The 12th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights will take place on 27-29 June 2012 in Seoul, Korea, and addresses the topic of “Human Rights and Information and Communication Technology”.
In recent years, the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has led to the emergence of a global ‘information society’, impacting on the lives of a significant proportion of the world’s population. This seminar seeks to examine these impacts, both negative and positive, from a human rights stand point, by bringing together over 100 government officials and members of civil society from across Asia and Europe to share specific experiences and best practice.
The discussions will take place in four closed Working Groups, each focusing on one of four core topic areas:
- Freedom of Expression
- The Right to Privacy
- The ‘Digital Divide’
- The Right to Cultural Enjoyment on the Internet
For a more detailed overview please see the seminar Concept Note.
There is no open call for participation in this seminar. In order to ensure balanced participation across all ASEF members, invitations to participate are sent by the co-organisers according to the following invitation arrangement:
- From the 16 Asian countries: two civil society participants and one official representative each
- From the 27 EU countries: one civil society participant and one official representative each
- From Australia, New Zealand and Russia: two civil society participants and one official representative each
- From the EU and the ASEAN Secretariat: one official representative each
As with all seminars in this series, a brief outline of key messages and recommendations to government is published approximately one week after the event. This is followed by the full seminar report approximately one month after the event.
This seminar series is co-organised by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (delegated by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). The 12th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights is hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.
For more information about the seminar series, please see the Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights programme page.
Project Updates
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Nearly 120 government representatives and civil society experts from 42 ASEM countries met in Seoul, Korea (27-29 June 2012) for the 12th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights. This Seminar on ‘Human Rights and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)’ examined the relationship between ICTs and Human Rights. It specifically focused on freedom of expression, the right to privacy, the digital divide and the cultural enjoyment of the internet.
The Seminar looked at a highly topical issue with increasing global attention on the role of ICT in human rights protection. Participants of the event emphasised the need to define the rights, roles and duties of all the stakeholders involved. There was a consensus that human rights standards are applicable both offline and online.
A complete list of recommendations from the Seminar can be found in the summary of discussions, conveyed by the organisers to the ASEM governments.
A side-event and special panel on the protection of the freedom of expression and the right to privacy were organised by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. These events highlighted the importance of online human rights in the Korean context.
The Seminar is organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (as delegated by the Government of Sweden), France and the Philippines. It was hosted by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.
To read key messages and more, click here
ASEF's contribution is with the financial support of the European Commission.
