Zimbabwe20. The Special Rapporteur has addressed Internet shutdowns across the globe; for example, he has condemned wholesale or partial shutdowns in Egypt,21 Lebanon,22 Cameroon,23 Malaysia,24 and, most recently, India.25 Despite repeated condemnation by the U.N. and civil society, many States continue to impose and even increase their use of shutdowns. The September 2017 Internet Disruptions in Togo 14. For background, the Special Rapporteur has been familiar with the September 2017 internet disruptions in Togo. According to information received, Togo shut down the Internet from the evening of 5 September until 10 September 2017 and again from 19 September to 21 September 2017.26 Togo has asserted that two laws were in place to justify these shutdowns: the Law on the Information Society and the Law of 2011.27 On 28 September 2017, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to Togo, expressing grave concern about the human rights implications of the State’s reported Internet shutdowns.28 Togo responded on 23 October 2017 without denying these facts or providing substantive justification.29 15. On 11 September 2019, the Special Rapporteur and three other U.N. Special Rapporteurs sent a communication to Togo, expressing concern that the Law of 2011 restricts freedom of expression, assembly, and association in violation of Togo’s international human rights obligations.30 20 See “Zimbabwe imposes internet shutdown amid crackdown on protests,” Al Jazeera (18 January 2019), https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/zimbabwe-imposes-total-internet-shutdown-crackdown190118171452163.html. 21 See U.N. Doc. AL LBN 3/2019 (10 May 2019), https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24560. 22 See id. 23 U.N. Doc. MYS 3/2015 (18 August 2015), https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=20955. 24 U.N. Doc. AL CMR 4/2019 (2 July 2019), https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24680. 25 “UN rights experts urge India to end communications shutdown in Kashmir,” (22 August 2019) https://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24909&LangID=E. 26 As the Applicants have pointed out, the parties agree on these basic facts and Togo does not deny responsibility for the shutdowns. See Response to Respondent’s Special Brief and Statement of Defence (filed 18 March 2019), para. 15; Statement of Defense: Republic of Togo (filed 19 February 2019) § I. 27 See Statement in Defence: Republic of Togo (filed 19 February 2019) § II.B. 28 U.N. Doc. UA TGO 1/2017 (28 September 2017), https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=23362. 29 003/MPT/GE/SKF/17 (10 January 2017), https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Expression/Telecommunications/Togo.pdf 30 U.N. Doc. OL TGO 1/2019 (11 September 2019), https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24836. 5