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UN says internet freedom is a human right
The UN has declared that internet freedom is a human right.
At the 20th regular session of the organisation's Human Rights Council (HRC), 22 resolutions were adopted on issues ranging from arbitrary detention to the current human rights situations in Belarus, Eritrea, Syria, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali and Somalia.
US ambassador Eileen Donahoe expressed her delight at the inclusion of internet access in the list of resolutions, describing the outcome as "momentous" for the HRC.
"It's the first ever UN resolution affirming that human rights in the digital realm must be protected and promoted to the same extent and with the same commitment as human rights in the physical world," she explained.
In this sense, it is now possible to say that human rights are the same in the online world as in the offline domain, Ms Donahoe claimed.
The ambassador pointed out that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both put a "great emphasis" on the need to combine internet freedom with human rights.