Policy Fact Sheet: How Stronger Export Controls Can Better Protect Human Rights

Policy Fact Sheet: How Stronger Export Controls Can Better Protect Human Rights Policy Fact Sheet: How Stronger Export Controls Can Better Protect Human Rights by Jennifer Brody The global proliferation of commercial surveillance technologies, including spyware, poses a grave threat to human rights and national security. [...] The Joint Statement on Efforts to Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware and the Export Controls and Human Rights Initiative, among other international efforts, demonstrate growing attention from governments around the world to ensuring technologies exported from their countries are not used to facilitate human rights abuses. [...] Recognizing the importance of export controls, Freedom House submitted comments to the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security in response to its Notice of Inquiry on Advanced Surveillance Systems and Other Items of Human Rights Concern. [...] The Solution: Protect Human Rights by Strengthening Export Controls Establish a process to routinely engage civil society, including NGOs, media, academia, and human rights defenders The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and similar government bodies around the world, should create a clear process for routine engagement with civil society organizations and human rights defenders who have speci. [...] The US Departments of State and Treasury have created this type of process for engagement on Global Magnitsky and other targeted sanctions, and it has proven to be an effective way for government and civil society to exchange information and strengthen the efficacy and precision of these targeted sanctions programs.