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

A/HRC/RES/47/16View 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 2021.

What other versions does this mandate have?

5 versions · 2012–2021

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?

8 topics

Access to Information Censorship Covid-19 Development Digital Divide Freedom of Expression 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;

Condemns unequivocally all human rights violations and abuses committed against persons for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms on the Internet, and calls upon all States to ensure accountability and effective remedies in this regard, in accordance with their international obligations;

Also condemns unequivocally online attacks against women and girls, 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;

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, ensuring to leave no one behind;

Also recognizes the greater importance of the Internet in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the exceptional measures adopted in response to it, and the need for States to ensure, in accordance with their international human rights law obligations, that any such measures do not restrict access to the Internet and, wherever possible, expand access to it, especially for persons in marginalized and vulnerable situations;

Calls upon all stakeholders in the information and communications technology sector, including Governments, the United Nations system, national human rights institutions, civil society and the private sector, to fully consider the human rights, health and socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as they strengthen their efforts to bridge digital divides within and between countries, with particular attention to the poorest and those in the most vulnerable situations, as well as women and children, and to promote affordable and reliable connectivity, digital access and digital inclusion, and the expansion of accessible and inclusive public services, distance-learning solutions and digital health services;

Welcomes the efforts of national, regional and international stakeholders to bridge digital divides, and noting in this regard the eighteenth Francophonie summit on the theme “Connectivity in diversity: digital technology as a vector of development and solidarity in the French-speaking space”, to be held in Tunisia in November 2021;

Calls upon all States to accelerate efforts to bridge 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, health, justice and other public services globally, underlining the need to address digital literacy and digital divides;

Promoting equal opportunities, including gender equality, in the design, development, governance 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;

Respecting their human rights obligations in the development of regulatory frameworks and legislation on the development and use of digital technologies;

Encourages all States to support civil society in its efforts to address barriers to digital access;

Also encourages all States to take the necessary and appropriate measures to promote free, open interoperable, reliable and secure access to the Internet and, in a manner that complies with their international human rights obligations, address disinformation and advocacy of hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, in order to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights;

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, including Internet shutdowns and online censorship, 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, and of association and peaceful assembly, online;

Calls upon States to ensure net neutrality, subject to reasonable network management, and to prohibit attempts by Internet access service providers to assign priority to certain types of Internet content or applications over others for payment or other commercial benefit;

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 of peaceful assembly, 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;

Stresses that many States all over the world need support in expanding infrastructure, technological cooperation and capacity-building, including human and institutional capacity-building, to ensure the accessibility, affordability and availability of the Internet in order to bridge digital divides, to meet the Sustainable Development Goal and to ensure the full enjoyment of 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 of the Human Right Council to take these issues into account within their existing mandates, as applicable;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to study the trend in Internet shutdowns, analysing their causes, their legal implications and their impact on a range of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, through robust consultations with stakeholders and building on previous reports, and to present a report thereon to the Human Rights Council at its fiftieth session;

Encourages States and all stakeholders to share best practices on issues pertaining to bridging digital divides and enabling digital inclusion, including by collecting and providing public access to disaggregated data on access and use by disadvantaged persons or groups;

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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