View source for International human rights law

== Definition ==

<section begin=Definition />
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="background-color:#ffffcc;"
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! scope="col" style="background-color:#ffffaa;"| [[International human rights law]]
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|[[File:International human rights law.svg|alt=|left|frameless|200x200px]]International human rights law applies in cyberspace; individuals enjoy the same human rights online as they enjoy offline.<ref>See, for example, United Nations Human Rights Council, [https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G16/156/90/PDF/G1615690.pdf?OpenElement <i>The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet</i>, Resolution A/HRC/RES/32/13] (1 July 2016), para 1; NATO, <i>[https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_133169.htm Warsaw Summit Communiqué]</i> (9 July 2016), para 70; [https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_05/20110926_110526-G8-Summit-Deauville.pdf G8 <i>Summit of Deauville, Declaration: Renewed Commitment for Freedom and Democracy</i>] (27 May 2011), para II/11.</ref> States are therefore bound by their human rights obligations to both respect and ensure human rights in cyberspace. States also bear international responsibility for the violation of human rights obligations that are attributable to them.<ref>See, [https://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/91/091-20070226-JUD-01-00-EN.pdf <i>Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro)</i><nowiki> (Judgment) [2007] ICJ Rep 43</nowiki>], para 170.</ref>

The <b>source</b> of these obligations is primarily treaty law. The two key global treaties are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR);<ref>[https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted 16 December 1966], entered into force 23 March 1976) 999 UNTS 171 (ICCPR); [https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cescr.aspx International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights] (adopted 16 December 1966, entered into force 3 January 1976) 993 UNTS 3 (ICESCR).</ref> many of these treaties’ provisions, along with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are regarded as reflective of customary international human rights law, even though there is no universally accepted codification. Apart from the ICCPR and ICESCR, there exist important regional human rights treaty systems, especially for Europe (European Convention on Human Rights – ECHR)<ref>Formal title: [https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms] (opened to the signature in Rome on 4 November 1950, entered into force 3 September 1953), ETS 5 (ECHR); there are several protocols which significantly expand and amend the obligations of the original Convention.</ref>, the European Union (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – EUCFR),<ref>[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12012P/TXT Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union], proclaimed on 7 December 2000 (EUCFR).</ref> and America (American Convention on Human Rights – ACHR)<ref>[https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316577226.029 American Convention on Human Rights] (open for signature from 22 November 1969, entered into force 18 July 1978), 1144 UNTS 123 (ACHR).</ref>, which provide for adjudicatory mechanisms by which individuals can assert their human rights against States and which have generated a considerable amount of case-law as a result.

In order to determine whether a State has breached its human rights obligations, the following steps of analysis should be conducted:
<ol>
<li>Since cyber operations often take place in the cyber infrastructure of multiple States, the issue of <b>jurisdiction</b> must be addressed. Each human rights treaty has its own bespoke jurisdictional requirements and scope. In this regard, every State party to the ICCPR has undertaken “to respect and to ensure to all individuals <b>within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction</b> the rights recognized in the [ICCPR]”.<ref>Article 2(1) [https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx ICCPR].</ref>

The UN Human Rights Committee has understood this provision to mean that the human rights obligations recognized within the ICCPR apply not only to persons physically located within a State’s territory, but also to situations where the State exercises “power or effective control” either over the territory on which an individual is located (the spatial model of jurisdiction) or over the individual (the personal model of jurisdiction).<ref>UN HRC, ‘[http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhsjYoiCfMKoIRv2FVaVzRkMjTnjRO%2bfud3cPVrcM9YR0iW6Txaxgp3f9kUFpWoq%2fhW%2fTpKi2tPhZsbEJw%2fGeZRASjdFuuJQRnbJEaUhby31WiQPl2mLFDe6ZSwMMvmQGVHA%3d%3d General Comment No. 31 (80): The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant]’ (adopted on 29 March 2004, 2187th meeting), para 10.</ref> The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has gone even further by stating that the ICCPR “is applicable in respect of acts done by a State in the exercise of its jurisdiction outside its own territory”.<ref>Cf, [https://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/131/131-20040709-ADV-01-00-EN.pdf <i>Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories</i><nowiki> (Advisory Opinion) [2004]</nowiki>] ICJ Rep 136, para 111.</ref>

A few States (such as the US and Israel) have adopted the contrary view and maintain that human rights obligations do not apply extraterritorially. To date, however, these States remain in the minority.<ref>See, [https://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/131/131-20040709-ADV-01-00-EN.pdf <i>Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories</i><nowiki> (Advisory Opinion)  [2004]</nowiki>] ICJ 136, para 110; UN HRC, <i>Summary Record of the 1405th Meeting,</i>  CCPR/C/SR.1405 (31 March 1995) 6 [20].</ref> As such, although the exact criteria for the applicability of human rights obligations to extraterritorial activities of States are not settled and are subject to ongoing academic and political debate,<ref>See, for example, Marko Milanovic, ‘[https://www.ilsa.org/Jessup/Jessup16/Batch%202/MilanovicPrivacy.pdf Human Rights Treaties and Foreign Surveillance: Privacy in the Digital Age]’ (2015) 56 Harvard International Law Journal 81.</ref> the prevailing opinion at present is that human rights obligations do apply to some acts of a State outside its territory.</li>

<li>If an international human rights regime is applicable, the second question is whether a cyber operation attributable to a State constitutes an <b>interference</b> with a particular human right. The human rights that are often implicated by cyber operations include the right to privacy<ref>Article 17 [https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx ICCPR]; Article 8 [https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf ECHR]; Article 7 [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf EUCFR]; Article 11 [https://www.oas.org/dil/treaties_b-32_american_convention_on_human_rights.pdf ACHR]. The exact titles and scopes of the provisions vary.</ref> and the right to freedom of opinion and expression.<ref>Article 19 [https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx ICCPR]; Article 10 [https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf ECHR]; Article 11 [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf EUCFR]; Article 13 [https://www.oas.org/dil/treaties_b-32_american_convention_on_human_rights.pdf ACHR]. The exact titles and scopes of the provisions vary.</ref></li>
<li>Not every State interference with a human right is also a violation of international human rights law. For an interference to be legal, it must be justified, namely:</li>
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha">
<li>in accordance with an accessible and foreseeable domestic law (“<b>legality</b>”),</li>
<li>pursuing a <b>legitimate objective</b> of public interest (such as national security, public order, public health, or morals) or for the protection of rights of others,</li>
<li><b>necessary</b> to achieve that objective, and</li>
<li><b>proportionate </b>in balancing the means and the end.<ref>UN Human Rights Committee, [https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/gc34.pdf ICCPR General Comment No. 34] (12 September 2011), paras 21-36; See also [https://www.nichibenren.or.jp/library/ja/kokusai/humanrights_library/treaty/data/HRC_GC_27e.pdf ICCPR General Comment No. 27] (1 November 1999), paras 14-16.</ref></li>
</ol>
</ol>
Apart from the responsibility for human rights violations attributed to it, a State can also be held responsible for its failure to take all reasonable measures to protect the human rights of individuals in its territory and subject to its jurisdiction (for instance, if it unlawfully allows non-State actors to violate human rights).<ref>See, [http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/iachr/b_11_12d.htm <i>Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras</i>], (Merits) IACrtHR (Ser. C) No. 4 (29 July 1988) [177].</ref>

<i>Publicly available [[International human rights law#National positions|national positions that address this issue]] include:</i>
[[Image:Flag of Australia.svg|40px|link=National position of Australia (2020)#International human rights law|National position of Australia (2020)]][[National position of Australia (2020)#International human rights law| (2020)]], 
[[Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg|30px|link=National position of the Czech Republic (2020)#International human rights law|National position of the Czech Republic (2020)]][[National position of the Czech Republic (2020)#International human rights law| (2020)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Estonia.svg|30px|link=National position of Estonia (2021)#International human rights law|National position of Estonia (2021)]][[National position of Estonia (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Finland.svg|30px|link=National position of Finland (2020)#International human rights law|National position of Finland (2020)]][[National position of Finland (2020)#International human rights law| (2020)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.svg|30px|link=National position of the Italian Republic (2021)#International human rights law|National position of the Italian Republic (2021)]] [[National position of the Italian Republic (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]],
[[Image:Flag of Japan.svg|30px|link=National position of Japan (2021)#International human rights law|National position of Japan (2021)]][[National position of Japan (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg|40px|link=National position of Kazakhstan (2021)#International human rights law|National position of Kazakhstan (2021)]][[National position of Kazakhstan (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Kenya.svg|30px|link=National position of Kenya (2021)#International human rights law|National position of Kenya (2021)]][[National position of Kenya (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg|30px|link=National position of the Netherlands (2019)#International human rights law|National position of the Netherlands (2019)]][[National position of the Netherlands (2019)#International human rights law| (2019)]], 
[[Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg|40px|link=National position of New Zealand (2020)#International human rights law|National position of New Zealand (2020)]][[National position of New Zealand (2020)#International human rights law| (2020)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Norway.svg|30px|link=National position of Norway (2021)#International human rights law|National position of Norway (2021)]][[National position of Norway (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Romania.svg|30px|link=National position of Romania (2021)#International human rights law|National position of Romania (2021)]][[National position of Romania (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg|20px|link=National position of Switzerland (2021)#International human rights law|National position of Switzerland (2021)]][[National position of Switzerland (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|40px|link=National position of the United Kingdom (2021)#International human rights law|National position of the United Kingdom (2021)]][[National position of the United Kingdom (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]], 
[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|40px|link=National position of the United States of America (2012)#International human rights law|National position of the United States of America (2012)]][[National position of the United States of America (2012)#International human rights law| (2012)]], 
[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|40px|link=National position of the United States of America (2016)#International human rights law|National position of the United States of America (2016)]][[National position of the United States of America (2016)#International human rights law| (2016)]],
[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|40px|link=National position of the United States of America (2021)#International human rights law|National position of the United States of America (2021)]][[National position of the United States of America (2021)#International human rights law| (2021)]].

|}<section end=Definition />

==National positions==
===[[National position of Australia|Australia]]===
{{#lst:National position of Australia (2020)|AU_2020 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of the Czech Republic (2020)|Czech Republic (2020)]]===
{{#lst:National position of the Czech Republic (2020)|CZ_2020 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Estonia (2021)|Estonia (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Estonia (2021)|EE_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Finland (2020)|Finland (2020)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Finland (2020)|FI_2020 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of the Italian Republic (2021)|Italy (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of the Italian Republic (2021)|IT_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Japan (2021)|Japan (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Japan (2021)|JP_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Kazakhstan (2021)|Kazakhstan (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Kazakhstan (2021)|KZ_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Kenya (2021)|Kenya (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Kenya (2021)|KE_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of the Netherlands (2019)|Netherlands (2019)]]===
{{#lst:National position of the Netherlands|NL_2019 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of New Zealand (2020)|New Zealand (2020)]]===
{{#lst:National position of New Zealand (2020)|NZ_2020 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Norway (2021)|Norway (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Norway (2021)|NO_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Romania (2021)|Romania (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Romania (2021)|RO_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of Switzerland (2021)|Switzerland (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of Switzerland (2021)|CH_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of the United Kingdom (2021)|United Kingdom (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of the United Kingdom (2021)|UK_2021 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of the United States of America (2012)|United States (2012)]]===
{{#lst:National position of the United States of America (2012)|US_2012 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of the United States of America (2016)|United States (2016)]]===
{{#lst:National position of the United States of America (2016)|US_2016 international human rights law }}
===[[National position of the United States of America (2021)|United States (2021)]]===
{{#lst:National position of the United States of America (2021)|US_2021 international human rights law }}

== Appendixes ==

=== See also ===
* [[Scenario 08: Certificate authority hack]]
* [[Scenario 11: Sale of surveillance tools in defiance of international sanctions]]
* [[Scenario 19: Hate speech]]

=== Notes and references ===
<references />

=== Bibliography and further reading ===
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[[Category:International human rights law]]
[[Category:Legal concepts]]