INTERVENTION BY COUNSELLOR PHOEBE LUO OF SINGAPORE AT THE FOURTH THEMATIC DEEP DIVE ON THE GLOBAL DIGITAL COMPACT ON THE ISSUE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ONLINE, TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL CHAMBER AT UNHQ, MONDAY, 8 MAY 2023, 10.00AM

1 Thank you to the co-facilitators for convening today’s discussions.

2 At the outset, allow me to reaffirm that Singapore believes that the same rights that people have offline should also be protected online.  We have reaffirmed this in several UN General Assembly resolutions, and we believe that this common understanding can serve as a good starting point for our discussions.  

3 We also recognise that while digital technologies present immense opportunities in advancing socio-economic and developmental goals, we must not ignore the multi-faceted challenges that may arise from the use of digital technologies, including challenges to human rights.

4 At the same time, we are very much cognisant that the topic of human rights online will be a difficult and potentially contentious one.  There will no doubt be areas where we disagree and where positions may be strongly divergent.  Our concern, however, is the tendency for discussions on such issues to escalate into polarising and divisive debates, along the lines of North vs South, East vs West, democracies vs non-democracies.

5 This is why we believe that it is important to have a common understanding on how we as Member States should approach our differences and disagreements on these issues.  Allow me to suggest a few key principles that should frame our discussions on human rights online in the Global Digital Compact.

6 First, we should take a holistic approach to the protection of human rights online.  This means that we cannot solely focus on the importance of individual rights to certain online freedoms, such as freedom of expression, without giving due consideration to the need to balance such rights against the growing risks of online harms, such as misinformation and hate speech.  It is important that we do not view these issues in a siloed manner, or be lured into the false dichotomy that addressing such online risks would necessarily have an adverse impact on human rights online.  In fact, I believe many would agree that the protection against online harms would contribute positively to the protection of human rights online.   

7 Taking a holistic approach also means recognising that the legislation and codification of rights is only a small piece of a larger puzzle. Top-down approaches are inevitably limited in impact, and ambitious legislation will not protect citizens unless they can be translated into practical measures on the ground.

8 Second, we should take a practical approach towards the issue of human rights online.  This means recognising that, first and foremost, that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and that every State has the sovereign right to determine its own approach, taking into account its national circumstances and level of development.  It would not be possible, for example, to protect the online rights of people who do not even the means to be connected online, and let us not forget that 2.9 billion people, or 37 percent of the world’s population, still do not have access to the Internet.  In this regard, we hope that delegations that have advocated strongly for human rights online would give equal emphasis and commitment to the importance of digital inclusion, including capacity building and technical assistance. 

9 Third, we should take an inclusive and interoperable approach to protecting human rights online.  This means recognising the diversity of national systems and policies, but at the same time, identifying the commonalities and potential areas for cooperation and harmonisation.  Let us focus our energies on the areas where we have convergence, and explore possibilities for developing inclusive and interoperable policies and practices, which could help to facilitate cross-border online services, international transactions, and enhance opportunities for our people and businesses.    

10 To conclude, the digital world is inherently global in nature. The full enjoyment of human rights online would only be possible in an inclusive and interconnected digital world that allows our people to access its full benefits. These are some of our initial reflections, and we look forward to continuing this discussion in the weeks ahead. Thank you.

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