Archiv: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) / Büro des Hohen Kommissars für Menschenrechte
Freiheit im digitalen Zeitalter – Chatkontrolle: Mit Grundrechten unvereinbar
Die EU-Kommission hat einen Entwurf für eine Verordnung vorgelegt, die Vorschriften zur Prävention und Bekämpfung sexueller Gewalt an Kindern (Chatkontrolle-Verordnung) festlegen soll. Die geplanten Regelungen werfen so erhebliche
grundrechtliche Bedenken auf, dass die GFF sich bereits vor einer Verabschiedung des Entwurfs in die Debatte einschaltet. Die wichtigsten Kritikpunkte
im Überblick.
The right to privacy in the digital age – Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
56. With this in mind, OHCHR recommends that States:
(a) Ensure that any interference with the right to privacy, including hacking, restrictions to access and use of encryption technology and surveillance of the public, complies with international human rights law, including the principles of legality, legitimate aim, necessity and proportionality and non-discrimination, and does not impair the essence of that right;
(b) Conduct human rights due diligencesystematically, including regular
comprehensive human rights impact assessments, when designing, developing, purchasing, deploying and operating surveillance systems;
(c) Take into account, when conducting human rights due diligence and
assessing the necessity and proportionality of new surveillance systems and powers, the entire legal and technological environment in which those systems or powers are or would be embedded; States should also consider risks of abuse, function creep and repurposing, including risks as a result of future political changes;
(d) Adopt and effectively enforce, through independent, impartial and well-resourced authorities, data privacy legislation for the public and private sectors that complies with international human rights law, including safeguards, oversight and remedies to effectively protect the right to privacy;
(e) Take immediate measures to effectively increase the transparency of the use of surveillance technologies, including by appropriately informing the public and affected individuals and communities and regularly providing data relevant for the public to assess their efficacy and impact on human rights;
(f) Promote public debate of the use of surveillance technologies and ensure meaningful participation of all stakeholders in decisions on the acquisition, transfer, sale, development, deployment and use of surveillance technologies, including the elaboration of public policies and their implementation;
(g) Implement moratoriums on the domestic and transnational sale and use of surveillance systems, such as hacking tools and biometric systems that can be used for the identification or classification of individuals in public places, until adequate safeguards to protect human rights are in place; such safeguards should include domestic and export control measures, in line with the recommendations made herein
and in previous reports to the Human Rights Council;
(h) Ensure that victims of human rights violations and abuses linked to the use of surveillance systems have access to effective remedies. In relation to the specific issues raised in the present report, OHCHR
recommends that States:
Hacking
(a) Ensure that the hacking of personal devices is employed by authorities only as a last resort, used only to prevent or investigate a specific act amounting to a serious threat to national security or a specific serious crime, and narrowly targeted at the person suspected of committing those acts; such measures should be subject to strict independent oversight and should require prior approval by a judicial body;
Encryption
(b) Promote and protect strong encryption and avoid all direct, or indirect, general and indiscriminate restrictions on the use of encryption, such as prohibitions, criminalization, the imposition of weak encryption standards or requirements for mandatory general client-side scanning; interference with the encryption of private communications of individuals should only be carried out when authorized by an independent judiciary body and on a case-by-case basis, targeting individuals if strictly necessary for the investigation of serious crimes or the prevention of serious crimes or
serious threats to public safety or national security;
Surveillance of public spaces and export control of surveillance technology
(c) Adopt adequate legal frameworks to govern the collection, analysis and sharing of social media intelligence that clearly define permissible grounds, prerequisites, authorization procedures and adequate oversight mechanisms;
(d) Avoid general privacy-intrusive monitoring of public spaces and ensure that all public surveillance measures are strictly necessary and proportionate for achieving important legitimate objectives, including by strictly limiting their location and time, as well as the duration of data storage, the purpose of data use and access to data; biometric recognition systems should only be used in public spaces to prevent or
investigate serious crimes or serious public safety threats and if all requirements under international human rights law are implemented with regard to public spaces;
(e) Establish robust well-tailored export control regimes applicable to surveillance technologies, the use of which carries high risks for the enjoyment of human rights; States should require transparent human rights impact assessments that take into account the capacities of the technologies at issue as well as the situation in the recipient State, including compliance with human rights, adherence to the rule of law,
the existence and effective enforcement of applicable laws regulating surveillance activities and the existence of independent oversight mechanisms;
(f) Ensure that, in the provision and use of surveillance technologies, public-private partnerships uphold and expressly incorporate human rights standards and do not result in an abdication of governmental accountability for human rights.
Client-Side-Scanning: UN-Menschenrechtskommissar erteilt Chatkontrolle deutliche Absage
(19.09.2022)
Der UN-Menschenrechtskommissar hat sich in einem Bericht zum „Recht auf Privatsphäre im digitalen Zeitalter“ (PDF auf unserem Server), der sich mit Trojanern wie Pegasus, der Rolle von Verschlüsselung sowie der Überwachung öffentlicher Räume beschäftigt, kritisch gegenüber der Technologie des Client-Side-Scannings ausgesprochen. Diese ist im Rahmen der Einführung einer Chatkontrolle in der EU als Überwachungstechnologie im Gespräch.
Gewalt der Amsterdamer Polizei jetzt im Fokus des UN-Folter-Sonderberichterstatters
Er schreibt dazu: „Ich lade Opfer, Augenzeugen und Nichtregierungsorganisationen dazu ein, überprüfbare Beweise (Englisch/Französisch) zu diesem und anderen Vorfällen einzureichen.“ In dem Tweet steht auch ein Link, mit dem jedermann Beweise einsenden kann. Den Absendern sichert Melzer Vertraulichkeit zu.
Der Schweizer Rechtswissenschaftler wurde am 1. November 2016 vom Menschenrechtsrat der Vereinten Nationen gewählt zum Sonderberichterstatter für Folter und andere grausame, unmenschliche oder erniedrigende Behandlung oder Strafe.
Poor People’s Campaign Calls on United Nations to Hold Trump/U.S. Accountable for War Crimes
The lives of people in the Middle East and around the globe hang in the balance. The lives of those we represent — among the 140 million poor and low wealth in the United States, 43% of the U.S. population — also hang in the balance as the world teeters on the precipice of a devastating war.
Trump ordering Iran strike is war crime, faith leader says
(11.01.2020)
Donald Trump and the U.S. should be held accountable for war crimes for the U.S. strike against Iran, according to the Poor People’s Campaign, which has sent a letter requesting a meeting with the United Nations high commissioner for human rights to address this assertion. Bishop William Barber discusses with Joy Reid saying, ‘We were perilously close the other night to the beginning of a world war.’
Präzedenzfall WikiLeaks
Der UN-Sonderberichterstatter Nils Melzer hat seine Position zum Fall Assange noch einmal klar gestellt – doch keine Zeitung wollte den Beitrag drucken
Jeremy Hunt Works That Rogue State Status
When Jeremy Hunt decided to attack the United Nations on twitter yesterday, he didn’t expect them to respond. He got owned.
For the record: I never said I considered #JulianAssange „a bad actor“ but that, initially, I had been affected by the same misguided smear campaign as everybody else, and only saw the real facts once I investigated in detail @isaacstanbecker @wapo
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture says of Julian #Assange: “In 20 years of work with victims of war and political persecution I have never seen democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual. with so little regard for the law.”
31. Mai 2019
UN expert says „collective persecution“ of Julian Assange must end now
In official letters sent earlier this week, Melzer urged the four involved governments to refrain from further disseminating, instigating or tolerating statements or other activities prejudicial to Assange’s human rights and dignity and to take measures to provide him with appropriate redress and rehabilitation for past harm. He further appealed to the British Government not to extradite Assange to the United States or to any other State failing to provide reliable guarantees against his onward transfer to the United States. He also reminded the United Kingdom of its obligation to ensure Assange’s unimpeded access to legal counsel, documentation and adequate preparation commensurate with the complexity of the pending proceedings.
“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic States ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law,” Melzer said. “The collective persecution of Julian Assange must end here and now!”
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture @NilsMelzer says there has been a lot of „fabrication and manipulation“ in Julian Assange’s legal cases. „We have to take a step back and look at all these proceedings … and come to our own conclusions about whether these are fair.“
United Kingdom: Working Group on Arbitrary Detention expresses concern about Assange proceedings
GENEVA (3 May 2019) – The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention takes note of Mr. Julian Assange’s conviction by a UK court on 1 May 2019, and his sentencing to 50 weeks imprisonment. On 4 December 2015, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted Opinion No. 54/2015*, in which it considered that Mr. Assange was arbitrarily detained by the Governments of Sweden and the UK.
The Working Group issues the following statement:
Errors Raise Questions About Sri Lankan Response to Bombing
But many officials and lawmakers have said, publicly and privately, that they doubted the president was unaware of the intelligence on an imminent threat.
In addition to being president, Mr. Sirisena also leads the Defense Ministry, which oversees the work of much of the intelligence agencies. The officials say it is impossible that he would not have been briefed on a memo about threats that others at much lower levels had heard about.
The massacre in Sri Lanka has opened doors for strongman Rajapaksa’s return
“The government from the very beginning wanted to keep the minority vote with them, so they didn’t take any action,” Rajapaksa said.
The violent attacks, the ensuing political uncertainty and an upsurge in nationalism is almost certainly going to strengthen the Rajapaksa family, according to Alan Keenan, a London-based senior Sri Lanka analyst for the International Crisis Group who has lived on and off in the country for nearly two decades.
Sri Lanka’s president says intelligence lapse allowed Easter bombings to take place
(26. April 2019)
A police spokesman said Friday that police forces had raided a house in Sammanthurai, a town on the east coast, and that after a gun battle they seized an Islamic State flag, explosives and clothes they said may have belonged to some of the Easter suicide attackers. It was not immediately clear who had been inside the house or whether any occupant had been killed. Police said the clothes matched those worn in a video that the attackers posted online before the bombings.
Lanka PM Wickremesinghe, President Sirisena at loggerheads over war crime probes
(7. März 2019)
It said the government will seek an extension of the timeline of the UHRC resolution 30/1 of October 01, 2015, through a co-sponsored roll-over resolution at the ongoing 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The statement stands in contrast with President Sirisena’s comments on Wednesday that he would send his own team to the UNHRC session later this month to seek a reprieve. He said the UN must allow Sri Lanka to resolve its own issues without digging into past.
How Sri Lanka wards off war crimes investigators
(6. März 2019)
However, at the 30th session, the UNHRC relaxed its call for an international inquiry by opting for a hybrid court that included both international and local judges and prosecutors to conduct the probe into war crimes. At the UNHRC’s 34th Session in March 2017, the Sri Lankan government was allowed by way of Resolution 34/1 a period of two years to meet the requirements outlined in the 30/1 Resolution.
War Crimes in Sri Lanka: Stain or slander?
(16. September 2018)
This debate has been in progress since Lanka was granted independence by the British in 1948. It involves the disfranchisement of plantation Tamils in 1948, the passing of the Official Language Bill (better known as the Sinhala Only Bill) in 1956, the 1958 riots against the Tamil community and those in 1977, the two insurrections by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (Peoples Liberation Front – JVP) which were brutally suppressed, and the 1972 and 1977 constitutions, both of which stated that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country. These are matters which the country’s elite have consistently downplayed.
1983 was a pivotal year in the history of post-independence Sri Lanka. It was in July of that year a pogrom against Tamils in the south and east of Sri Lanka was instigated. Their possessions and business were looted, their houses burnt, many women were raped and probably 2,000 people were killed. This resulted in an exodus of around 100,000 Tamils from the south. It is not surprising that the civil war began in earnest in its bloody aftermath. It ended only with the complete victory of the Lankan state and the annihilation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) twenty-six years later. During the conduct of the long civil war there were countless human rights violations by both sides, with the civilian population being caught in the middle. The conduct of the last phase of the war, known as Eelam War IV,[3] came under particular scrutiny by the international community. It is this scrutiny that has angered that section of the Sinhala community that refuses to admit any fault on their own side.
Sri Lanka says ’no‘ to foreign judges in war crimes probe
(5. März 2017)
Mr. Sirisena himself addressing troops in the northern Jaffna peninsula on Sunday said he would not subject the Sri Lankan military personnel to any probe.
“I have clearly said that I am not prepared to serve charge sheets to our soldiers or to have foreign judges to try our security forces,” Mr. Sirisena said.
“It is my duty to protect the troops,” he said.
Sri Lanka must have foreign judges in war crime investigation: HRW
(17. Februar 2017)
Sri Lanka must employ international judges and prosecutors to ensure accountability during trials of those responsible for alleged war crimes against mostly Tamils, Human Rights Watch Australia’s director Elaine Pearson told SBS News.
Ms Pearson’s call, which echoes a recommendation in a 2015 UN Human Rights Council report of the OHCHR investigation of Sri Lanka, comes as Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesingh this week visited Canberra.
UN urges creation of special court in Sri Lanka after new report confirms ‘horrific’ abuses
(16. September 2015)
Among the most serious crimes documented in the report are numerous unlawful killings, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, torture, child recruitment, attacks on civilians, denial of humanitarian assistance, and violation of the rights of internally displaced persons in closed camps.
The report also documents “years of denials and cover-ups, failure to carry out prompt investigations, stalled investigations and reprisals against the family members of victims and others who have pushed for justice,” states the news release issued by the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
UN calls for special Sri Lanka war crimes tribunal
(16. September 2015)
In May 2009, the army recaptured the last area controlled by the LTTE, putting an end to a war that claimed the lives of up to 100,000 people, according to the UN. Nearly 40,000 of them are believed to have been killed in the last five months of the conflict.
Although the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) paper names no suspects, stating it was a „human rights investigation, not a criminal investigation,“ it does say that Tamil politicians, humanitarian workers, journalists and ordinary civilians were among the alleged victims of Sri Lankan security forces and associated paramilitaries.