Reporting Cycle under Human Rights Treaties 
7. The Impact of the Internet on Human Rights in Africa 
8. The International State of Digital Rights, a Conversation with the UN Special Rapporteur 

📌 Presentation Slide

🔖 Read Day 2 Summary Here