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	Belarus: No justice in sight for scores of human rights violations survivors by Amnesty International, agencies   Following last year’s widely disputed presidential election, Belarusian authorities have unleashed a campaign of brutal reprisals against dissent and committed a plethora of human rights violations and crimes under international law against the country’s people, said Amnesty International, on the election’s one-year anniversary.   These violations include unlawful use of force, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and abductions, and politically motivated prosecutions under trumped-up charges.   Dozens of human rights NGOs and other civil society organizations have been arbitrarily closed and many of their staff have been arrested as suspects in fabricated criminal cases or forced into exile.   At least three peaceful protestors have died as a result of police use of force, while tens of thousands were subjected to arbitrary arrests and detention. Hundreds more have complained of torture. These violations have not been investigated, and suspected perpetrators have not faced any charges.   “Over the last year, thousands of peaceful protesters and people with dissenting views have been arbitrarily detained, forced into exile or left living in fear of arbitrary prosecution and imprisonment. Hundreds have already been named criminal suspects or convicted and sent to prison for long terms, including a child. The unfolding human rights crisis in Belarus is a saga of horror and despair with no end in sight,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director.   “The crimes under international law committed against the people of Belarus have no statute of limitations. The rest of the world must not remain a bystander. This grim chapter will be closed only when the last survivor of human rights violations in Belarus is provided with redress, and all those responsible for human rights violations are brought to justice.”   Amnesty International has closely followed developments in Belarus over the last year, and produced a report revealing how the Belarusian authorities have used the justice system as a repressive tool to punish survivors of torture rather than suspected perpetrators.   Amnesty International also launched the #StandWithBelarus global solidarity campaign which exposed brutal government reprisals against people from all walks of life – women, children, journalists, students, pensioners, medics, artists, athletes, trade unionists and others.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/09/office-high-commissioner-describes-climate-repression-belarus-deterioration http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/belarus-no-justice-in-sight-for-scores-of-human-rights-violations-survivors-one-year-on-from-disputed-election/ http://undocs.org/A/HRC/47/L.13 http://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/belarus http://reliefweb.int/report/belarus/belarus-massive-human-rights-violations-unprecedented-scope-and-gravity-says-un http://globalvoices.org/special/belarus-in-turmoil-2020/ http://www.ipsnews.net/2021/09/belarus-crackdown-leaves-human-rights-minorities-exposed/ Visit the related web page
	Governments need to enact rights-respecting regulations on tech companies and all digital platforms by UN Office for Human Rights, agencies   As the world rebuilds civic space during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, UN human rights experts stress that human rights apply online, as offline, and digital rights must be a top priority.   "States continue to leverage these technologies to muzzle dissent, surveil, and quash online and offline collective action and the tech companies have done too little to avert such abuse of human rights," the experts said.   "We are deeply concerned that these patterns of abuse, which have further accelerated under the exigencies of the pandemic, will continue and exacerbate inequalities worldwide."   "We need to act together to embrace the fast-pace expansion of digital space and technological solutions that are safe, inclusive and rights-based," nine U.N. human rights experts said ahead of the annual RightsCon summit on human rights in the digital age from June 7-11.   COVID-19 recovery efforts to "build back better" must address serious threats contributing to the closing of civic space and suppression of free speech and media freedom, the experts said.   They specifically pointed to internet shutdowns during peaceful protests, digital divides and accessibility barriers including to basic human rights and services, disinformation and misinformation; attacks on independent and diverse media; algorithmic discrimination, online threats against human rights defenders, mass and targeted surveillance, cyberattacks and attempts to undermine encryption.   The experts said the pandemic had particularly heightened digital inequalities and discrimination against, among others: people of African descent, ethnic groups, minority groups and communities facing religious, and ethnic discrimination, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, internally displaced people, people affected by extreme poverty, women and girls, migrants and refugees, sexual minoritiy groups, human rights and environmental defenders, journalists and activists, worldwide.   They also raised concern about ongoing repression of peaceful protests around the world. Along with ongoing global crises such as systemic violence, climate change, structural inequality, institutional racism, and gender-based violence. They expressed alarm at the unprecedented spike in reports of child sexual abuse material online.   The experts stressed that States — and the tech sector — must take additional systemic measures so that their efforts reach those who are most at risk of being disproportionately affected. Platforms must be inclusive through engaging people on the ground and improving their investments in least developed countries. "We must leave no one behind — online or offline," they said.   The experts reiterated the need for States to maintain their obligation to promote and protect human rights, including through rights-respecting regulations on tech companies. Initiatives to regulate online spaces need to be participatory and fully grounded in human rights standards.   Businesses need to uphold their responsibility to respect human rights, including by reviewing their business models, and be held accountable for acts of digital repression, such as the non-transparent content takedowns and manipulation recently witnessed in various regions of the world.   "The opacity that prevails in the ways content is moderated by Governments and companies reinforces global perceptions of discrimination and censorship. There is an urgent need for transparency", stressed the experts.   The experts called on companies to stop supplying governments with technologies — such as spyware tools and applications claiming to recognise faces, genders, disabilities and emotions — which reinforce risks for defenders and civil society actors when exercising their legitimate right to voice critical concerns and defend human rights.   Businesses need to prevent and address these risks and avoid contributing consciously or inadvertently to further shrinking civic space.   The experts cautioned against the repurposing of security and counter-terrorism measures, specifically the use of new technologies, data collection, surveillance and biometric technologies to securitise health and regulate a health pandemic whose effects are most severely felt by minority and groups at heightened risk.   They demanded that already controversial public-private security partnerships be subjected to additional scrutiny when leveraged into the public health arena.   The experts reiterated that "only with concerted multilateral efforts to restore solidarity and mutual trust, will we overcome the pandemic and become more resilient and united".   They warned against using the pandemic as an excuse to rush forward "digital transformation", as exemplified in digital vaccine certificates, without prioritising foundational digital rights safeguards.   The rights experts highlighted the increasing digitalization of welfare systems, which may lead to excluding beneficiaries based on minor or inconsequential irregularities and to increased targeting, with potential negative impacts on people in poverty.   June 2021   Free media, digital literacy an antidote to disinformation, by Irene Khan - Special Rapporteur on right to freedom of opinion and expression   Responses by States and companies to disinformation have been problematic, inadequate and detrimental to human rights, a UN expert warned today, calling on States to uphold the right to freedom of expression as the primary means by which to fight disinformation.   “Diverse and reliable information, digital literacy, smart social media regulation and free, independent and diverse media are the obvious antidote to disinformation,” Irene Khan, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, told the Human Rights Council.   “Disinformation - responses to it - are undermining freedom of expression, polarizing public debates, fueling public distrust and endangering human rights, democratic institutions, public health and sustainable development,” said Khan.   “States have resorted to disproportionate measures such as Internet shutdowns and vague and overly broad laws to criminalize, block, censor and chill online speech and shrink civic space, and to compel social media platforms to remove lawful content without judicial process.”   In her report, the Special Rapporteur warned that these measures are incompatible with international law and are being used against journalists, political opponents and human rights defenders with impunity.   She said algorithms, targeted advertising and the data harvesting practices of the largest social media companies are largely credited with driving users towards “extremist” content and conspiracy theories, undermining the right of individuals to form an opinion and to freely develop beliefs and ideas.   “Company responses to disinformation have been largely reactive, insufficient and opaque,” said Khan. “Social media companies should review their business models and ensure that their business operations, data collection and data processing practices are compliant with international human rights standards,” said the Special Rapporteur.   Khan also expressed concerns about inconsistent content moderation, opaque policies and processes and inadequate transparency and redress mechanisms of social media platforms, and called for urgent and effective action by companies.   She warned that “old ingrained sexist attitudes with the anonymity and reach of social media” were being used to launch gendered disinformation campaigns against women journalists, politicians and human rights defenders to push them out of public life. She called on States and companies to ensure the safety of women online and offline.   Calling for the proactive engagement of States, companies, international organizations, civil society and the media, Irene Khan concluded, “Tackling disinformation requires multidimensional multi-stakeholder responses that are well-grounded in the full range of human rights.”   * Access the report: http://undocs.org/A/HRC/47/25   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/DigitalAge/Pages/SeminarArtificialIntelligence.aspx http://undocs.org/A/HRC/47/24/Add.2 http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/digitalage/pages/digitalageindex.aspx http://international-review.icrc.org/articles/ai-humanitarian-action-human-rights-ethics-913   http://carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu/technology-human-rights http://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/ethicsinai http://carnegieendowment.org/specialprojects/digitaldemocracynetwork http://digitalfreedomfund.org/ http://rm.coe.int/unboxing-artificial-intelligence-10-steps-to-protect-human-rights-reco/1680946e64 http://www.business-humanrights.org/en/big-issues/technology-human-rights/artificial-intelligence-ai/ http://bit.ly/2Sllcpk http://bit.ly/2SZrHyx   http://www.rightscon.org/ http://www.rightscon.org/past-events/online-2020/ http://www.accessnow.org/the-toronto-declaration-protecting-the-rights-to-equality-and-non-discrimination-in-machine-learning-systems/ http://www.accessnow.org/tag/artificial-intelligence/ http://www.accessnow.org/content-type/press-releases/ http://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/ http://blog.witness.org/2021/09/eyes-on-internet-shutdowns/ http://blog.witness.org/2021/01/truth-lies-accountability-2021/ http://minorityrights.org/publications/minority-and-indigenous-trends-2020/ http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59441379   http://algorithmwatch.org/en/instagram-research-shut-down-by-facebook/ http://algorithmwatch.org/en/robo-debt-france/ http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/11/robodebt-court-approves-18bn-settlement-for-victims-of-governments-shameful-failure http://www.amnesty.org/en/topic/technology-and-human-rights/ http://5rightsfoundation.com/newsroom/ http://www.newsguardtech.com/reports/ http://www.dw.com/en/rohingya-refugees-file-lawsuit-against-facebook-over-genocide/a-60038553 http://www.dw.com/en/rohingya-vs-facebook-what-are-the-chances-of-success/a-60079433 http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/humanrights/2020/07/16/beginning-of-artificial-intelligence-end-of-human-rights/ http://www.opendemocracy.net/en/digitaliberties/ http://www.article19.org/resources/international-santa-clara-principles-and-the-push-for-transparency/ http://santaclaraprinciples.org/ http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/nov/30/more-than-a-third-of-worlds-population-has-never-used-the-internet-says-un   http://items.ssrc.org/disinformation-democracy-and-conflict-prevention/southeast-asias-disinformation-crisis-where-the-state-is-the-biggest-bad-actor-and-regulation-is-a-bad-word/ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=28077&LangID=E http://mediawell.ssrc.org/ http://www.stopkillerrobots.org/ Visit the related web page
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