United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concerned over government pressure on WikiLeaks

[Better Believe It]

UN Human Rights Head 'concerned' Over Pressure on WikiLeaks
By Martyn Williams, IDG News
December 10, 2010

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said she is concerned over reports of government pressure on Internet service providers and other companies to stop doing business with WikiLeaks.

Speaking on the eve of Friday's International Human Rights Day, she said the case raises complex questions about balancing freedom of information, the right of people to know, and the need to protect national security.

"I am concerned about the reports about pressure exerted on private companies, including banks, credit cards companies and Internet service providers to close down credit lines for donations to WikiLeaks as well as to stop hosting the website or its mirror sites," said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a televised news conference in Geneva on Thursday.

"While it is unclear whether these individual measures taken by private actors directly infringe on states' human rights obligations to ensure respect of the right to freedom of expression, taken as a whole they could be interpreted as an attempt to censure the publication of information thus potentially violating WikiLeaks' right to freedom of expression," said Pillay.

See her comments in a Youtube video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GABYltLfMu8

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/213170/un_human_rights_head_concerned_over_pressure_on_wikileaks.htmlUnite