History

The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms is a Pan-African initiative to promote human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent. The Declaration is intended to elaborate on the principles which are necessary to uphold human and people’s rights on the internet, and to cultivate an internet environment that can best meet Africa’s social and economic development needs and goals.

The Declaration builds on well-established African human rights documents including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1981, the Windhoek Declaration on Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press of 1991, the African Charter on Broadcasting of 2001, the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa of 2002, and the African Platform on Access to Information Declaration of 2011.

The idea for an African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms was agreed at the 2013 African Internet Governance Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. A broader meeting was subsequently convened in Johannesburg in February 2014 to commence drafting the Declaration.

A smaller Drafter’s Group – led by Edetean Ojo (Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda) and involving Anriette Esterhuysen, Stephanie Muchai, Alimi Adamu, Nnenna Nwakanma, Charles Vieira Sanches, Sulemana Braimah, Joy Liddicoat, Beryl Aidi, Emilar Vushe, Gabrielle Guillemin and Polly Gaster – developed the text of the Declaration, based on feedback from the wider group, from an online public consultation (hosted on this website), and from many eminent individuals and organisations from a range of African and international stakeholders.

The initial meeting at the 2013 African Internet Governance Forum in Nairobi, Kenya was attended by participants from the following organisations: