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A Statement from the Participants of the Asia Internet Rights Conference{/}[Statement] “Democracy and Freedom Are An Integral Part of Cyberspace”

By 2001/11/11 10월 25th, 2016 No Comments

“Democracy and Freedom Are An Integral Part of Cyberspace”
: A Statement from the Participants of the Asia Internet Rights Conference

1.
We from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia, Sweden, the U.K., the United States and Korea participanted the Asia Internet Rights Conference on November 8-10, and discussed the issues and the challenges of promoting and protecting internet rights in our respective countries. We hereby believe the importance of the internet rights for Asia people and the capacity of Asian people’s solidarity, despite the diversity of experiences shared by each participant.

Through presentations and dialogue, we reaffirmed the sad reality that globalization is ravaging the lives of Asians. Asian people must cooperate with each other in order to overcome these poweful, oppressive forces.  Internet can be a very useful chance for this solidarity. But more daunting tasks lie ahead of us as the potential, and the problems, of the internet contines to grow at a rapid pace. It is pertinent that more and more Asian people enjoy the universal service of internet on their own terms. It is an unforgivable injustice that intellectual property suppressing access to information denies Asian people the right to share knowledge with each other and with others around the world and to access to low-cost medicines. When formulating international internet governance, the voices of Asian people must be heard loud and clear. Freedom of expression and privacy rights in cyberspace must be guaranteed for all Asians.

2.
We would like to state that the disaster which happened in New York and Washington, D.C. on September 11th was a shock to the global community. We wish to express our deep condolences to those who died. At the same time, we are also sorrowful for the Afghanistan people who are now suffering and dying from the United States and allies bombing of Afghanistan. Also it deeply worries us that countries are going to a great extent to closely monitor and censor information on the internet by the name of anti-terrorism. We would like to emphasize the importance of communications in achieving civil rights as the foundation for a just, humane, and democratic society in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

3.
We, the participants of the Asia Internet Rights Conference adamantly express our objection to the internet content rating system, recently implemented by the South Korean government. The censorship of government can never protect women and children who are suffering from offensive practices of internet. The right self-determination by women, children and other marginalised sectors must be uphold; it is the sustainable way of promoting socially and culturally-acceptable use of the internet and other electronic media. In particular, the restriction of internet access using blocking software is highly problematic and dangerous. We must seriously reconsider regulatory policies that threatens the Korean people’s freedom of expression and access of information.

The participants of this conference strongly believe in the values of democracy and freedom. They must go hand-in-hand with the internet.

November 11, 2001
Participants of Asia Internet Rights Conference, Seoul, Korea

2001-11-10