EDRI granted observer status in CoE HR group

By EDRi · June 29, 2005

After informal participation to the last meeting of the Multidisciplinary
Ad-hoc Committee of Experts on the Information Society (CAHSI), EDRI was
granted observer status to the Council of Europe group of Specialists on
Human Rights in the Information Society (MM-S-IS).

On behalf of European Digital Rights, Meryem Marzouki from the French
digital rights organisation IRIS presented EDRI activities at the CDMC
(Steering Committee on Medias and Communications, under the CoE Human
Rights DG) plenary meeting on 23 June 2005.

The CAHSI was an ad hoc committee, which mandate ends in 2005. Its main
role was to prepare a political statement on the principles and guidelines
for ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law in the
information society (see EDRI-gram 3.8). This statement was adopted by the
CoE Summit of heads of states on 13 May 2005. It will be the main CoE
contribution to the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS).

The MM-S-IS mandate is larger, both in scope and in duration, as set by
its terms of reference. In participating to MM-S-IS work, EDRI aims at
promoting its views for the respect for human rights in the context of the
information society, not least regarding freedom of expression and
privacy, and how these rights translate in this specific context. With two
of its members (IRIS, France, and Digital Rights, Denmark) co-chairing the
WSIS civil society Human Rights Caucus, and with its unique features of
global approach of the issue, expertise in the field, worldwide civil
society partnership, and already established relations with other
intergovernmental organisations, EDRI feels its added value to the CoE
development in the information society sector has been acknowledged.

Next steps for EDRI are participation to the CoE Pan-European Forum on
“Human Rights in the Information Society” and to the second meeting of
MM-S-IS, both to be held in the ‘Palais de l’Europe’ in Strasbourg,
mid-September 2005.

EDRI-gram 3.8: Council of Europe draft statement on human rights and
Internet (20.04.2005)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.8/CoE

Group of Specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (MM-S-IS)
http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/media/1_Intergovernmental_Co-operation/MM-S-IS/

CoE Pan-European Forum on Human Rights in the Information Society
(12-13.09.2005)
http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/media/

(Contribution by Meryem Marzouki, EDRI-member IRIS)