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                Date: 2002-02-28
                 
                 
                Cybercrime: Aktion gegen Zusatzprotokoll 2
                
                 
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      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
                   
                  
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