Session
Organizer 1: Athanase Bahizire, Youth IGF DRC
Organizer 2: Nazarius Kirama, 🔒Internet Society Tanzania
Organizer 3: Pamela Chogo, 🔒
Organizer 4: Turra Daniele, Internet Society
Speaker 1: ELIAMANI ISAYA LALTAIKA, Technical Community, African Group
Speaker 2: Rachel Magege, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 3: Rose Mwaka, Private Sector, Asia-Pacific Group
Nazarius Kirama, Technical Community, African Group
Turra Daniele, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Pamela Chogo, Government, African Group
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: Reasons for choice;
1. Facilitates In-depth Discussion: This setup encourages open discussions, allowing each participant, especially judges and legal experts, to freely share insights. The intimate nature of a roundtable promotes deep exchanges of ideas on complex issues like digital rights.
2. Encourages Equal Participation: Unlike traditional lecture-based formats, a roundtable democratizes the conversation, giving all speakers equal opportunity to contribute, and ensuring diverse perspectives are equally heard.
3. Enhances Engagement and Collaboration: The setting fosters a sense of community, crucial for forming networks and ongoing dialogue on digital rights governance.
4. Optimal Time Frame: Ninety minutes allows enough time to explore topics thoroughly while keeping the discussion engaging and focused.
5. Hybrid Participation: This format effectively includes both onsite and online attendees, ensuring comprehensive and inclusive discussions.
1. How can legal systems adapt to protect digital rights like privacy and freedom of expression amidst rapid technological changes?
2. What mechanisms are needed for judicial systems globally to enforce digital rights consistently and fairly across borders?
3. How can policymakers design laws for the digital age that inclusively address the needs of all users, especially marginalized and disabled communities, to prevent digital exclusion?
4. What legal frameworks are necessary to balance national security and law enforcement with the protection of individual privacy and freedom of expression online?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Participants in the "Judges on Human Rights Online" session will gain targeted insights into judicial impacts on digital rights, exploring specific case studies that illustrate how courts shape legislation and enforcement in the digital realm. The session will dissect key judicial rulings affecting privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information, providing attendees with a clear understanding of the current legal landscape. Through a diverse panel of judges, attendees will learn about varying international approaches to digital rights issues, with practical takeaways on navigating and influencing internet governance policies within their own regions. The session will also focus on tools and strategies for advocating for laws that enhance digital inclusivity and protect human rights online, enabling participants to actively contribute to shaping a fair digital future.
Description:
In an increasingly connected world, the safeguarding of human rights within in the digital age becomes imperative. The session, "Judges on Human Rights Online," aims to address this urgent issue by leveraging the unique perspectives of the judiciary, which has been traditionally underrepresented in discussions at the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
It will focus on the vital role that judges from diverse jurisdictions play in shaping the landscape of digital rights and freedoms. It will explore how legal frameworks can evolve to better protect human rights online, in terms of privacy, freedom of expression, and the right to access information. It will involve advocate/lawyers, judges, magistrates, and cybersecurity law experts.
Key areas:
Legal Challenges and Opportunities:
Examining how judges can interpret existing laws and contribute to the formulation of new legal frameworks that protect individuals in the digital age.
Cross-Border Data Flow:
Discussing the implications of jurisdictional challenges and the enforcement of rights across different legal systems.
Inclusion and Accessibility: Addressing the necessity for laws to inclusively protect the rights of all individuals, including marginalized groups and persons with disabilities.
The session will feature a balanced panel of speakers from the Global South and Western hemispheres, ensuring a wide array of insights. The panel will maintain gender equality, with speakers representing different genders, ages, political orientations, and geographical backgrounds. Given the hybrid nature of IGF 2024, the session will facilitate onsite and online participation. It will include at least one moderator and a speaker present in Riyadh to ensure seamless integration of discussions, alongside an online moderator and a rapporteur to enhance interaction and documentation of the proceedings.
By bridging judicial insights with the challenges and opportunities of digital governance, this session will contribute significantly to the global dialogue on internet governance and the protection of human rights online.
Expected Outcomes
1. Enhanced Understanding of Digital Rights Jurisprudence: Participants will deepen their understanding of diverse judicial approaches to digital rights, drawing from global case studies.
2. Preliminary Framework for International Cooperation: The session aims to draft an initial framework promoting cooperation across jurisdictions for digital rights enforcement, serving as a base for further policy development.
3. Policy Recommendations Document: A set of policy recommendations will be developed, providing guidance for crafting effective digital rights laws. This document will be accessible via the IGF website.
4. Formation of a Follow-up Working Group: A working group will be established to refine and advance the international cooperation framework, with results to be shared at subsequent IGF meetings.
5. Increased Multistakeholder Engagement: The session will foster enhanced dialogue and collaboration among judges, legal experts, policymakers, and civil society, enriching the global discourse on Internet governance.
Hybrid Format: 1. Dual Moderators: One moderator onsite and another online to seamlessly integrate discussions between both participant groups, ensuring active engagement across platforms.
2. Real-Time Communication Tools: Using Zoom, equipped with breakout rooms, polls, and Q&A features, to facilitate direct interaction between onsite and online attendees.
3. Pre-Session Connectivity Checks: Conduct checks to ensure all online participants have stable connections and adequate video capabilities.
4. Interactive Session Elements: Incorporating Q&A, live polls, and breakout discussions to engage both audiences equally.
5. Complementary Online Tools: Utilizing platforms like Slido for real-time polling and questions, and Google Docs for a shared digital workspace, allowing participants to contribute and interact throughout the session.
6. Social Media Integration: Encouraging the use of session-specific hashtags to enhance visibility and ongoing dialogue.