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              | Date: 2002-02-28 
 
 Cybercrime: Aktion gegen Zusatzprotokoll 2-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
 
 33 Organisationen aus 16 Ländern in fünf Kontinentensind es
 mittlerweile, die vom Europarat eine Ende der Heimlichtuer/ei verlangen.
 Jetzt gehts um ein wiederum geheimes Zusatzprotokoll, das die
 Überwachung der Kommunikation von Terroristen regeln soll. Auch
 Nicht-Mitglieder der Gobal Internet Liberty Campaign können
 unterschreiben - wir leiten es gerne weiter: nur *Organisationen* please.
 
 
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 February 28, 2002
 
 Dear Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer:
 
 We are non-governmental organizations from Council of Europe member
 and observer nations who share a common desire to protect human
 rights on the global Internet. Many of the undersigned organizations had
 previously sent you three letters as members of Global Internet Liberty
 Campaign (dated Oct. 18, Dec. 12, 2000, and Feb. 6, 2002) that raised
 a number of concerns regarding the Council of Europe activities on
 computer-related crime and international co-operation.
 
 We understand that a second draft protocol is under discussion within
 the Council of Europe 'to cover also terrorist messages and the
 decoding thereof' [1].  It appears to be a derivative effort from the Racist
 and Xenophobic activities [2]; and could serve as a basis for the revision
 of the Convention on Suppressing Terrorist activity [3].
 
 We are writing to ask for the public release of this discussion draft as
 soon as it is completed, as well as preliminary meeting documents in
 order to provide us with the opportunity to participate in your
 discussions. Given the potentially serious ramifications of the proposed
 second protocol and related work of the CoE, we believe its draft text
 must be disclosed to allow vigorous and wide-ranging debate over its
 merits.
 
 The signatories are of the unanimous view that the development of any
 protocol or treaty should conform with principles of transparency and
 democratic decision-making.  Over the past 18 months, GILC and its
 member organizations have appealed to you personally and the CoE
 committees on many occasions to open up the development processes,
 to allow for broader participation, while we repeatedly offered our time
 and experience for consultation.  As the CoE expands even further the
 powers of law enforcement authorities and definitions of offences, it
 manages to do so under increasingly closed and secretive conditions.
 We continue to be disappointed by the CoE's practice of creating
 important international conventions and treaties under the protection of
 obscurity.  This opaque and non-democratic process is particularly
 surprising in contrast with the CoE's previous important contributions to
 liberty and human rights.
 
 For these reasons, we urge you to release information and draft
 documents regarding this second protocol to the general public if it is
 finished, or to release the document as soon as it is completed.
 
 Sincerely,
 
 American Civil Liberties Union (US)
 
 ARTICLE 19-The Global Campaign for Free Expression
 
 Association for Progressive Communications
 
 Associazione per la Liberta nella Comunicazione Elettronica Interattiva
 (IT)
 
 Bits of Freedom (NL)
 
 Bulgarian Institute for Legal Development (BG)
 
 Center for Democracy and Technology (US)
 
 Chaos Computer Club (DE)
 
 Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK)
 
 Derechos Human Rights (US)
 
 Digital Freedom Network (US)
 
 Digital Rights (DK)
 
 Electronic Frontiers Australia (AU)
 
 Electronic Frontier Foundation (US)
 
 Electronic Privacy Information Center (US)
 
 Equipo Nizkor (ES)
 
 Feminists Against Censorship (UK)
 
 Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft (DE)
 
 Foundation for Information Policy Research (UK)
 
 Human Rights Network (RU)
 
 Human Rights Watch
 
 Imaginons un Réseau Internet Solidaire (FR)
 
 Internet Society of Bulgaria (BG)
 
 Liberty (UK)
 
 The Link Centre, Wits University, Johannesburg (ZA)
 
 Networkers against Surveillance Taskforce (JP)
 
 Online Policy Group (US)
 
 Privacy International (UK)
 
 Privacy Ukraine (UA)
 
 Quintessenz (AT)
 
 Swiss Internet User Group (CH)
 
 VIBE!AT - Verein für Internet-Benutzer Österreichs (AT)
 
 XS4ALL (NL)
 
 http://www..gilc.org
 
 
 
 
 
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 edited by Harkank
 published on: 2002-02-28
 comments to office@quintessenz.at
 subscribe Newsletter
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