The Millennium Declaration commits governments to
the rule of law, while respecting internationally
recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms. It
also contains a commitment to ensuring the freedom
of the media to perform their essential role and the
right of the public to have access to information.
ICTs can play a significant role in the creation of
good governance models, through improving access to
government processes and connecting citizens. It is
through ICTs that hitherto marginalized voices will
be heard. ICT development encourages government
activities to be increasingly accountable and
transparent. ICTs can also assist in empowering
disadvantaged populations to overcome difficulties
through community networking and knowledge sharing.
Relevant documents and links:
·
ICTs
in support of human rights, democracy and good
governance
·
UNDP
(United Nations Development Programme) Human
Rights Page
·
ACC Statement on
Universal Access to Basic Communication and
Information Services, ACC.
·
UNDP
Case studies on ICTs
and Human Rights, demonstrating that
ICTs can play a crucial role in preventing
violations of human rights and inducing remedial
action.
·
E-Governance
in developing countries (March
2001), research brief
from the IICD (International Institute for
Communication and Development).
·
Toward a Framework
for Internet Accountability (July 2001), published by the Markle
Foundation.
·
Plan of
Action:
E-Government for Development ,
United Nations (UN)
and European
Space Agency (ESA) and the
Ministry for Innovation and
Technologies of the Government of Italy. The
Plan of action is the the outcome of the
International Conference on E-government for
Development (May 2002).
·
The Human Rights
Internet, a leader in the exchange of information for
the worldwide human rights community.
·
Chapter 5 of the
Report of the Panel on UN Peace Operations, which
underlines the need to make better use of ICTs to
facilitate communications and data sharing and its
role in for conflict prevention, refugee repatriation,
knowledge management and public information.
·
"Building e-Governance
for Development: A Framework for National and Donor
Action", Richard Heeks (2001) - this paper
which presents ways of tapping the
potential of ICTs to help achieve improved governance
by describing the contents of a National e-Governance
Initiative (NeGI) for developing countries.
·
Strategic
Paperless Office @ Speed of Thought,
Avinash
Chaurasia (2003)
WSIS
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