The Promotion, Protection and Enjoyment of Human Rights on the Internet

A/HRC/RES/38/7View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

5 versions · 2012–2021

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/47/16

2021A/HRC/RES/47/16The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the InternetLatestCompare with previous version
2018A/HRC/RES/38/7The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the InternetCompare with previous version
2016A/HRC/RES/32/13The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the InternetCompare with previous version
2014A/HRC/RES/26/13The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the InternetCompare with previous version
2012A/HRC/RES/20/8The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

12 topics

Access to Information Accountability Cybersecurity Data Protection Development Digital Divide Equality Freedom of Expression Freedom of the Press Gender-Based Violence Human Rights Internet

What does this mandate say?

24 operative paragraphs

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;

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;

Calls upon all States to promote and facilitate international cooperation aimed at the development of media and information and communication facilities and technology in all countries;

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 for all children, which can be an important tool in facilitating the promotion of the right to education, and to support similar learning modules outside of schools;

Calls upon all States to bridge the digital divides, including the gender digital divide, and to enhance the use of information and communications technology, in order to promote the full enjoyment of human rights for all, including by:

Fostering an enabling online environment that is safe and conducive to engagement by all, without discrimination and with consideration for individuals facing systemic inequalities;

Maintaining and enhancing efforts to promote access to information on the Internet as one means of facilitating affordable and inclusive education globally, underlining the need to address digital literacy and the digital divides;

Promoting equal opportunities, including gender equality, in the design and implementation of information and communications technology and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in policy decisions and the frameworks that guide them;

Applying a comprehensive human rights-based approach in providing and expanding access to information and communications technology, and promoting, in consultation with all sections of society, including business enterprises and civil society actors, policies and guidelines for information and communications technology that include specific attention to gender considerations;

Calls upon States to ensure effective remedies for human rights violations, including those relating to the Internet, in accordance with their international obligations;

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;

Calls upon all States to address security concerns on the Internet in accordance with their international human rights obligations to ensure the protection of all human rights online, in particular freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of association and privacy, including through democratic and transparent national 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;

Encourages business enterprises to work towards enabling technical solutions to secure and protect the confidentiality of digital communications, which may include measures for encryption and anonymity, and calls upon States not to interfere with the use of such technical solutions, with any restrictions thereon complying with States’ obligations under international human rights law;

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 trafficking in persons, and sexual and gender-based violence, committed against persons for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms on the Internet, and calls upon all States to ensure accountability in this regard;

Also condemns unequivocally online attacks against women, including sexual and gender-based violence and abuse of women, in particular where women journalists, media workers, public officials or others engaging in public debate are targeted for their expression, and calls for gender-sensitive responses that take into account the particular forms of online discrimination;

Calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling online environment for the enjoyment of human rights so that journalists may perform their work independently and without undue or unlawful interference, including by allowing them to secure their communications and to protect the confidentiality of their sources;

Condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law that prevent or disrupt an individual’s ability to seek, receive or impart information online, calls upon all States to refrain from and to cease such measures, and also calls upon States to ensure that all domestic laws, policies and practices are consistent with their international human rights obligations with regard to freedom of opinion and expression online;

Condemns all undue restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression online that violate international law, and notes with concern that such restrictions have a significant impact on women and girls and other individuals who may face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination;

Stresses the importance of combating advocacy of hatred on the Internet, which constitutes incitement to discrimination or violence, including by promoting tolerance, education and dialogue;

Calls upon States, while fully respecting their human rights obligations and commitments regarding freedom of opinion and expression, to encourage media training, educational campaigns and other efforts aimed at identifying and raising awareness about information online that may be deliberately misleading or false;

Urges States to adopt, implement and, where necessary, reform laws, regulations, policies and other measures concerning personal data and privacy protection online in order to prevent, mitigate and remedy the arbitrary or unlawful collection, retention, processing, use or disclosure of personal data on the Internet that could violate human rights;

Calls upon all States to consider formulating, through transparent and inclusive processes with all stakeholders, and adopting national Internet-related public policies that have at their core the objective of universal access and the enjoyment of human rights;

Encourages the special procedures to take these issues into account within their existing mandates, as applicable;

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 with 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.

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What does this mandate say?

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