Abstract

In Africa, as elsewhere in the world, policymakers are under pressure to reform their laws, policies and practices with a view to participating fully in the knowledge economy. The challenge is to find the right balance between policies that support openness and the dissemination of information, on the one hand, and those that address national security, national interests and law enforcement, on the other. This grant will support an exploration of the linkages between information and communication technology (ICT), governance and human rights in five African countries with various ICT environments and legal regimes, such as common law, civil law and Roman Dutch law. The exploration will focus on four main areas: privacy rights, access to information, censorship and cyber-democracy, and freedom of expression, with emphasis on the issue of hate speech. Suggested study countries (and alternatives) are Morocco (Tunisia), Nigeria (Ghana), Rwanda (Kenya), South Africa and Uganda. A research team from the Human Rights and Peace Centre at Makerere University, in cooperation with Privacy International, Open Net Initiative (ONI) and others, will undertake a scoping study, identify project partners and organize a workshop to develop a research project to be submitted to IDRC for funding consideration.

Recipient Institution(s)