MONUB XVI

Imagen: Recinto del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU

2014
Papers de Human Rights Council




Presidente:
Andrs Napuri
Vicepresidente:
Camila Reyes



MONUB XVI Human Rights Council


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Table of contents
TOPIC A ................................................................................................................ 2
Social Media restrictions: censorship to freedom of expression and opinion, or
national security concern ................................................................................................... 2
TOPIC B ................................................................................................................ 4
Human Rights violations while countering terrorism ......................................................... 4


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TOPIC A
Social Media restrictions: censorship to freedom of expression and
opinion, or national security concern
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which reaffirms, in article 19, the right of
everyone to hold opinions without interference, as well as the right to freedom of expression,
including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of
frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art or through any other media of their
choice and noting that these rights and freedoms are among those which give meaning to the right to
participate effectively in a free society.
Also, this same article provides that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression carries with it
special duties and responsibilities and may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but that these
shall be only such as are provided by law and are necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of
others, or for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health and morals, and
article 20 provides that any propaganda for war or advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that
constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.
The exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression is one of the essential foundations
of a democratic society; is enabled by a democratic environment which, offers guarantees for its
protection; is essential to full and effective participation in a free and democratic society; and is
instrumental to the development and strengthening of effective democratic systems.
Also, the effective exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression is an important
indicator of the level of protection of other human rights and freedoms, bearing in mind that all
human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.
On one hand violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression continue to occur, and
in the other hand there is a need to ensure that invocation of national security, including counter-
terrorism, which is not used unjustifiably or arbitrarily to restrict the right to freedom of opinion
and expression.
There should be a respect for the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, including the
fundamental importance of access to information, to democratic participation, to accountability
and to combating corruption.
Innovations in technology have increased the possibilities for communication and protections of
free expression and opinion, enabling anonymity, rapid information-sharing and cross-cultural
dialogues. Technological changes have concurrently increased opportunities for State
surveillance and interventions into individuals private communications.
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In our days there is an important role of all forms of media, including the print media, radio,
television and the Internet, in the exercise, promotion and protection of the right to freedom of
opinion and expression, and also the importance for all forms of media to report and to deliver
information in a fair and impartial manner.
Concerns about national security and criminal activity may justify the exceptional use of
communications surveillance technologies. However, national laws regulating what would
constitute the necessary, legitimate and proportional State involvement in communications
surveillance are often inadequate or non-existent. Inadequate national legal frameworks create a
fertile ground for arbitrary and unlawful infringements of the right to privacy in communications
and, consequently, also threaten the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and
expression.
Sates cannot ensure that individuals are able to freely seek and receive information or express
themselves without respecting, protecting and promoting their right to privacy. Privacy and
freedom of expression are interlinked and mutually dependent; an infringement upon one can be
both the cause and consequence of an infringement upon the other. Without adequate legislation
and legal standards to ensure the privacy, security and anonymity of communications, journalists,
human rights defenders and whistleblowers, for example, cannot be assured that their
communications will not be subject to States scrutiny.

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TOPIC B
Human Rights violations whil e countering terrorism
Human rights are moral principles that set out certain standards of human behavior, and are regularly
protected as legal rights in national and international law. They are the articulation of the need for
justice, tolerance, mutual respect, and human dignity in all of our activity. But from its creation to
now, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality. Inclusive during the
struggle for peace, the same states can reach their own goals by deflecting and violating basic human
freedoms.
But certain actions, although they may infringe human rights, are not considered violations itself.
There should be a difference between these actions and violations of human rights.
Administrative offenses (behaviors that disrupt public order or tranquility of the community without
seriously damaging the property, health or possessions of another) and crime (other behaviors that
damage property, possessions, health or integrity of persons or community; in varying degrees) are
not considered violations per se but an offense against human rights.
When officials or state authorities abuse the power they possess, denying or threatening to deny the
inalienable rights of individuals, or when also, by act or omission of their duties, harm or allow harm
these rights, then this is considered a violation to human rights. From this point of view, violations of
human rights are all actions that the authorities do or do not do, and that aim, damage to a person or
group of people in their individual rights, and ultimately, affect the creation of barriers to do not allow
the full development of society.
But it should be mentioned that the violations are not only by state actors. Non-state actors can also
abuse, ignore, or deny basic human rights (including civil, political, cultural, social, and economic
rights).
Furthermore, violations of human rights can occur when any state or non-state actor breaches any
part of the UDHR treaty or other international human rights or humanitarian law.
Wars of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are breaches of
International humanitarian law and represent the most serious of human rights violations. But they
are not the only cases. Nowadays, the silent terror threat has led to states and groups to take
measures which, in various forms, violate individual rights.
National Security, anti-terrorism actions and the role of the State
Conflicts sometimes progress beyond the state at which international law can help. As the number of
victims grows and more individuals are taken prisoner, tortured, or executed, it becomes more
difficult to resort to the legal path.
With the exception of non-derogable human rights (the right to life, the right to be free from slavery,
the right to be free from torture and the right to be free from retroactive application of penal laws as
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non-derogable), the UN recognises that human rights can be limited or even pushed aside during
times of national emergency.
The emergency must be actual, affect the whole population and the threat must be to the very
existence of the nation. The declaration of emergency must also be a last resort and a temporary
measure.
United Nations. The Resource.
The rights that cannot be derogated for reasons of national security in any circumstances are known
as peremptory norms or jus cogens. Such United Nations Charter obligations are binding on all states
and cannot be modified by treaty.
Even established this, Amnesty International insists that states must respect human rights in any
actions they take in the name of national security or countering terrorism. Where states fail to respect
human rights, governments and individuals responsible must be held to account.
Anti-terrorism legislation designs various types of laws passed in the aim of fighting terrorism. They
usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations. Anti-terrorism legislation usually
includes specific amendments allowing the state to bypass its own legislation when fighting
terrorism-related crimes, under the grounds of necessity.
International humanitarian law has been enacted to preserve humanity in all circumstances, even
during conflicts. Such law creates areas of peace in the midst of conflict, imposes the principle of a
common humanity, and calls for dialogue. It rules out unlimited force or total war and seeks to limit
the use of violence in the hopes of maintaining the necessary conditions for a return to peace.
There is much disagreement about the efficacy of using military force to protect the human rights of
individuals in the self nation and other nations. The use of violence to end human rights violations
poses a moral dilemma insofar as such interventions may lead to further loss of innocent lives. It is
imperative that the least amount of force necessary to achieve humanitarian objectives be used, and
that intervention not do more harm than good. Lastly, there is a need to ensure that intervention is
legitimate, and motivated by genuine humanitarian concerns.
On the flip side, armed conflict often leads to the breakdown of infrastructure and civic institutions,
which in turn undermines a broad range of rights. The breakdown of government institutions results
in denials of civil rights, including the rights to privacy, fair trial, and freedom of movement. In many
cases, the government is increasingly militarized, and police and judicial systems are corrupted.
Abductions, arbitrary arrests, detentions without trial, political executions, assassinations, and torture
often follow.
Public authorities must regain control of organized violence. This means a re-establishment of the
rule of law and a rebuilding of trust in public authorities. In addition, more inclusive, democratic values
are needed to defuse exclusivist ideals. In the face of such violations, leaders must champion
international legal norms and human rights. These human rights norms are central to the
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maintenance of civil society, and necessary for grounding attitudes of tolerance and mutual respect
within communities.