A new committee on human rights and the internet - the Multidisciplinary Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on the Information Society (CAHSI) - has been established within the Council of Europe (CoE) as part of the project on ''Good Governance in the Information Society''.
Its main purpose is to prepare and submit to the CoE Committee of Ministers for approval a draft statement on principles and guidelines to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law in the information society. The statement is meant to contribute to the agenda of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe scheduled for 16-17 May 2005, and also to the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held on 16-18 November 2005. Among other aspects, the statement should refer to respect for the freedom of expression and opinion, privacy, e-voting, the prohibition of racism and xenophobic discourse on the internet, and the protection of intellectual property in cyberspace.
The CAHSI met for the first time in November 2004; the next meeting will be on 3-4 February 2005 in Strasbourg.
Further information:
- CAHSI http://www.coe.int/t/e/integrated_projects/democracy/02_Activities/00_CAHSI/
- Council of Europe http://www.coe.int/DefaultEN.asp
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- IS World Summit terminates https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=148016
- World Summit on the Information Society WG (WSIS WG) - Geneva https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=169413
