RES/32/13 The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet

GE.16-12327(E)

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Human Rights Council Thirty-second session

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 1 July 2016

32/13. The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights

on the Internet

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations,

Reaffirming the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human rights treaties, including the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

Recalling all relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and the

Human Rights Council on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in particular

Council resolutions 20/8 of 5 July 2012 and 26/13 of 26 June 2014, on the promotion,

protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, and resolutions 12/16 of 2

October 2009, on freedom of opinion and expression, 28/16 of 24 March 2015, on the right

to privacy in the digital age, and 23/2 of 13 June 2013, on the role of freedom of opinion

and expression in women’s empowerment, and 31/7 of 23 March 2016, on the rights of the

child: information and communications technologies and child sexual exploitation, and

recalling also General Assembly resolutions 68/167 of 18 December 2013 and 69/166 of 18

December 2014, on the right to privacy in the digital age, 70/184 of 22 December 2015, on

information and communications technologies for development, and 70/125 of 16

December 2015, containing the outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General

Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World

Summit on the Information Society,

Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,1 and

recognizing that the spread of information and communications technology and global

interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital

divide and to develop knowledge societies,

1 General Assembly resolution 70/1.

United Nations A/HRC/RES/32/13

General Assembly

Taking note of the Global Multi-stakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet

Governance, held in São Paulo on 23 and 24 April 2014, which acknowledged, inter alia,

the need for human rights to underpin Internet governance and that the rights that people

have offline must also be protected online,

Taking note also of the previous sessions of the Internet Governance Forum,

including the most recent meeting, held in João Pessoa, from 10 to 13 November 2015,

Noting that the exercise of human rights, in particular the right to freedom of

expression, on the Internet is an issue of increasing interest and importance, as the rapid

pace of technological development enables individuals all over the world to use new

information and communications technology,

Noting also the importance of building confidence and trust in the Internet, not least

with regard to the freedom of expression, privacy and other human rights so that the

potential of the Internet as, inter alia, an enabler for development and innovation can be

realized, with full cooperation between Governments, civil society, the private sector, the

technical community and academia,

Recognizing that privacy online is important for the realization of the right to

freedom of expression and to hold opinions without interference, and the right to freedom

of peaceful assembly and association,

Emphasizing that access to information on the Internet facilitates vast opportunities

for affordable and inclusive education globally, thereby being an important tool to facilitate

the promotion of the right to education, while underlining the need to address digital

literacy and the digital divide, as it affects the enjoyment of the right to education,

Expressing concern that many forms of digital divides remain between and within

countries and between men and women, boys and girls, and recognizing the need to close

them,

Stressing the importance of empowering all women and girls by enhancing their

access to information and communications technology, promoting digital literacy and the

participation of women and girls in education and training on information and

communications technology, and encouraging women and girls to embark on careers in the

sciences and information and communications technology,

Recalling articles 9 and 21 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities, which, inter alia, call upon States parties to take appropriate measures to

promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communications

technology and systems, including the Internet,

Recognizing that, for the Internet to remain global, open and interoperable, it is

imperative that States address security concerns in accordance with their international

human rights obligations, in particular with regard to freedom of expression, freedom of

association and privacy,

Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed against

persons for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms on the Internet, and by

the impunity for these violations and abuses,

Deeply concerned also by measures aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt

access to or dissemination of information online, in violation of international human rights

law,

Stressing the importance of applying a comprehensive human rights-based approach

when providing and expanding access to the Internet and for the Internet to be open,

accessible and nurtured by multi-stakeholder participation,

Taking note with appreciation of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the

promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, submitted to

the Human Rights Council at its seventeenth, twenty-third, twenty-ninth and thirty-second

sessions,2 and to the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, on freedom of expression

on the Internet,3 and taking note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to

privacy, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session,4

Considering the key importance of government engagement with all relevant

stakeholders, including civil society, private sector, the technical community and academia,

in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms online,

1. Affirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected

online, in particular freedom of expression, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and

through any media of one’s choice, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights;

2. Recognizes the global and open nature of the Internet as a driving force in

accelerating progress towards development in its various forms, including in achieving the

Sustainable Development Goals;

3. Calls upon all States to promote and facilitate international cooperation

aimed at the development of media and information and communications facilities and

technology in all countries;

4. Affirms that quality education plays a decisive role in development, and

therefore calls upon all States to promote digital literacy and to facilitate access to

information on the Internet, which can be an important tool in facilitating the promotion of

the right to education;

5. Also affirms the importance of applying a comprehensive human rights-based

approach in providing and in expanding access to the Internet, and requests all States to

make efforts to bridge the many forms of digital divide;

6. Calls upon all States to bridge the gender digital divide and to enhance the

use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to

promote the empowerment of all women and girls;

7. Encourages all States to take appropriate measures to promote, with the

participation of persons with disabilities, the design, development, production and

distribution of information and communications technology and systems, including

assistive and adaptive technologies, that are accessible to persons with disabilities;

8. Calls upon all States to address security concerns on the Internet in

accordance with their international human rights obligations to ensure protection of

freedom of expression, freedom of association, privacy and other human rights online,

including through national democratic, transparent institutions, based on the rule of law, in

a way that ensures freedom and security on the Internet so that it can continue to be a

vibrant force that generates economic, social and cultural development;

9. Condemns unequivocally all human rights violations and abuses, such as

torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, expulsion,

intimidation and harassment, as well as gender-based violence, committed against persons

2 A/HRC/17/27, A/HRC/23/40 and Corr.1, A/HRC/29/32 and A/HRC/32/38.

3 A/66/290.

4 A/HRC/31/64.

for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms on the Internet, and calls upon

all States to ensure accountability in this regard;

10. Also condemns unequivocally measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt

access to or dissemination of information online in violation of international human rights

law, and calls upon all States to refrain from and cease such measures;

11. Stresses the importance of combating advocacy of hatred that constitutes

incitement to discrimination or violence on the Internet, including by promoting tolerance

and dialogue;

12. Calls upon all States to consider formulating, through transparent and

inclusive processes with all stakeholders, and adopting national Internet-related public

policies that have the objective of universal access and enjoyment of human rights at their

core;

13. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to

prepare a report on ways to bridge the gender digital divide from a human rights

perspective, in consultation with States, the special procedures of the Human Rights

Council, international organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society,

industry, technical community and academia and other stakeholders, and to submit it to the

Council at its thirty-fifth session;

14. Encourages the special procedures to take these issues into account within

their existing mandates, as applicable;

15. Decides to continue its consideration of the promotion, protection and

enjoyment of human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, on the Internet

and other information and communications technology, and of how the Internet can be an

important tool for fostering citizen and civil society participation, for the realization of

development in every community and for exercising human rights, in accordance with its

programme of work.

43rd meeting

1 July 2016

[Adopted without a vote.]