Call For Human Rights Friendly National Cyber Policy

Civil society organizations and other groups have called for cyberspace in the country to be open, safe, harmless, and respectful of human rights.

Civil society organizations and other groups have given feedback on the draught National Cyber Security Policy, 2080, which the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology made available to the public for input and discussion.

Citizen groups and other groups with a stake in the country have mostly called for a cyberspace that is open, safe, harmless, and respectful of human rights.

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) gave Communications Minister Rekha Sharma a list of 27 observations and suggestions about the national policy on Friday. In the policy, the government is asked to uphold Nepal’s international commitments, universal values of civil rights, and constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights.

The memorandum said that the national security policy should clearly define and deal with changing ideas of cyber security and cybercrime through a comprehensive plan that aligns with SDG goals.

Among the other suggestions, the CDD Chairperson, Dr. Dila Sangroula Pant, said that the national cyber security policy should be in line with the overall national security, that the key responsible agencies and resources should be set up for policy implementation, that the key assumptions of an open and safe internet, individual privacy, credibility, neutrality, accountability, interoperability, and partnership should be embraced, and that the multi-stakeholder approach should be used.

When Minister Sharma got the memorandum, he said that the draught national cyber security policy was made public so that different stakeholders could give their ideas and suggestions. “The policy was put in place at a time when cybercrime and cyberattacks were becoming more common,” the minister said.

The memo was given to the minister at his office by Vice-Chair of the CDD Sanjeeb Ghimire, General Secretary Jeewan Bhandari, and Secretary Sanil Nepal.

End Words for  Human Rights Friendly National Cyber Policy

In the end, if we want the digital world to be safe, we need a national cyber policy that respects human rights. All countries need to work together to make a set of international laws that protects people’s privacy from invasive government surveillance. This can help make sure that citizens’ data is safe, which in turn helps protect their basic rights and freedoms. With this in mind, all countries need to work together to make the digital world more fair and just for everyone.