Date: 28 November 2024
Report: Turkmenistan Internet shutdowns impact development, PDF
Country: Turkmenistan
Issues: Access to the Internet, right to education, healthy life, scientific progress
Mechanism: the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Report Type: Joint Shadow/Parallel Report by Access Now and Progres Foundation
This report supplements the third periodic report submitted by Turkmenistan (state party) under articles 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Covenant) in connection with the upcoming review of the state party’s compliance with the Covenant. The undersigned organizations welcome the opportunity to contribute to the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Committee) by providing additional information regarding access to the Internet under article 15 of the Covenant. The report describes Turkmenistan’s practices that raise particular concerns about: (1) internet shutdowns and their impact on right to education (article 13), right to healthy life (article 12), right to culture and to benefit from scientific progress (article 15), right to pursue economic development (article 1 and article 2); and (2) Internet connectivity and aggressive online censorship imposed by the Government, including government’s plan to build the National Digital Network that is splintered and isolated from the rest of the Internet.
Other UN treaty bodies have repeatedly called on the State party to ensure the public’s access to the Internet. We urge the Committee to follow up on these recommendations and to pose the following questions to the State party:
- Increase the transparency of the work of the Cybersecurity Directorate and provide information about its structure, functional mandate, authority, and competencies, including the appeal procedure of its decisions.
- Provide information on the number of blocked websites and the list of criteria for such blockings.
- Guarantee users’ right to appeal and effective remedy. Provide the transparent and accessible appeal mechanisms of Government-issued website blockings, where the reason for the removal or blocking is clearly stated and any order contains a precise explanation of what rights the content provider has and the possibilities to appeal the decision or opt for judicial review. Guarantee that the option of judicial redress is granted by law.
- Provide information about the existing safeguards that exclude any non-transparent and possibly arbitrary decisions and limit websites’ blockings to illegal content and have no arbitrary or excessive effects?
- What is the legal framework for the development of the National Digital Network?
- End the practice of arbitrarily punishing citizens for using circumvention tools and accessing information online. Repeal or otherwise amend laws which impose responsibility for using VPNs or accessing blocked content online.
- Adhere to international human rights standards, and uphold its commitments to promote and protect the right to education, employment, and cultural participation offline and online. Refrain from shutting down the internet and blocking social media and make a state pledge to refrain from imposing any unlawful restrictions on internet access and telecommunication in the future. What will the State party do to ensure open and unrestricted internet access, especially in rural areas, schools and hospitals, and to enhance digital literacy and to invest in the country’s technological infrastructure to bridge the digital divide?
- Open the National Plan for development of the digital economy to public scrutiny and increase transparency of its implementation.
