Frank La Rue, United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, spoke Wednesday to a group of law students and other George Washington community members.
“My role is to defend the openness and the boundaries of freedom of expression,” he told them. And on Wednesday, Mr. La Rue was specifically defending the use of Internet as an instrument of freedom of expression.
The first issue Mr. La Rue raised centered on the criminalization of freedom of opinion. He referenced government officials who have accused the press or others of defaming them. “This is using defamation as an excuse to silence the press and to build a chilling effect,” he said, calling the practice “unacceptable.” Public officials must expect that they will be scrutinized and, sometimes, criticized, said Mr. La Rue, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
Filtering and shutting down websites is another area in which governments must tread lightly, Mr. La Rue said. The shutting down of certain sites, like those depicting child pornography, is obviously necessary, he said. But officials mustn’t just address the issue through curbing within the medium; they should launch investigations to uncover the culprits. And when it comes to communications of anti-government opinions, officials must not just “switch off” websites.
Mr. La Rue offered a similar message when considering security concerns like terrorism threats. Governments have the obligation to protect their citizens, he said, but it must still be done within the boundaries of the law and human rights.
Ultimately, the Internet should be “making democracies stronger, not weaker,” said Mr. La Rue, who is also the founder and president of the Center for Legal Action for Human Rights in his native Guatemala. It’s crucial for transparency, education, freedom of assembly and association, the development of nations and more.
Mr. La Rue, the third visitor for GW Law School’s Global Internet Freedom and Human Rights Distinguished Speaker Series, was the perfect person to speak Wednesday, Law School Dean Paul Schiff Berman said in his introduction.
“He has been a leader in promoting human rights internationally for decades and is really a legendary figure in the international human rights community,” said Dean Berman.
To close the series on Feb. 22, GW will host Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of Global Voices Online and senior fellow at the New America Foundation.