RightsCon Tunis 2019

The distinct value and practical benefits of the use of biometric data is increasingly acknowledged and emphasized in counter-terrorism regulation, as also reflected in the quasi-regulatory efforts by the UN Security Council requiring States in its resolution 2396 to “develop and implement systems to collect biometric data”. Despite the rapid advance of biometric technology and its widespread usage, human rights analysis and guidance on its use remains limited and underdeveloped. Prominently, while resolution 2396 calls on States to implement their obligations relating to biometric data collection in compliance with human rights law, it does not provide specific guidance on how to achieve this nor does it set any human rights benchmarks. 

The Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School supports the work of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. In this capacity, the Center assists the Special Rapporteur in developing a set of principles on the human rights- compliant collection, acquisition, retention, processing and sharing of biometric data in the context of preventing and countering terrorism.

This session will constitute an integral part of the consultation process conducted by the Special Rapporteur’s mandate. Aimed at bridging this knowledge gap and drawing on the multidisciplinary and cross-regional expertise of participants, it will focus on mapping out salient human rights implications of the use of biometric technologies and data and explore existing good practices and lessons learned.

“Challenge Hate” - Countering “hate speech” against LGBTQ people in MENA is a report that presents conclusions and observations from monitoring public discourse about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, using illustrative case studies drawn from the period 2011 to 2017. The nature of public discourse in the target countries is worrying, as narratives around sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as sexual and gender expression, are largely dominated and therefore shaped by cisgendered heterosexual men. “Hate speech” against persons on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity was observed in all five countries, reflecting and reinforcing legal, political, social, cultural and economic discrimination, which in all cases could be characterized as institutionalized and systemic. Also, Media coverage of LGBTQ people, though sparse, was almost always negative, employing derogatory or inaccurate language to describe LGBTQ people. Although online spaces have afforded LGBTQ people degrees of anonymity allowing them to access and share information and form relationships in ways that were previously impossible, these spaces also carry significant discrimination and violence against LGBTQ people, recorded and shared online, creating public outrage supportive of LGBTQ people.

This session will highlight findings about the nature of online harassment against women journalists where there are prevalent extreme right-wing and left-wing voices. Drawing on information gathered by CPJ from journalists around the globe, the roundtable discussion will be explore possible solutions and approaches for tackling these challenges. It will open with an overview of CPJ’s most recent research and findings about online harassment against women journalists. This will focus on four countries with prominent extremist communities: Italy, India, Brazil, and South Africa. The presentation will unpack the nature of these gendered threats, and the experiences of the journalists on the receiving end. These findings will anchor the discussion, which will seek to identify both recommendations and an understanding of resources available from the diverse group of participants. A focus on solutions-oriented, pragmatic approach to understanding how organizations can better support women journalists in a variety of contexts, CPJ will share the responses of both newsrooms and individuals from the countries studied, and invite others to share their own findings and solutions.