1079 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "The Council of Europe has identified two types of cyberthreats to elections. First, threats to electoral democracy, namely “attacks against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of election computers and data”, compromising voter databases or registration systems; tampering with voting machines to manipulate results; interference with the function of systems on election day; and illegal access to computers to steal, modify, disseminate sensitive data. Second, threats to deliberative democracy, i.e. “information operations with violations of rules to ensure free, fair and clean elections” related to data protection, political finances, media coverage of electoral campaigns and broadcasting and political advertising."
- "The right to appeal to election bodies and courts should be established to enable a clear, understandable, singular and hierarchical complaint process that defines the roles of each level of election commission and each level of the courts. This will avoid the potential for a complainant to appeal to the body considered likely to offer the most favourable consideration of the complaint. "
- "Responses to complaints should be provided in writing and in a timely manner. All hearings and rulings should be public."
- "It is a good practice for election-administration bodies to publish their decisions immediately upon delivery and provide regular and timely briefings for the media. "
- "All meetings should be announced in a timely manner, with all relevant documents equally conveyed to all members of the commission in sufficient time to be considered prior to the session."
- "Special measures to promote the election of national-minority candidates to public office should be encouraged. For example, experience has shown that lowering the number of supporting signatures required for the registration of candidates from national-minority parties can be an effective special measure. This could also be combined with an exemption from the requirement to surpass a nationwide threshold in proportional representation systems. When determining the size of electoral deposits, contribution and spending limits, eligibility thresholds and other parameters of electoral frameworks, states should consider their impact on the participation of candidates belonging to national minorities and, if needed, take targeted measures to ensure that the right to effective participation of minorities in the electoral processes is not unduly restricted."
- "Ideally, both national and regional thresholds should be low enough to give national-minority parties the chance to have their candidates elected to a national legislature."
- "For example, national-minority parties can be exempted from the need to surpass a legal threshold in order to qualify for seat allocation or can benefit from a lower legal threshold than other parties to obtain representation."
- "While the principle of one person, one vote is one of the most fundamental rules of democratic electoral systems, in some cases a dual voting system can be used to promote representation of minority communities."
- "According to a study by the Venice Commission, dual voting is an exceptional measure that has to be within the legal framework of the constitution and may be permitted if it respects the principle of proportionality in its various aspects. This implies that it can only be justified if: - It is impossible to reach the aim pursued through other less intrusive measures that do not infringe upon equal voting rights; - It has a transitional character; and - It concerns only a numerically small minority."
- "If there is the political will to ensure the representation of such minorities, this can be achieved by introducing special measures through reserved seats. Reserved seats are contested within a minority community and filled by people representing minority communities."
- "Law enforcement agencies and personnel should undertake efforts to ensure the availability of information to the public concerning its activities and cultivate a police-public partnership."
- "Activities undertaken by public security providers during an election should be construed as a public service and be guided by the interests of public order and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. The public-service culture in the delivery of security services should be promoted as an approach conducive to enhancing pubic confidence and to facilitating interaction and information exchange between electoral stakeholders and the security services."
- "State Parties acknowledge the need to eliminate discrimination against girls and young women according to obligations stipulated in various international, regional and national human rights conventions and instruments designed to protect and promote women's rights. In this regard, they shall: (...) b) Ensure that girls and young women are able to participate actively, equally and effectively with boys at all levels of social, educational, economic, political, cultural, civil life and leadership, as well as scientific endeavours. "
- "State Parties shall take the following measures to promote active youth participation in society: They shall: a) Guarantee the participation of youth in parliament and other decision-making bodies in accordance with the prescribed laws; b) Facilitate that creation or strengthening of platforms for youth participation in decision-making at local, national, regional, and continental levels of governance; c) Ensure equal access of young men and young women to participate in decision-making and in fulfilling civil duties. "
- "Personal information controllers should provide clear and easily accessible statements about their practices and policies with respect to personal information that should include: a) the fact that personal information is being collected; b) the purposes for which personal information is collected; c) the types of persons or organizations to whom personal information might be disclosed; d) the identity and location of the personal information controller, including information on how to contact them about their practices and handling of personal information; e) the choices and means the personal information controller offers individuals for limiting the use and disclosure of, and for accessing and correcting, their personal information."
- "The collection of personal information should be limited to information that is relevant to the purposes of collection and any such information should be obtained by lawful and fair means, and where appropriate, with notice to, or consent of, the individual concerned."
- "Personal information collected should be used only to fulfill the purposes of collection and other compatible or related purposes except: a) with the consent of the individual whose personal information is collected; b) when necessary to provide a service or product requested by the individual; or, c) by the authority of law and other legal instruments, proclamations and pronouncements of legal effect."
- "Where appropriate, individuals should be provided with clear, prominent, easily understandable, accessible and affordable mechanisms to exercise choice in relation to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information. "
- "Personal information controllers should protect personal information that they hold with appropriate safeguards against risks, such as loss or unauthorized access to personal information, or unauthorized destruction, use, modification or disclosure of information or other misuses. Such safeguards should be proportional to the likelihood and severity of the harm threatened, the sensitivity of the information and the context in which it is held, and should be subject to periodic review and reassessment."
- "Individuals should be able to: a) obtain from the personal information controller confirmation of whether or not the personal information controller holds personal information about them; b) have communicated to them, after having provided sufficient proof of their identity, personal information about them; i. within a reasonable time; ii. at a charge, if any, that is not excessive; iii. in a reasonable manner; iv. in a form that is generally understandable; and, c) challenge the accuracy of personal information relating to them and, if possible and as appropriate, have the information rectified, completed, amended or deleted. "
- "Personal data shall be: (a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’)."
- "Personal data shall be: (...) (b) collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’)."
- "Personal data shall be: (...) (c) adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’)."
- "Personal data shall be: (...) (d) accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’)."
- "Personal data shall be: (...) (e) kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by this Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (‘storage limitation’)."
- "Personal data shall be: (...) (f) processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’)."
- "Processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that at least one of the following applies: (a) the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes."
- "Each Member State shall provide for one or more independent public authorities to be responsible for monitoring the application of this Regulation, in order to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons in relation to processing and to facilitate the free flow of personal data within the Union (‘supervisory authority’)."
- "There should be limits to the collection of personal data and any such data should be obtained by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge or consent of the data subject."
- "Personal data should be relevant to the purposes for which they are to be used, and, to the extent necessary for those purposes, should be accurate, complete and kept up to date."
- "Personal data should be protected by reasonable security safeguards against such risks as loss or unauthorised access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure of data."
- "There should be a general policy of openness about developments, practices and policies with respect to personal data. Means should be readily available of establishing the existence and nature of personal data, and the main purposes of their use, as well as the identity and usual residence of the data controller."
- "Individuals should have the right: a) to obtain from a data controller, or otherwise, confirmation of whether or not the data controller has data relating to them; b) to have communicated to them, data relating to them i. within a reasonable time; ii. at a charge, if any, that is not excessive; iii. in a reasonable manner; and iv. in a form that is readily intelligible to them; c) to be given reasons if a request made under subparagraphs (a) and (b) is denied, and to be able to challenge such denial; and d) to challenge data relating to them and, if the challenge is successful to have the data erased, rectified, completed or amended."
- "A Member country should refrain from restricting transborder flows of personal data between itself and another country where (a) the other country substantially observes these Guidelines or (b) sufficient safeguards exist, including effective enforcement mechanisms and appropriate measures put in place by the data controller, to ensure a continuing level of protection consistent with these Guidelines."
- "In implementing these Guidelines, Member countries should: (…) c) establish and maintain privacy enforcement authorities with the governance, resources and technical expertise necessary to exercise their powers effectively and to make decisions on an objective, impartial and consistent basis."
- "The gathering and holding of personal information on computers, data banks and other devices, whether by public authorities or private individuals or bodies, must be regulated by law. Effective measures have to be taken by States to ensure that information concerning a person’s private life does not reach the hands of persons who are not authorized by law to receive, process and use it, and is never used for purposes incompatible with the Covenant."
- "In order to have the most effective protection of his private life, every individual should have the right to ascertain in an intelligible form, whether, and if so, what personal data is stored in automatic data files, and for what purposes. Every individual should also be able to ascertain which public authorities or private individuals or bodies control or may control their files. If such files contain incorrect personal data or have been collected or processed contrary to the provisions of the law, every individual should have the right to request rectification or elimination."
- "The General Assembly (...) 6. Calls upon all States: (...) (g) To consider adopting and implementing data protection legislation, regulation and policies, including on digital communication data, that complies with their international human rights obligations, which could include the establishment of national independent authorities with powers and resources to monitor data privacy practices, investigate violations and abuses and receive communications from individuals and organizations, and to provide appropriate remedies."
- "The General Assembly (...) 6. Calls upon all States: (...) (d) To establish or maintain existing independent, effective, adequately resourced and impartial judicial, administrative and/or parliamentary domestic oversight mechanisms capable of ensuring transparency, as appropriate, and accountability for State surveillance of communications, their interception and the collection of personal data."
- "The General Assembly (...) 6. Calls upon all States: (...) (e) To provide individuals whose right to privacy has been violated by unlawful or arbitrary surveillance with access to an effective remedy, consistent with international human rights obligations."
- "The General Assembly (...) 7. Calls upon business enterprises: (...) (b) To inform users in a clear and easily accessible way about the collection, use, sharing and retention of their data that may affect their right to privacy and to establish transparency policies, as appropriate."
- "The General Assembly (...) 7. Calls upon business enterprises: (...) (c) To implement administrative, technical and physical safeguards to ensure that data are processed lawfully and to ensure that such processing is limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes of the processing and that the legitimacy of such purposes, as well as the accuracy, integrity and confidentiality of the processing, is ensured."
- "A government may allocate additional funds to programmes benefitting historically disadvantaged groups in order to enable such groups to enjoy their rights on a par with others in society."
- "Further, in order to alleviate the effects of past discrimination and to enhance future participation, it is appropriate for the legal framework to include special electoral rules and voting arrangements for national minorities."
- "It may be appropriate to require political parties and other nominating organizations to put forward a minimum number of candidates of each gender, with reasonable chances to be elected."
- "The legal framework should prohibit the collection, use or dissemination of personal data or information in any manner for any purpose other than the exercise of suffrage rights. In particular, care should be given to provisions that relate to fingerprints, photographs and personal identification numbers, as well as to ethnicity or other factors that could lead to discrimination or place the voter at risk of personal harm."
- "Observers should be given unimpeded access to all levels of election administration at all times, effective access to other public offices with relevance to the election process, and the ability to meet with all political formations, the media, civil society and voters. The law should provide clear and precise provisions establishing the rights of observers to inspect documents, attend meetings and observe election activities at all levels, as well as to obtain copies of decisions, protocols, tabulations, minutes and other electoral documents, at all levels."
- "Personal data that are processed must be adequate, relevant, correct and, if necessary, up to date; all reasonable measures must be taken to complete, correct, block or erase data that are incomplete or incorrect."
- "Every person has the right to access in an intelligible form, at reasonable intervals and without excessive delay or expense, confirmation of whether her or his personal data are stored in an automated file."