International Commission of Jurists
Philippines: Public prosecutors are critical to protecting human rights in the digital space

Philippines: Public prosecutors are critical to protecting human rights in the digital space

Dec 7, 2023 | Events, News

On 5 – 6 December 2023, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) co-organized a workshop, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Philippines, on ensuring the protection of human rights in the online sphere under international human rights law.

The workshop was aimed at enhancing the capabilities of public prosecutors to integrate into their work the relevant international human rights law and standards pertaining to human rights in the online space.

“More than forty percent of our time each day is now spent connected to the internet. This has changed our lives. New technologies have also engendered new challenges for the fulfilment of human rights,” stressed Santiago Canton, ICJ Secretary General, during his opening remarks. “International human rights law provides the framework for us to better understand and respond to these new developments.”

Expert international and Filipino participants reaffirmed the pivotal role that public prosecutors play in protecting and promoting human rights in the digital sphere.

“This workshop was scheduled to coincide with the National Human Rights Consciousness Week in the Philippines, and the inauguration of the DOJ’s Human Rights Office, as part of our efforts to integrate human rights-based approaches into our prosecutorial work,” said Prosecutor Hazel C. Decena-Valdez, OIC Senior Deputy State Prosecutor, Department of Justice, noting the particular timeliness of the workshop in her opening remarks.

Participants raised concerns about human rights violations and abuses perpetrated in digital spaces, including the particular risks experienced by individuals from certain groups, such as children and women.

“The risks of violations or abuses of children’s rights in the digital environment include exposure to unlawful or harmful contents, and online bullying, threats, attacks, punishment, censorship and digital surveillance,” highlighted ICJ Commissioner Mikiko Otani, Former Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. “The role of prosecutors in securing the rights of the child in digital environments is very important, by holding perpetrators of violations accountable, and protecting child victims from secondary victimization.”

The participants discussed the numerous challenges they face when prosecuting cases impacting human rights in the digital space, and mapped out how to better integrate international human rights law and standards into their investigatory and prosecutorial work in order to ensure access to justice and effective remedies.

Some of these challenges include how to: handle criminal cases based on domestic laws that conflict with international human rights law; ensure that there is accountability for violations and abuses of human rights online; and prevent biases and stereotyping, such as those based on gender, when investigating and prosecuting cases.

“Prosecutors should ensure that they develop protocols to help eradicate structural gender bias, and ensure gender-responsive approaches to their work. This includes preventing revictimization and ensuring confidentiality when handling cases,” underscored Melissa Upreti, ICJ Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “Online violence should not be distinguished as a lesser crime, and the human rights implications of online gender-based violence must be fully recognized.”

Contact

Melissa Upreti, ICJ Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific, e: melissa.upreti@icj.org

Daron Tan, ICJ Associate International Legal Adviser, e: daron.tan@icj.org

Caleen Obias, ICJ National Legal Consultant, e: caleen.obias@icj.org

Background

The workshop was attended by 22 public prosecutors from the Department of Justice.

The key thematic issues discussed during the workshop were:

  • The right to online freedom of expression and information;
  • Domesticating international human rights law;
  • Protecting children’s rights online;
  • Protecting women’s rights online; and
  • Court technologies, access to justice and impacts on the right to a fair trial.

The speakers at the workshop were:

  • Santiago Canton, Secretary General, ICJ;
  • Prosecutor Hazel C. Decena-Valdez, OIC Senior Deputy State Prosecutor, Department of Justice;
  • Justice Adolfo Azcuna, ICJ Commissioner; Justice, Supreme Court (Ret.); Chancellor Emeritus, Philippine Judicial Academy;
  • Mikiko Otani, ICJ Commissioner; Member and Former Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child;
  • Melissa Upreti, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, ICJ; and
  • Atty. Oliver Xavier Reyes, Senior Lecturer, University of the Philippines College of Law.
Cambodia: Ministries should withdraw draft cybersecurity law which would threaten human rights and expose people to increased cyber threats

Cambodia: Ministries should withdraw draft cybersecurity law which would threaten human rights and expose people to increased cyber threats

Oct 2, 2023

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Access Now sent a joint letter and an accompanying legal analysis to Cambodia’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and Ministry of Justice, calling for the withdrawal or substantial amendment of its Draft Law on Cybersecurity to bring its provisions in line with international human rights standards.

The draft law, if adopted, would likely undermine the rights to privacy and freedom of expression, while also risking personal security and exposing people to increased cyber threats.

“The Draft Law would require government licenses of cybersecurity services – an excessive provision that would hamper the ability of people and businesses in Cambodia from being able to secure themselves against intrusion into their networks and safeguard their data,” said Golda Benjamin, Asia Pacific Campaigner at Access Now. “Cambodia wants this draft law to deal with malicious cyber activities but in its current form, it will only create a new problem of having a cybersecurity landscape that imposes unreasonable administrative burdens to organizations, including small and medium enterprises and civil society.”

In the legal analysis attached to the joint letter, Access Now and ICJ point out that the vaguely worded and sweeping provisions in the Draft Law may be abused to allow government cybersecurity inspectors overbroad access to private data. It fails to provide for safeguards, but instead would grant a newly created body of cybersecurity inspectors immense power to investigate, observe, monitor, prevent and respond to cybersecurity threats and incidents. The Draft Law also fails to make provision to ensure that cybersecurity inspectors are properly qualified.

“These proposed arrangements are a recipe for executive abuse, especially given that the bill fails to provide for any independent or effective oversight or remedial mechanism to serve as check on governmental conduct and safeguard against any potential overreach,” said Ian Seiderman, Legal and Policy Director at the ICJ. “If this legislation is put forward for adoption, it needs to amended to correct these deficiencies and comply with Cambodia’s international legal obligations and rule of law principles.”

Access Now and ICJ urge Cambodia to strengthen their cybersecurity landscape to deal with malicious cyber activities and ensure that any law, policy, or practice to implement this goal complies with the country’s international human rights obligations. Effective cybersecurity requires a human-centric and human rights respecting approach.

Download

Read the joint letter here, and the joint legal analysis of the Draft Law on Cybersecurity here.

Contact

Daron Tan, ICJ Associate International Legal Adviser, e: daron.tan@icj.org

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