<
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/10/eff-and-45-organizations-tell-un-reverse-decision-host-igf-saudi-arabia>
"EFF joins 45 digital and human rights organizations in calling on the UN
Secretary-General and other decision-makers to reverse their recent decision to
grant Saudi Arabia host status for the 2024 Internet Governance Forum (IGF),
and to conduct a review of the process that led to it.
Civil society organizations attending the 2023 IGF in Kyoto, Japan this past
week were shocked to learn that Saudi Arabia had been chosen to serve as the
next host. The Gulf country has a long history of human rights violations,
including the persecution of human and women’s rights defenders, journalists,
and online activists.
In recent years, the Saudi government has spied on its own citizens on social
media and through the use of spyware; imprisoned Wikipedia volunteers for their
contributions to access to information on the platform; sentenced a PhD student
and mother of two to 34 years in prison and a subsequent travel ban of the same
length; and sentenced a teacher to death for his posts on social media.
In addition to these individual violations of human rights, Saudi Arabia boasts
a draconian cybercrime law and a widespread censorship regime both online and
off, posing threats to its own citizens as well as the safety of members of
civil society who might consider attending an event there."
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
