Comments of Human Rights Watch to Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Hearing
March 19, 2014 - “The Surveillance Program Operated Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act”
Members of civil society groups and experts in communications surveillance law, policy and technology, have drawn upon this case law to assemble a set of principles on application of human rights law to communications surveillance. The document, called ‘Necessary and Proportionate: International Principles on the Application of Human Rights Law to Communications Surveillance,’ are drawn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ICCPR, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the InterAmerican Convention on Human Rights (IACHR) and the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter), but also adjudicative bodies like the HRC and ECtHR, UN Resolutions and reports of Special Rapporteurs.[43] The principles have been signed by hundreds of human rights and civil society groups, including Human Rights Watch.