on Freedom
of Expression Online

The RELE and the IACHR recognize that the hemisphere is experiencing a deterioration in public debate, the potential transfer of digital violence to the physical environment, challenges related to disinformation, as well as dilemmas about the decisions and business models of companies. of the internet and the need for them to respond to human rights standards.

About the Dialogue

By mandate, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) instructed its Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (RELE) to look into three fundamental thematic issues that impact freedom of expression online. Accordingly, the mandate instructed the hosting of a multistakeholder consultation – the Americas Dialogue. The Dialogue will have 4 phases. The preparation phase took place from May to August of 2021, and relied on intense dedication to the development of the Dialogue’s methodology, platform and consultation activities, as well as partnerships.

The first open phase will last 8 weeks and consists of a multistakeholder process with representatives of citizens, civil society organizations, the private sector, academia, international organizations and States on the basis of the foundational Values ​​and Principles of the Dialogue. In these 8 initial weeks, many activities will be carried out and you can see and access them here. After this period, RELE will lead an internal consolidation of the inputs received via various activities and develop new activities that will be shared in the future.

At the end of the open consultation of the Dialogue, and at the beginning of 2022, an ad-hoc experts working group will be created by RELE for the review and systematization of inputs and development of an action plan to be presented to the IACHR.

The Dialogue will allow ample opportunities for participation for the diverse actors in a variety of moments and forms. Therefore, we invite all interested persons to learn more about the objectives of this consultation, the forms and terms of participation, as well as the key dates that will be published from our website and on our social networks.

The figures below describe the Dialogue process.

Objectives

The purpose of the Dialogue of the Americas is to obtain contributions and recommendations from multisectoral actors and, based on these, work on an inter-American plan of action that will improve the conditions for public debate, identify experiences in digital literacy for the development of civic skills and contribute to making content moderation compatible with international human rights standards.

This final product will be presented to the IACHR in 2022, aligning the proposals with the mechanisms available in the Inter-American System. In addition, the Dialogue will promote that the actors involved establish action commitments based on the solutions and good practices also identified during the process.

Phases

The Dialogue of the Americas is divided into several phases, each of which presents different opportunities for actors to participate and engage. This Dialogue represents a renewed effort by the office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression to listen to as many voices as possible, as provided for in the Values ​​and Principles of Dialogue.

Therefore, and due to the pandemic, most interventions will be online, allowing the Dialogue to be open, inclusive, and accessible to interested people.

Below, the infographics detail the phases of the Dialogue:

Phase 1 – 3: Delimitation of Topics and Agenda Setting

The objective of these phases is to frame each thematic axes, reducing the asymmetry of information, and to establish and prioritize the agenda of actions to be followed. This period of the Dialogue also includes moments of internal processing by RELE of the multistakeholder contributions.

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Macro questions to delimit the theme

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Phase 1 Timeline

Below you can see the preliminary schedule for phase 1 that will last 8 weeks. Follow our news page to find the updates. All the activities below can be found in Participa y dialoga or the page of each axis.

Phase 4 Draw up an action plan for the IACHR:

An ad-hoc multisectoral working group will be formed by RELE with the objective of analyzing the results obtained in the previous phases. This phase will take place in 2022.

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NOTE: The dates indicated above may change depending on how the Dialogue is developed.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Dialogue Newsletter, and follow our news and social media for the most up-to-date information on dates and opportunities to participate.

Contact

In case of questions, you can contact us at the email: cidhreledialogo(at)oas(dot)org.