Is Internet access a human right?

An argument erupted on one of my mailing lists a while back around the declaration of Internet access as a basic human right in some countries. Some people felt that the enthusiasm with which various nice-to-haves are being pronounced human rights is diluting the importance of the actual fundamental needs of human beings.

The fear seems to be that if countries that are struggling to provide their people with sufficient food and clean water are informed that they are also required to include broadband Internet access as part of the bargain, they might well write off this whole human rights fandango as an unachievable pipedream.

The United Nation`s document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, enshrines what it agrees are the basic rights to which we are all entitled. Up there with slavery being "prohibited in all forms", I found a couple of sections that could loosely be interpreted as applying to Internet access.

Article 19 states that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to...seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers", while Article 27 allows for everyone to have "the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits".

Should e-government ever actually get off the ground, Article 21, "everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country", will kick in as well.

According to my research, human rights fall into three categories. First generation rights include civil and political rights, the second generation covers economic and social rights, while the third deals with environmental, cultural and developmental rights. Somewhere between second and third generation rights, Internet access huddles like a shy younger cousin who`s too big to sit at the baby`s table.

Should e-government ever actually get off the ground, Article 21, "everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country", will kick in as well.

Georgina Guedes, Journalist, ITWeb

Estonia, erstwhile crumbing republic of the Soviet Union, has forged ahead with the connectivity of its citizens. After becoming the world`s first paperless government, in 2000 it declared Internet access a basic human right and has initiated a massive programme to extend access into the countryside. In a country where running water was a luxury 15 years ago, the Internet is now seen as essential to development.

The United Nations has also been busy, and this year, for the World Summit on the Information Society, it has prepared a document discussing the connectivity issues that it feels should be addressed by countries in the 21^st century.

This is a weighty document covering a wide range of issues, but standing out for all to see is point 119, which states: "A major effort should be made to provide universal access at affordable cost to all by 2015."

So while Internet connectivity can`t rival access to water or food as essential for life, I feel that it can, in much the same way as the right not to be arrested arbitrarily (Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), be seen as vital to a human being`s ability to conduct his day-to-day life unfettered by restrictions in the 21^st century.