Project: Networking for freedom online and offline: protecting freedom of information, expression and association on the internet in India

BACKGROUND

The APC-IMPACT Project is an initiative of APC and three partner Malaysia and Pakistan to promote and protect freedom of expression, freedom of information, and freedom of association on the internet. This ultimately will contribute to the strengthening of human rights online and offline. The project aims to build awareness among different stakeholders of the enabling role of in freedoms in strengthening human rights and democracy. The project will also monitor and document internet human rights defenders tools and support to respond to threats and violations.

The project will support the participation of national rights defenders and civil society advocates in regional, national and global multi-stakeholder internet governance bodies. Through awareness-raising and capacity-building, the project will reach out to human rights defenders – activists, national rights institutes, media rights advocates, judiciary, legal sector, women’s groups – and civil society in general, and provide them with knowledge, tools and networks so that violations can be monitored, reported and addressed.

OBJECTIVES

Objective 1: Build awareness among target groups of the critical importance of protecting and promoting human rights on the internet as a pre-condition for democracy and the exercise of civil and political rights.

Objective 2: Strengthen understanding among target groups of how restrictions of human rights on the internet are implemented (including the rights to freedom of expression, privacy, and freedom of assembly), how these rights are being threatened at technical and regulatory levels by both States and corporations, and what techniques they can use to communicate more securely and safely online.

Objective 3: Provide human rights defenders (our primary target groups) with knowledge, tools and support to respond to rights violations and advocate for the long term protection of human rights on the internet.

Objective 4: Facilitate and support multi-stakeholder networks that can respond to threats to human rights on the internet and build stronger human rights cultures on the internet in each of the three countries.

 Objective 5: Facilitate strategic linkages between national, regional and global advocacy for human rights on the internet through making use of opportunities presented by the Internet Governance Forum and the UN’s Human Rights Council, among others.

 EXPECTED RESULTS

Result 1: Improved recognition and protection of human rights on internet by the public, civil society, government, the judiciary and HR bodies

Result 2: Improved understanding skills and strategies (including institutional policies) among HRDs and CSOs of how restrictions on freedom of expression (FOE) and freedom of association (FoA) on the internet operate

Result 3: Improved capacities among local rights groups in countries to advocate on issues of HR and the internet over the longer term

Result 4: Multi-stakeholder networks at national/global levels advocate for internet freedom

 APPROACH

TARGET GROUP