Council of Europe Conference on Guarantees of Rights and Freedom of Internet

Human rights in the Internet should be provided as well as in other areas. Thus the balance between freedom and security must be justified. In any disputes, above all, we should put the public interest.

These are the recommendations of the various structures of the Council of Europe to ensure the on-line freedom at the ongoing conference Internet and Human Rights in Baku.

The event was organized by the Baku office of the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Communications of Azerbaijan in the Council of Europe and the European Union project to support freedom of expression and media.

According to Deputy Minister of Communication Elmir Velizadeh, the level of Internet penetration in Azerbaijan reached 76%, of which 65% have access to broadband Internet.

Velizade said Internet access is completely free in the country and the activities of providers do not require licensing. Users have easy access to social networks and other services.

At the same time Velizadeh noted that the technological possibilities and free access generate new challenges as the spread of pornography, propaganda of extremism, separatism, racism, and others.

"These challenges require international cooperation, and Azerbaijan is ready for this," said the deputy minister.

 The deputy head of the Baku office of the Council of Europe Teymur Melik-Aslanov noted that the Council of Europe has now become the leading organization in the definition of standards of freedom of the Internet. In this sense, this conference, which brought together representatives of government agencies, private sector, academia and civil society, is a good platform to promote dialogue and improve the activities in the field of the Internet.

The main objective of the conference - raising awareness of the Council of Europe standards, the creation of conditions for free discussion on the development of the Internet infrastructure and on-line journalists.

The head of Azerbaijan Internet Forum Osman Gunduz noted that Azerbaijan has no political or ideological restrictions on the Internet. However, there are problems of technological and economic nature, which are not insurmountable. Among those he called the poor quality of the Internet in the regions.

In addition, 50% of provider services owned by the state and there is no real competition. The state should not act as a player in the market, it should only deal with the regulation, he said.

Council of Europe Expert, Professor of International Law from Austria, Wolfgang Benedek informed about the international legal framework of freedom of the Internet.

He stressed that the leader in the formation of international legal standards for the freedom of the Internet is the Council of Europe. In particular, the legal basis of creating precedents of the European Court of Human Rights, the recommendations of the CoE Committee of Ministers and PACE and the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights.

According to Benedek, human rights on the Internet should be provided to the same extent as elsewhere.

At the same time, everyone should have free access to the Internet. In addition, states should raise awareness of the population in this area.

Internet freedom may be limited in order to respect privacy, security, and others. However, the restrictions must be justified, reasonable and proportionate. Solving disputes should be guided by the priority of public interests, the expert said.

Conference participants were given the Council of Europe documents on Internet freedom translated into Azerbaijani. -06D-