UN: restricting the Internet a violation of Human Rights

Blocking the Internet and restricting its use was declared by the United Nations as a violation against Human Rights.

On Friday the United Nations stated in its report that restricting the flow of information on the Internet is a violation of human rights and international law.

This report calls for France and the United Kingdom to revise their legislations aimed at cracking down on copyright infringement on the Internet. In regards to censorship, the report states that Internet access cannot be restricted regardless of any social or political reasons.

Human Rights House of Iran reports that per the United Nations website, “the blocking and filtering measures prevent users from accessing certain Internet content and some governments have also attempted to cut off Internet access entirely.”

According to UN Special Rapporteur, cutting off access to the Internet can never be justified, including on public safety or national security grounds. He said that impeding this right is a violation of Article 19 paragraph 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The report states that freedom of expression imposes an obligation on States to promote universal access to the Internet. All States should avoid any measures that limit access to the Internet.

UN rapporteur released the joint declaration of freedom of expression and the Internet on June 1st, the same day the Internet Monitoring Agency reported that two thirds of the population in Syria have suddenly lost access to the Internet due to the social and political upheavals in the region.

It is noted that during the past two years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has many times blocked or limited access to the Internet in order to stop the disclosure of events taking place in the country and to repress its citizens.

Source: Human Rights House of IRAN