The Executive Director

Information and Communication Technologies Authority

12th floor, The Celicourt, 

6 Sir Celicourt Antelme St. 

Port Louis, 11302 

Mauritius

      7 November 2024

To the Executive Director,

RE: Social Media Ban – 1 November 2024

We, the members of the Net Rights Coalition (NRC), write to express our concern about your Directive, dated 1 November 2024,  instructing Mauritian telecommunications operators to suspend access to all social media platforms and websites until 11 November 2024 on grounds of public safety and national security concerns. The NRC is a pan-African coalition of Internet freedom activists who share knowledge and experiences to combat digital rights threats, please note our interest in this matter.

We acknowledge that the Information and Communication Technologies Authority reversed this Directive on 2 November 2024, a move we commend. However, we are concerned about the impact of such a broad and far-reaching measure on Mauritius’ commitment to democratic principles and the domestic and international human rights instruments to which the country is a party. The most important of these is the Mauritian Constitution Article 3(b) which grants Mauritians the right to freedom of conscience, of expression, of assembly and association.  Article 12(1) also states that “Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference, and freedom from interference with his correspondence.” However, despite freedom of expression and the right to access information being entrenched in the Mauritian Constitution, these rights were imperilled by the government’s disruption of social media services on 1 November 2024.

The Net Rights Coalition also reminds the Mauritian government of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), which guarantees the protection of these fundamental human rights. We also remind the government of Mauritius of Principle 38 (2) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, which highlights that States shall not engage in or condone any disruption of access to the internet and other digital technologies for segments of the public or an entire population. Mauritius’ non-compliance with the declaration is worrying and adds the Republic to the alarming number of governments in the Global South that initiate internet shutdowns during elections or periods of civil unrest, to silence the masses. Mauritius joins Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Kenya which face a decline in democracy after shutting down the internet this year. 

We want to remind the Mauritian government of the court rulings that confirm the internet as an enabler of human rights and of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC)’s General Comment No. 34 paragraph 43 on Article 19 ICCPR, which states that no internet restrictions are permissible unless provided by law. Globally, internet shutdowns have a record of disrupting the free flow of information and allowing repression to occur without scrutiny and we remind the government of Mauritius to stand guided by the court decisions that have set precedence on this matter.  In June 2020, the ECOWAS Court ruled on a case involving the Togolese government, which had implemented internet shutdowns during anti-government protests in 2017 and found that the internet shutdown violated the applicant’s right to freedom of expression. In a subsequent case, the ECOWAS Court condemned Guinea for shutting down the internet and blocking social media platforms during political protests in March and October 2020. 

This blatant violation of human rights is not justifiable or compatible with international human rights laws and standards. It is not compliant with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Resolution 580 on Internet Shutdowns and Elections in Africa which was adopted this year to guide African States to refrain from Internet shutdowns during elections. Furthermore, we advise the government of Mauritius not to order Internet Service Providers to shut down the internet as this goes against ISPs’ corporate responsibilities to respect human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These Guiding Principles are grounded in recognition of: 

(a) States’ existing obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms; 

(b) The role of business enterprises as specialized organs of society performing specialized functions, required to comply with all applicable laws and to respect human rights; 

(c) The need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached.

In this light, instructed internet shutdowns have the result of interfering with the Guiding Principles. Moreover, internet service providers also have a duty to disclose any government orders to shut down the Internet showing responsibility and commitment to human rights. 

As such, we call for the following:  

• The government of Mauritius through ICTA or any other agency to refrain from ordering any internet restrictions before, during and after the upcoming elections.
• An official commitment from ICTA that it will not order any other internet shutdown in the upcoming election on 10 November 2024 as a guarantee of non-recurrence. 
• The government of Mauritius to desist from ordering Internet Service Providers to shutdown the internet as this goes against ISPs corporate responsibilities to respect human rights.

We look forward to your action and response. 

Signatories:

Buytech Global Resources 

Bloggers of Zambia

Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria

Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO Ethiopia)

Digital Action

E-Governance and Internet Governance Foundation for Africa (EGIGFA)

Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria

Koneta Hub- South Sudan

Paradigm Initiative 

West African Digital Rights Defenders coalition

Afia-Amani Grands-Lacs

CC: Emtel 

Mauritius Telecom