It’s as if they thought we wouldn’t find out. While the world has been going to shit of late, with bombings here (Istanbul, Saudi Arabia), shootings (Iraq) there, hacking and broken hearts a little further on there (Bangladesh, if you didn’t know), the South African government voted against a UN resolution that that would make disrupting internet access a human right violation.
The idea of the resolution paid reference to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and was designed to ensure that “the same rights people have offline must also be protected online.” This means that if a blogger was attacked, perpetrators would be held to account. Or it there was a terror attack, a botched election, or (closer to home) a tumultuous protest against the government, and the authorities shut down the internet, the new resolution rules that it would amount to a human rights violation.
On Monday, South Africa voted against this resolution and lost. By consensus, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed the resolution, and we look like tools.
Yes, the resolution is non-binding, which means it’s pretty much useless when it comes to implementation, but at least the rest of the world has agreed that deliberately blocking the internet is a shitty thing to do.
But in voting against the resolution, South Africa joined ranks with China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia and a few other absurd governments in trying to quell the human rights of their citizens online. In fact, Russia and China specifically opposed the resolution’s references to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and freedom of expression.
On one hand, one has to wonder if our government’s growing attachment with Russia, India and China prompted our diplomats to vote in solidarity with “the east”. Each one of these nations has its own warped reasons to subvert their citizens’ online behaviour.
But given that the vote comes at a time when South Africans are seething over the SABC’s decision to stop broadcasting violent protests in the country, as well as moves to mute negative coverage of President Jacob Zuma and ANC, it certainly seems like another attempt to muzzle us. If we ever needed any more proof, the move certainly does illustrate the extent to which this government has become drunk, desperate and deranged.
It’s worth noting that the resolution was supported by more than 70 states, including Brazil, Turkey, the United States and Nigeria – not the greatest examples of human rights or decency themselves – but at least they care enough to pretend.