London, 1 November 2013 – OGP civil society organisations have expressed their concern, in a public statement made today, about the contraditions between recent revelations on disproportionate government surveillance on the one hand, and their OGP commitment to more transparent, accountable, responsive and effective government, on the other.

It comes after the final plenary session on the first day of the London OGP Summit when Indian Human Rights campaigner Aruna Roy challenged US Secretary of State John Kerry on the revelations of mass surveillance of populations around the world by the US government.

You can read a copy of the letter, and a full list of signatories as of 1 November 2013, below.

The letter, signed by Access Info Europe and more than 100 other civil society organisations from around the world as well as individuals such as Sir Tim Bernars-Lee and Aruna Roy, calls upon governments to recognise the need to update understandings of existing privacy and human rights law to reflect modern surveillance technologies and techniques, and to commit in their OGP Action Plans to complete by October 2014 a review of national laws, with the aim of defining reforms needed to regulate necessary, legitimate and proportional State involvement in communications surveillance; to guarantee freedom of the press; and to protect whistleblowers who lawfully reveal abuses of state power. Finally, it asks governments to commit in their OGP Action Plans to transparency on the mechanisms for surveillance, on exports of surveillance technologies, aid directed towards implementation of surveillance technologies, and agreements to share citizen data among states.

An updated list of signatores can be found on the World Wide Web Foundation website page here.

Statement of Concern on Disproportionate Surveillance

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, affirm our deep commitment to the goals of the Open Government Partnership, which in its declaration endorsed “more transparent, accountable, responsive and effective government” founded on the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We join other civil society organisations, human rights groups, academics and ordinary citizens in expressing our grave concern over allegations that governments around the world, including many OGP members, have been routinely intercepting and retaining the private communications of entire populations, in secret, without particularised warrants and with little or no meaningful oversight.

Such practices allegedly include the routine exchange of “foreign” surveillance data, bypassing domestic laws that restrict governments’ ability to spy on their own citizens. Such practices erode the checks and balances on which accountability depends, and have a deeply chilling effect on freedom of expression, information and association, without which the ideals of open government have no meaning.

As Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, recently said at the United Nations, “In the absence of the right to privacy, there can be no true freedom of expression and opinion, and therefore no effective democracy.”

Activities that restrict the right to privacy, including communications surveillance, can only be justified when they are prescribed by law, are necessary to achieve a legitimate aim, and are proportionate to the aim pursued. Without firm legislative and judicial checks on the surveillance powers of the executive branch, and robust protections for the media and public interest whistleblowers, abuses can and will occur.

We call on all governments, and specifically OGP members, to:

  • recognise the need to update understandings of existing privacy and human rights law to reflect modern surveillance technologies and techniques.
  • commit in their OGP Action Plans to complete by October 2014 a review of national laws, with the aim of defining reforms needed to regulate necessary, legitimate and proportional State involvement in communications surveillance; to guarantee freedom of the press; and to protect whistleblowers who lawfully reveal abuses of state power.
  • commit in their OGP Action Plans to transparency on the mechanisms for surveillance, on exports of surveillance technologies, aid directed towards implementation of surveillance technologies, and agreements to share citizen data among states.

Signed:
Access Info Europe
Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre,
Sri Lanka Association EPAS,
Romania Center for Independent Journalism,
Romania Centre for Law and Democracy,
USA Center for Public Interest Advocacy,
Bosnia Herzegovina Independent Journalism Center,
Moldova Freedom of Information Center,
Armenia Freedom of Information Forum,
Austria (FOIAustria) Fundar,
Center for Research and Analysis,
Mexico GESOC,
Mexico IEEPP,
Nicaragua Media Rights Agenda,
Nigeria MKSS,
India NATO Watch,
UK Obong Denis Udo-Inyang Foundation,
Nigeria Open Knowledge Foundation Open Rights Group,
UK Privacy and Access Council of Canada — Conseil du Canada de l’Accès et la vie Privée
PROETICA PERU
Transparency International Armenia
World Wide Web Foundation
Transparencia por Colombia
Freedom of Information Center, Armenia
Transparency International Armenia
Freedom of Information Forum, Austria (FOIAustria)
Transparency International, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Center for Public Interest Advocacy, Bosnia Herzegovina
Centre for Law and Democracy, Canada
University of Ottawa, Canada
Whistleblower Network, Germany
Acción Ciudadana, Guatemala
Centro Internacional para Investigaciones en Derechos Humanos, Guatemala
Asociación para una Sociedad Más Justa, Honduras
Publish What You Pay Indonesia
Transparency International, Indonesia
Association EPAS, Romania
Independent Journalism Center, Moldova
Fundar, Center for Research and Analysis, Mexico
Media Rights Agenda, Nigeria
Obong Denis Udo-Inyang Foundation, Nigeria
Paradigm Initiative, Nigeria
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Nigeria
Global Human Rights Communications, India
IT for Change, India
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (Association for the Empowerment of Workers and Peasants), India
NATO Watch, UK
Open Knowledge Foundation, UK
Open Rights Group, UK
Privacy International, UK
Request Initiative, UK
Public Concern at Work, UK
International Records Management Trust, UK
Integrity Action, UK
Corruption Watch, UK
Charity & Security Network, USA
Global Integrity, USA
Open the Government.org, USA
Project On Government Oversight, USA
ActiveCitizen, Ireland
Open Knowledge Foundation, Ireland
Africa Center for Open Governance, Kenya
Centro for Public Integrity, Mozambique
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, South Africa
Open Democracy Advice Centre, South Africa
Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT), Southern Africa
East European Development Institute, Poland
Economic Research Center, Azerbaijan
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
Inesc, Brazil
Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Georgia
OneWorld – Platform for Southeast Europe (OWPSEE), Europe
Open Australia Foundation
Sahkar Social welfare Association, Pakistan
Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan
Bolo Bhi, Paikstan
Shaaub for Democracy Culture Foundation, Iraq
Social Research and Development Center, Yemen
TEDIC, Paraguay
Paraguayan Association of Information Lechnology Law, Paraguay
Transparency International, Macedonia
PRO Media, Macedonia
Unwanted Witness, Uganda
Water Governance Institute (WGI), Uganda
Africa Freedom of Information Centre, Uganda
Zenu Network, Cameroon
Diritto di Sapere, Italy
Cyprus EU Association
Aktion Freiheit statt Angst, Germany
Freedom of Information Foundation, Russia
Centre for budget monitoring and citizen participation, Netherlands
Public Interest Advocacy Center (CPI), Bosnia
East European Development Institute, Ukraine
GAPAFOT of Central African Republic
Transparency International, Ireland
Professionals For Humanity(PROFOH)
Youth Association for Development (YAD) Pakistan
Development Dynamics, Nigeria
African Egyptian Human Rights Organisation
Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition
Digital Courage, Germany
Initiative für Netzfreiheit, Austria
Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria
Brazilian Society for Knowledge Management (SBGC)
Citizens United to Promote Peace & Democracy in Liberia
Foundation Open Society (FOSM), Macedonia
Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’-Skopje (IDSCS), Macedonia
Open Ministry, Finland
Open Knowledge Finland
Programa Estudiantil Juventud Siglo XXI, A. C., Mexico City
Stati Generali dell’Innovazione, Italy

Individuals:
Aruna Roy, Founder, MKSS India and member of India’s National Advisory Council
Tim Berners-Lee
Vinod Rai, Former Comptroller and Auditor General, India
David Eaves
Dwight E. Hines, Ph.D
Nikhil Dey Petru Botnaru, freelance journalist, Moldova
Satbir Singh, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Co-Chair, South Asian Right to Information Advocates Network
Shankar Singh
Sowmya Kidambi
Sarah Copeland, PhD student
Sana Saleem
Dr. Mridula Ghosh, Board Chair of EEDI
Christian Heise, Member of Board Open Knowledge Foundation Germany e.V. and Co-Founder Working Group OGP Germany
Eduardo Vergara Lope de la Garza, Director de Programa Estudiantil Juventud Siglo XXI, A. C., Mexico City
Neide De Sordi, Brazilian Society for Knowledge Management (SBGC)