December 19, 2005
WSIS Civil Society Summit Statement - final version
"Much more could have been achieved"
Civil Society Statement on the
World Summit on the Information Society
18 December 2005
I. Introduction - Our Perspective After the WSIS Process
The WSIS was an opportunity for a wide range of actors to work together to develop principles and prioritise actions that would lead to democratic, inclusive, participatory and development-oriented information societies at the local, national and international levels; societies in which the ability to access, share and communicate information and knowledge is treated as a public good and takes place in ways that strengthen the rich cultural diversity of our world.
Civil Society entered the Tunis Phase of WSIS with these major goals:
* Agreement on financing mechanisms and models that will close the growing gaps in access to information and communication tools, capacities and infrastructure that exist between countries, and in many cases within countries and that will enable opportunities for effective ICT uses.
* Agreement on a substantively broad and procedurally inclusive
approach to Internet governance, the reform of existing governance mechanisms in accordance with the Geneva principles, and the creation of a new forum to promote multi-stakeholder dialogue, analysis, trend monitoring, and capacity building in the field of Internet governance.
* Ensuring that our human-centred vision of the 'Information
Society', framed by a global commitment to human rights, social justice and inclusive and sustainable development, is present throughout the implementation phase.
* Achieving a change of tide in perceptions and practices of
participatory decision-making. We saw the WSIS as a milestone from which the voluntary and transparent participation of Civil Society would become more comprehensive and integrated at local, national, regional and global levels of governance and decision making.
* Agreement on strong commitment to the centrality of human
rights, especially the right to access and impart information and to individual privacy.
Civil Society affirms that, facing very limited resources, it has
contributed positively to the WSIS process, a contribution that could
have been even greater had the opportunity been made available for an even more comprehensive participation on our part. Our contribution will continue beyond the Summit. It is a contribution that is made both through constructive engagement and through challenge and critique.
While we value the process and the outcomes, we are convinced much more could have been achieved. We have taken a month after the closure of the Tunis Summit to discuss the outcomes and the process of WSIS. We built on our Geneva 2003 Civil Society Summit Declaration "Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs", and we evaluated the experiences and lessons learned in the four years of WSIS I and WSIS II. This statement was developed in a global online consultation process. It is presented as Civil Society's official contribution to the Summit outcomes.
The issues of greatest concern to Civil Society are addressed in
sections II and III of this statement. For most of these items, minor
achievements in the outcomes from WSIS were offset by major shortcomings, with much remaining to be done. Some of our greatest concerns involve what we consider to be insufficient attention or inadequate recommendations concerning people-centred issues such as the degree of attention paid to human rights and freedom of expression, the financial mechanisms for the promotion of development that was the original impetus for the WSIS process, and support for capacity building. In section IV, we lay out the first building blocks of Civil Society's "Tunis Commitment". Civil Society has every intention to remain involved in the follow-up and implementation
processes after the Tunis summit. We trust governments realize that our participation is vital to achieve a more inclusive and just Information Society.
II. Issues Addressed During the Tunis Phase of WSIS
Social Justice, Financing and People-Centred Development
The broad mandate for WSIS was to address the long-standing issues in
economic and social development from the newly emerging perspectives of the opportunities and risks posed by the revolution in Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). The summit was expected to identify and articulate new development possibilities and paradigms being made possible in the Information Society, and to evolve public policy options for enabling and realising these opportunities. Overall, it is impossible not to conclude that WSIS has failed to live up to these expectations.
The Tunis phase in particular, which was presented as the "summit of
solutions", did not provide concrete achievements to meaningfully
address development priorities.
While the summit did discuss the importance of new financing mechanisms for ICT for Development (ICTD), it failed to recognize that ICTD presents a challenge beyond that of traditional development financing. Nor did the Tunis fully comprehend that new means and sources of financing and the exploration of new models and mechanisms are required.
Investments in ICTD - in infrastructure, capacity building, appropriate software and hardware and in developing applications and services - underpin all other processes of development innovation, learning and sharing, and should be seen in this light. Though development resources are admittedly scarce and have to be allocated with care and discretion, ICTD financing should not be viewed as directly in competition with the financing of other developmental sectors. Financing ICTD should be considered a priority at both national and international levels, with specific approaches to each country according to its level of development and with a long-term perspective adapted to a global vision of development and sharing within the global community.
Financing ICTD requires social and institutional innovation, with
adequate mechanisms for transparency, evaluation, and follow-up. Financial resources need to be mobilised at all levels - local, national and international, including through the realization of ODA commitments agreed to in the Monterrey Consensus and including assistance to programs and activities whose short-term sustainability cannot be immediately demonstrated because of the low level of resources available as their starting point.
Internet access, for everybody and everywhere, especially among
disadvantaged populations and in rural areas, must be considered as a
global public good. In many cases market approaches are unlikely to
address the connectivity needs of particularly disadvantaged regions and populations. In many such areas, initial priority may need to be given to the provision of more traditional ICTs - radio, TV, video and telephony- while the conditions are developed for ensuring the availability of complete Internet connectivity. Info-structure and development often require attention to the development of more traditional infrastructure as well such as roads and electricity.
While the summit in general has failed to agree on adequate funding for
ICTD, Civil Society was able to introduce significant sections in the
Tunis Commitment (paragraph 35) and in the Tunis Agenda (paragraph 21)
on
the importance of public policy in mobilizing resources for financing.
This can serve as a balance to the market-based orientation of much of
the
text on financing.
The potential of ICT as tools for development, and not merely tools for
communication, by now should have been realised by all states. National
ICT strategies should be closely related to national strategies for
development and poverty eradication. Aid strategies in developed
countries
should include clear guidelines for the incorporation of ICT into all
aspects of development. In this way ICTs should be integrated into
general
development assistance and in this way contribute to the mobilisation of
additional resources and an increase in the efficiency of development
assistance.
We welcome the launch of the Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) in March 2005
and take note of the support it got both from the United Nations and the
Tunis Summit. Nevertheless, taking into account that the DSF was
established on a voluntarily basis, we are concerned that there are no
clear commitments from governments and the private sector to provide the
needed material support to ensure the success of this fund. We invite
all
partners from the governmental and the private sector to commit
themselves
to the so-called "Geneva Principle" where each ICT contract concluded by
a
public administration with a private company includes a one percent
contribution to the DSF. We particularly encourage local and regional
administrations to adopt this principle and welcome the relevant
statement
made by the World Summit of Cities and Local Authorities in Bilbao,
November 2005, on the eve of WSIS II.
Human Rights
The Information Society must be based on human rights as laid out in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This includes civil and political
rights, as well as social, economic and cultural rights. Human rights
and
development are closely linked. There can be no development without
human
rights, no human rights without development.
This has been affirmed time and again, and was strongly stated in the
Vienna World Conference on Human Rights in 1993. It was also affirmed in
the WSIS 2003 Declaration of Principles. All legislation, policies, and
actions involved in developing the global Information Society must
respect, protect and promote human rights standards and the rule of law.
Despite the Geneva commitment to an Information Society respectful of
human rights, there is still a long way to go. A number of human rights
were barely addressed in the Geneva Declaration of Principles. This
includes the cross-cutting principles of non-discrimination, gender
equality, and workers' rights. The right to privacy, which is the basis
of
autonomous personal development and thus at the root of the exertion of
many other fundamental human rights, is only mentioned in the Geneva
Declaration as part of "a global culture of cyber-security". In the
Tunis
Commitment, it has disappeared, to make room for extensive underlining
of
security needs, as if privacy were a threat to security, whereas the
opposite is true: privacy is an essential requirement for security. The
summit has also ignored our demand that the principle of the privacy and
integrity of the vote be ensured if and when electronic voting
technologies are used.
Other rights were more explicitly addressed, but are de facto violated
on
a daily basis. This goes for freedom of expression, freedom of
information, freedom of association and assembly, the right to a fair
trial, the right to education, and the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and his or her
family.
Furthermore, as the second WSIS phase has amplified, a formal commitment
is one thing, implementation is something else. Side events open to the
general public were organised by civil society both at the Geneva and
Tunis Summit, consistent with a long tradition in the context of UN
summits. In Tunis, the initiative by parts of civil society to organize
a
"Citizens' Summit on the Information Society" was prevented from
happening. At the Geneva Summit, the "We Seize" event was closed down
and
then reopened. This is a clear reminder that though governments have
signed on to human rights commitments, fundamental human rights such as
freedom of expression and freedom of assembly can not be taken for
granted
in any part of the world.
The summit has failed to define mechanisms and actions that would
actively
promote and protect human rights in the Information Society. Post-WSIS
there is an urgent need to strengthen the means of human rights
enforcement, to ensure the embedding of human rights proofing in
national
legislation and practises, to strengthen education and awareness raising
in the area of rights-based development, to transform human rights
standards into ICT policy recommendations, and to mainstream ICT issues
into the global and regional human rights monitoring system - in
summary:
To move from declarations and commitments into action. Toward this end,
an
independent commission should be established to review national and
international ICT regulations and practices and their compliance with
international human rights standards. This commission should also
address
the potential applications of ICTs for the realization of human rights
in
the Information Society.
Internet Governance
Civil Society is pleased with the decision to create an Internet
Governance Forum (IGF), which it has advocated for since 2003. We also
are
pleased that the IGF will have sufficient scope to deal with the issues
we
believe must be addressed, most notably the conformity of existing
arrangements with the Geneva Principles, and other cross-cutting or
multidimensional issues that cannot be optimally dealt with within
current
arrangements. However, we reiterate our concerns that the Forum must not
be anchored in any existing specialized international organization,
meaning that its legal form, finances, and professional staff should be
independent. In addition, we reiterate our view that the forum should be
more than a place for dialogue. As was recommended by the WGIG Report,
it
should also provide expert analysis, trend monitoring, and capacity
building, including in close collaboration with external partners in the
research community.
We are concerned about the absence of details on how this forum will be
created and on how it will be funded. We insist that the modalities of
the
IGF be determined in full cooperation with Civil Society. We emphasize
that success in the forum, as in most areas of Internet governance, will
be impossible without the full participation of Civil Society. By full
participation we mean much more than playing a mere advisory role. Civil
Society must be able to participate fully and equally both in plenary
and
any working or drafting group discussions, and must have the same
opportunities as other stakeholders to influence agendas and outcomes.
The Tunis Agenda addressed the issue of political oversight of critical
Internet resources in its paragraphs 69 to 71. This, in itself, is an
achievement. It is also important that governments recognized the need
for
the development of a set of Internet-related public policy principles
that
would frame political oversight of Internet resources. These principles
must respect, protect and promote human rights as laid down in
international human rights treaties, ensure equitable access to
information and online opportunities for all, and promote development.
It is important that governments have established that developing these
principles should be a shared responsibility. However, it is very
unfortunate that the Tunis Agenda suggests that governments are only
willing to share this role and responsibility among themselves, in
cooperation with international organisations. Civil Society remains
strongly of the view that the formulation of appropriate and legitimate
public policies pertaining to Internet governance requires the full and
meaningful involvement of non-governmental stakeholders.
With regard to paragraph 40 of the Tunis Agenda, we are disappointed
that
there is no mention that efforts to combat cyber-crime need to be
exercised in the context of checks and balances provided by fundamental
human rights, particularly freedom of expression and privacy.
With regard to paragraph 63, we believe that a country code Top Level
Domain (ccTLD) is a public good both for people of the concerned country
or economy and for global citizens who have various linkages to
particular
countries. While we recognize the important role of governments in
protecting the ccTLDs that refer to their countries or economies, this
role must be executed in a manner that respects human rights as
expressed
in existing international treaties through a democratic, transparent and
inclusive process with full involvement of all stakeholders.
To ensure that development of the Internet and its governance takes
place
in the public interest, it is important for all stakeholders to better
understand how core Internet governance functions - as for example, DNS
management, IP address allocation, and others - are carried out. It is
equally important that these same actors understand the linkages between
broader Internet governance and Internet related matters such as
cyber-crime, Intellectual Property Rights, e-commerce, e-government,
human
rights and capacity building and economic development. The
responsibility
of creating such awareness should be shared by everyone, including those
at present involved in the governance and development of the Internet
and
emerging information and communication platforms. Equally it is
essential
that as this awareness develops in newer users of the Internet, older
users must be open to the new perspectives that will emerge.
Global governance
A world that is increasingly more connected faces a considerable and
growing number of common issues which need to be addressed by global
governance institutions and processes. While Civil Society recognises
that
there are flaws and inefficiencies in the United Nations system that
require urgent reform, we believe strongly that it remains most
legitimate
inter-governmental forum, where rich and poor countries have the same
rights to speak, participate, and make decisions together.
We are concerned that during the WSIS it emerged that some governments,
especially from developed countries, lack faith in, and appear to be
unwilling to invest authority and resources in the present multilateral
system, along with concerted efforts to further improve it. We also
regret
that debates on creating private-public partnerships and new
para-institutions within the United Nations have over-shadowed the
overall
discussion on bridging the digital divide, which in turn has to be
linked
to a deep reform of the UN and the global economic system.
In our understanding, summits take place precisely to develop the
principles that will underpin global public policy and governance
structures; to address critical issues, and to decide on appropriate
responses to these issues. Shrinking global public policy spaces raise
serious questions concerning the kind of global governance toward which
we
are heading, and what this might mean for people who are socially,
economically and politically marginalised: precisely those people who
most
rely on public policy to protect their interests.
Participation
In the course of four years, as a result of constant pressure from Civil
Society, improvements in Civil Society participation in these processes
have been achieved, including speaking rights in official plenaries and
sub-committees, and ultimately rights to observe in drafting groups. The
UN Working Group on Internet Governance created an innovative format
where
governmental and Civil Society actors worked on an equal footing and
Civil
Society actually carried a large part of the drafting load.
Due to the pressure of time and the need of governments to interact with
Civil Society actors in the Internet Governance field, the resumed
session
of PrepCom3 was in fact the most open of all. We would like to underline
that this openness, against all odds, contributed to reaching consensus.
WSIS has demonstrated beyond any doubt the benefits of interaction
between
all stakeholders. The innovative rules and practices of participation
established in this process will be fully documented to provide a
reference point and a benchmark for participants in UN organizations and
processes in the future.
Civil Society thanks those governments and international bodies that
greatly supported our participation in the WSIS process. We hope and
expect that these achievements are taken further and strengthened,
especially in more politically contested spaces of global policymaking
such as those concerning intellectual property rights, trade,
environment,
and peace and disarmament.
We note that some governments from developing countries were not
actively
supportive of greater observer participation believing that that it can
lead to undue dominance of debate and opinions by international and
developed countries' Civil Society organisations and the private sector.
We believe that to change this perception, efforts should be engaged in
to
strengthen the presence, independence and participation of Civil Society
constituencies in and from their own countries.
As for the period beyond the summit, the Tunis documents clearly
establish
that the soon-to-be created Internet Governance Forum, and the future
mechanisms for implementation and follow-up (including the revision of
the
mandate of the ECOSOC Commission on Science and Technology for
Development) must take into account the multi-stakeholder approach.
We want to express concern at the vagueness of text referring to the
role
of Civil Society. In almost every paragraph talking about
multi-stakeholder participation, the phrase "in their respective roles
and
responsibilities" is used to limit the degree of multi-stakeholder
participation. This limitation is due to the refusal of governments to
recognize the full range of the roles and responsibilities of Civil
Society. Instead of the reduced capabilities assigned in paragraph 35C
of
the Tunis Agenda that attempt to restrict Civil Society to a community
role, governments should have at minima referred to the list of Civil
Society roles and responsibilities listed in the WGIG report. These are:
* Awareness raising and capacity building (knowledge, training,
skills
sharing);
* Promote various public interest objectives;
* Facilitate network building;
* Mobilize citizens in democratic processes;
* Bring perspectives of marginalized groups including for example
excluded
communities and grassroots activists;
* Engage in policy processes;
* Bring expertise, skills, experience and knowledge in a range of
ICT
policy areas contributing to policy processes and policies that are more
bottom-up, people-centred and inclusive;
* Research and development of technologies and standards;
* Development and dissemination of best practices;
* Helping to ensure that political and market forces are
accountable to
the needs of all members of society;
* Encourage social responsibility and good governance practice;
* Advocate for development of social projects and activities that
are
critical but may not be 'fashionable' or profitable;
* Contribute to shaping visions of human-centred information
societies
based on human rights, sustainable development, social justice and
empowerment.
Civil Society has reason for concern that the limited concessions
obtained
in the last few days before the summit, from countries that previously
refused the emergence of a truly multi-stakeholder format, will be at
risk
in the coming months. Civil Society actors therefore intend to remain
actively mobilized. They need to proactively ensure that not only the
needed future structures be established in a truly multi-stakeholder
format, but also that the discussions preparing their mandates are
conducted in an open, transparent and inclusive manner, allowing
participation of all stakeholders on an equal footing. Civil Society
hopes
to be given the means to ensure all its representatives from different
regions, languages and cultures, from developed and developing
countries,
can fully participate.
III. Issues Addressed in the Geneva and Tunis Phases
Gender Equality
Equal and active participation of women is essential, especially in
decision-making. This includes all forums that will be established in
relation to WSIS and the issues it has taken up. With that, there is a
need for capacity building that is focussed on women's engagement with
the
shaping of an Information Society at all levels, including policy making
on infrastructure development, financing, and technology choice.
There is a need for real effort and commitment to transforming the
masculinist culture embedded within existing structures and discourses
of
the Information Society which serves to reinforce gender disparity and
inequality. Without full, material and engaged commitment to the
principle
of gender equality, women's empowerment and non-discrimination, the
vision
of a just and equitable Information Society cannot be achieved.
Considering the affirmation of unequivocal support for gender equality
and
women's empowerment expressed in the Geneva Declaration of Principles
and
paying careful attention to Paragraph 23 of the Tunis Commitment, all
government signatories must ensure that national policies, programmes
and
strategies developed and implemented to build a people-centred,
inclusive
and development-oriented Information Society demonstrate significant
commitment to the principles of gender equality and women's empowerment.
We emphasise that financial structures and mechanisms need to be geared
towards addressing the gender divide, including the provision of
adequate
budgetary allocations. Comprehensive gender-disaggregated data and
indicators have to be developed at national levels to enable and monitor
this process. We urge all governments to take positive action to ensure
that institutions and practices, including those of the private sector,
do
not result in discrimination against women. Governments that are parties
to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) are in fact bound to this course of action.
Culture, Knowledge, and the Public Domain
Each generation of humankind is depending upon its predecessors to leave
them with a liveable, sustainable and stable environment. The
environment
we were discussing throughout the WSIS is the public domain of global
knowledge. Like our planet with its natural resources, that domain is
the
heritage of all humankind and the reservoir from which new knowledge is
created. Limited monopolies, such as copyrights and patents were
originally conceived as tools to serve that public domain of global
knowledge to the benefit of humankind. Whenever society grants
monopolies,
a delicate balance must be struck: Careless monopolization will make our
heritage unavailable to most people, to the detriment of all.
It has become quite clear that this balance has been upset by the
interests of the rights-holding industry as well as the digitalization
of
knowledge. Humankind now has the power to instantaneously share
knowledge
in real-time, without loss, and at almost no cost. Civil Society has
worked hard to defend that ability for all of humankind.
Free Software is an integral part of this ability: Software is the
cultural technique and most important regulator of the digital age.
Access
to it determines who may participate in a digital world. While in the
Geneva phase, WSIS has recognised the importance of Free Software, it
has
not acted upon that declaration and this recognition faded in the Tunis
phase. In the Tunis Commitment, Free Software is presented as a software
model next to proprietary software, but paragraph 29 reiterates "the
importance of proprietary software in the markets of the countries."
This
ignores that a proprietary software market is always striving towards
dependency and monopolization, both of which are detrimental to economy
and development as a whole. Proprietary software is under exclusive
control of and to the benefit of its proprietor. Furthermore:
Proprietary
software is often written in modern sweat-shops for the benefit of
developed economies, which are subsidized at the expense of developing
and
least-developed countries in this way.
While WSIS has somewhat recognised the importance of free and open
source
software, it has not asserted the significance of this choice for
development. It is silent on other issues like open content (which goes
beyond open access in the area of academic publications), new open
telecom
paradigms and community-owned infrastructure as important development
enablers.
The WSIS process has failed to introduce cultural and linguistic
diversity
as a cross-cutting issue in the Information Society. The Information
Society and its core elements - knowledge, information, communication
and
the information and communication technologies (ICT) together with
related
rules and standards - are cultural concepts and expressions.
Accordingly,
culturally defined approaches, protocols, proceedings and obligations
have
to be respected and culturally appropriate applications developed and
promoted. In order to foster and promote cultural diversity it must be
ensured that no one has to be a mere recipient of Western knowledge and
treatment. Therefore development of the cultural elements of the
Information Society must involve strong participation by all cultural
communities. The WSIS has failed to recognize the need for developing
knowledge resources to shift the current lack of diversity, to move from
the dominant paradigm of over-developed nations and cultures to the need
for being open to learning and seeing differently.
Indigenous Peoples, further to self-determination and pursuant to their
traditional and customary laws, protocols, rules and regulations, oral
and
written, provide for the access, use, application and dissemination of
traditional and cultural knowledge, oral histories, folklore and related
customs and practices. WSIS has failed to protect these from
exploitation,
misuse and appropriation by third parties. As a result, the traditional
knowledge, oral histories, folklore and related customs, practices and
representations have been and continue to be exploited by both informal
and formal (being copyright, trademark and patent) means, with no
benefits
to the rightful Indigenous holders of that knowledge.
Education, Research, and Practice
If we want future generations to understand the real basis of our
digital
age, freedom has to be preserved for the knowledge of humankind: Free
Software, open courseware and free educational as well as scientific
resources empower people to take their life into their own hands. If
not,
they will become only users and consumers of information technologies,
instead of active participants and well informed citizens in the
Information Society. Each generation has a choice to make: Schooling of
the mind and creativity, or product schooling? Most unfortunately, the
WSIS has shown a significant tendency towards the latter.
We are happy that universities, museums, archives, libraries have been
recognized by WSIS as playing an important role as public institutions
and
with the community of researchers and academics. Unfortunately,
telecenters are missing in the WSIS documents. Community informatics,
social informatics, telecenters and human resources such as computer
professionals, and the training of these, have to be promoted, so that
ICT
serves training and not training serves ICT. Thus special attention must
be paid to supporting sustainable capacity building with a specific
focus
on research and skills development. In order to tackle development
contexts training should have a sociological focus too and not be
entirely
technologically framed.
Problems of access, regulation, diversity and efficiency require
attention
to power relations both in the field of ICT policy-making and in the
everyday uses of ICT. Academic research should play a pivotal role in
evaluating whether ICT meets and serves the individuals' and the
public's
multiple needs and interests - as workers, women, migrants, racial,
ethnic
and sexual minorities, among others - across very uneven information
societies throughout the world. Furthermore, because power relations and
social orientations are often embedded in the very designs of ICT,
researchers should be sensitive to the diverse and multiple needs of the
public in the technological design of ICT. Similarly, educators at all
levels should be empowered to develop curricula that provide or
contribute
to training for people not only as workers and consumers using ICT, but
also in the basic science and engineering of ICT, in the participatory
design of ICT by communities with computing professionals, the critical
assessment of ICT, the institutional and social contexts of their
development and implementation, as well as their creative uses for
active
citizenship. Young people - given their large numbers, particularly in
developing countries, and enthusiasm and expertise in the use of ICTs -
remain an untapped resource as initiators of peer-to-peer learning
projects at the community and school levels. These issues have largely
been ignored by WSIS.
The actors that need to be involved in the process of making this vision
a
reality are the professionals and researchers, the students and their
families, the support services and human resources of the resources
centres, politicians at all levels, social organizations and NGOs, but
also the private sector. However, in the teaching profession, it is
necessary to recognize and accept the need for learning and evolution
with
regards to ICT.
We emphasize the special role that the computing, information science,
and
engineering professions have in helping to shape the Information Society
to meet human needs. Their education must encourage
socially-responsible
practices in the design, implementation, and operation of ICT. The
larger
Information Society has an equally important and corresponding role to
play by participating in the design of ICT. We, therefore, encourage
increased cooperation between the computing, information science, and
engineering professions and end-users of ICTs, particularly communities.
We furthermore have repeatedly underlined the unique role of ICT in
socio-economic development and in promoting the fulfilment of
internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in
the
Millennium Declaration. This is not least true in the reference to
access
to information and universal primary education. To secure the fulfilment
of these goals, it is of key importance that the issue of ICT as tools
for
the improvement of education is also incorporated in the broader
development strategies at both national and international levels.
Media
We are pleased that the principle of freedom of expression has been
reaffirmed in the WSIS II texts and that they echo much of the language
of
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While we note
that the Tunis Commitment recognises the place of the media in a new
Information Society, this should never have been in question.
In the future, representatives of the media should be assured a place in
all public forums considering development of the Internet and all other
relevant aspects of the Information Society. As key actors in the
Information Society, the media must have a place at the table, and this
must be fully recognized both by governments and by Civil Society
itself.
While recognizing media and freedom of expression, the WSIS documents
are
weak on offering support for developing diversity in the media sector
and
for avoiding a growing concentration and uniformity of content. They
specifically neglect a range of projects and initiatives which are of
particular value for Civil Society and which need a favourable
environment: Community media, telecenters, grassroots and Civil
Society-based media. These media empower people for independent and
creative participation in knowledge-building and information-sharing.
They
represent the prime means for large parts of the world population to
participate in the Information Society and should be an integral part of
the public policy implementation of the goals of the Geneva Declaration,
which refers to the promotion of the diversity of media and media
ownership.
The WSIS documents also mostly focus on market-based solutions and
commercial use. Yet the Internet, satellite, cable and broadcast systems
all utilize public resources, such as airwaves and orbital paths. These
should be managed in the public interest as publicly owned assets
through
transparent and accountable regulatory frameworks to enable the
equitable
allocation of resources and infrastructure among a plurality of media
including community media. We reaffirm our commitment that commercial
use
of these resources begins with a public interest obligation.
Health Information
Access to health information and knowledge is essential to collective
and
individual human development and has been identified as a critical
factor
in the public health care crises around the world. The WSIS process has
neglected to recognize that health is a cross-cutting issue and that
health systems must include a holistic approach which is integral to the
promotion of health and the prevention and treatment of illness for all
people and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
It is important to recognize that health expertise and scientific
knowledge is essential to aid disease stricken, as well as traumatized
populations affected by war, terrorism, disaster and other events, and
further that the implementation of ICT systems for physical and mental
health information and services must be a two-way path recognizing
cultural and community norms and values.
It is essential that health care specialists, practitioners, and
consumers
participate in the development of public policy addressing privacy and
related issues regarding health information affecting information and
delivery systems.
Children and Young People in the Information Society
In WSIS Phase I, the Geneva Declaration of Principles explicitly
acknowledged young people, in paragraph 11, as the "future workforce and
leading creators and earliest adopters of ICTs" and that to fully
realize
this end, youth must be "empowered as learners, developers,
contributors,
entrepreneurs and decision-makers." The Tunis Commitment in paragraph 25
reaffirmed the strategic role of youth as stakeholders and partners in
creating an inclusive Information Society. This recognition is further
supported by paragraph 90 of the Tunis Agenda. However we are concerned
as
to how key decision-makers from Governments, the business community and
Civil Society will realize this commitment when the existing structures
are not open for genuine, full and effective participation by youth.
None
of the Tunis documents, specifically in the post-WSIS implementation and
follow-up parts, clearly defines how youth shall be "actively engaged in
innovative ICT-based development programmes and ... in e-strategy
processes," as paragraph 25 states. In this regard, we call upon
governments, both national and local, and the proponents of the Digital
Solidarity Fund, to engage young people as digital opportunities are
created and national e-strategies developed. Youth must be tapped as
community leaders and volunteers for ICT for Development projects and be
consulted in global and national ICT policy-making processes and
formulation.
While we support the great opportunities that ICTs offer children and
young people, articles 90q of the Tunis Agenda and article 24 of the
Tunis
Commitment outline the potential dangers that children and young people
face in relation to ICTs. For this reason, article 92 of the Tunis
Agenda
encourages all governments to support an easy to remember, free of
charge,
national number for all children in need of care and protection.
However,
we had hoped that WSIS would have encouraged every stakeholder to
support
a more comprehensive proposal that ensured that every child, especially
those that are marginalized and disadvantaged, has free access to ICTs,
including but not limited to, toll free landlines, mobile telephones and
Internet connection. In this regard, strategies should be developed that
allow children and young people to reap the benefits that ICTs offer by
making ICT an integral part of the formal and informal education
sectors.
There should also be strategies that protect children and young people
from the potential risks posed by new technologies, including access to
inappropriate content, unwanted contact and commercial pressures,
particularly with regards to pornography, pedophilia and sexual
trafficking, while fully respecting human rights standards on freedom of
expression. We are committed to work in the WSIS follow-up process
towards
a world where telecommunication allows children and young people to be
heard one-by-one and, through their voices, to fulfil their rights and
true potential to shape the world.
Ethical Dimensions
The Tunis texts would have clearly been stronger if the aspects of the
Information Society being people-centred, human rights-based and
sustainable development-oriented were seen as the ethical point of
departure in human relationships and community building and equally in
bodies of international agreements. These ethical dimensions are
foundational to a just, equitable and sustainable information and
knowledge society.
Geneva identified the ethical values of respect for peace and the
fundamental values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, shared
responsibility, and respect for nature as enunciated in the Millennium
Declaration. Tunis should have improved on these by including the
principles of trust, stewardship and shared responsibility together with
digital solidarity. The technologies we develop, and the solidarities we
forge, must build relationships and strengthen social cohesion
Human rights conventions, for example, are critically important in
evaluating ICTs so that they are tools to enable just and peaceable
conditions for humanity. But Tunis failed to point in this direction. It
did not, for example, restate what Geneva considered as acts inimical to
the Information Society such as racism, intolerance, hatred, violence
and
others.
The strong emphasis on technology in the Tunis texts must not eclipse
the
human being as the subject of communication and development. Our
humanity
rests in our capacity to communicate with each other and to create
community. It is in the respectful dialogue and sharing of values among
peoples, in the plurality of their cultures and civilizations, that
meaningful and accountable communication thrives. The Tunis texts did
not
give clear indications on how this can happen.
In an age of economic globalization and commodification of knowledge,
the
ethics and values of justice, equity, participation and sustainability
are
imperative. Beyond Tunis, all stakeholders must be encouraged to weave
ethics and values language into the working on semantic web knowledge
structures. Communication rights and justice are about making human
communities as technology's home and human relationships as technology's
heart.
IV. Where to Go From Here - Our Tunis Commitment
Civil Society is committed to continuing its involvement in the future
mechanisms for policy debate, implementation and follow-up on
Information
Society issues. To do this, Civil Society will build on the processes
and
structures that were developed during the WSIS process.
Element One: Evolution of Our Internal Organization
Civil Society will work on the continued evolution of its current
structures. This will include the use of existing thematic caucuses and
working groups, the possible creation of new caucuses, and the use of
the
Civil Society Plenary, the Civil Society Bureau, and the Civil Society
Content and Themes Group. We will organise, at a date to be determined,
to
launch the process of creating a Civil Society charter.
Element Two: Involvement in the Internet Governance Forum
The Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus will actively participate
in
and support the work of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and is
exploring ways to enhance its working methods and its engagement with
relevant stakeholders, especially the research community, to these ends.
In addition, the caucus is considering the creation of a new Working
Group
that will make recommendations on the IGF, and other Civil Society
caucuses, and individual Civil Society Working Groups will develop ideas
for and participate in the IGF as well.
Element Three: Involvement in Follow-Up and Implementation
In order to ensure that future implementation and follow-up mechanisms
respect the spirit and letter of the Tunis documents and that
governments
uphold the commitments they have made during this second phase of the
WSIS, Civil Society mechanisms will be used and created to ensure:
* the proactive monitoring of and participation in the
implementation of
the Geneva Plan of Action and the Tunis Agenda at the national level;
* a structured interaction with all UN agencies and international
organisations and regional as well as national mechanisms for follow-up,
to ensure that they integrate the WSIS objectives in their own work
plans,
and that they put in place effective mechanisms for multi-stakeholder
interaction, as mentioned in paragraphs 100 and 101 of the Tunis Agenda;
* that the Information Society as a complex social political
phenomenon is
not reduced to a technology-centred perspective. The ECOSOC Commission
on
Science and Technology for Development will have to change significantly
its mandate and composition to adequately address the need for being an
effective follow-up mechanism for WSIS while re-affirming its original
mission of developing science and technology, in addition to ICT, for
the
development objectives of poor countries;
* not only that the reformed Commission on Science and Technology
for
Development becomes a truly multi-stakeholder commission for the
Information Society, but also, that the process to revise it's mandate,
composition and agenda is done in a fully open and inclusive manner.
Element Four: Lessons Learned for the UN System in General
We see the WSIS process as an experience to be learned from for the
overall UN system and related processes. We will therefore work with the
United Nations and all stakeholders on:
* developing clearer and less bureaucratic rules of recognition
for
accrediting Civil Society organisations in the UN system, for instance
in
obtaining ECOSOC status and summit accreditation, and to ensure that
national governmental recognition of Civil Society entities is not the
basis for official recognition in the UN system; and
* ensuring that all future summit processes be multi-stakeholder
in their
approach, allowing for appropriate flexibility. This would be achieved
either by recognition of precedents set in summit processes, or by
formulating a rules of procedure manual to guide future summit processes
and day-to-day Civil Society interaction with the international
community.
Element five: Outreach to Other Constituencies
The civil society actors that actively participated in the WSIS process
are conscious that the Information Society, as its name suggests, is a
society-wide phenomenon, and that advocacy on Information Society issues
need to include every responsible interest and group. We therefore
commit
ourselves in the post-WSIS period to work to broaden our reach to
include
different Civil Society constituencies that for various reasons have not
been active in the WSIS process; may have shown scepticism over the role
of ICT in their core areas of activity; or for other reasons have
remained
disengaged from the Information Society discourse.
Posted by shade at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2005
Reforming Internet Governance
Reforming Internet Governance: Perspectives from the Working Group on Internet Governance.
Posted by shade at 07:38 PM | Comments (0)
Visions in Process II
Heinrich Böll Foundation (ed.):
Visions in Process II
World Summit on the Information Society Geneva 2003 – Tunis 2005
1st Edition, Berlin 2005.
"This book brings together assessments by women from around the world who, for the most part, have been involved in various civil society constituencies created during the WSIS process. The authors have been engaged in social movements and initiatives dedicated to promoting public awareness and activities in fields such as human rights, women’s rights, and various development initiatives concerning media and ICTs. Their contributions reflect on controversies within the discourses of governments and civil society on issues that lie at the core of the summit’s declared vision of a people-centred, development-oriented, and inclusive Information Society: human rights, development and participation."
Posted by shade at 07:35 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2005
APC News on WSIS
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --
SPECIAL EDITION II
WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --
*APCNews, the monthly newsletter of the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)*
- November 2005 No. 59 -
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
-- ON THE ISSUES: FINANCING OF ICT4D --
-- ON THE ISSUES: HUMAN RIGHTS IN TUNISIA --
-- ON THE ISSUES: INTERNET GOVERNANCE --
-- SNAPSHOTS FROM WSIS --
-- APC WSIS BLOGS: WHAT THE OTHERS SAY --
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
You have been keeping informed about the WSIS with APC. APC covered
events on the ground from Tunis and logged it all on our blogs in
English, French and Spanish.
English blog: http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog
Spanish blog: http://www.apc.org/espanol/wsis/blog
French blog: http://www.apc.org/francais/wsis/blog
Many, many thanks to all the contributors, remote editors, and
translators who made the coverage possible.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
THE CLOSE OF WSIS: The civil society verdict
By APCNews ? 18/11/2005 20:00 ?
On the afternoon of Friday, November 18, 2005, one of three stakeholders taking part in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) drew a line in the sand. Civil society (CS) representatives from all continents lined up to deliver a stark closing statement.
There were civil society thumbs up for:
- the new multistakeholder Internet Governance Forum
- the awareness built that people from all walks of life should be
involved in ICT policy development, not just technology specialists and government officials
- the spotlight shone on state repression and surveillance in the host
nation, Tunisia
But thumbs down for:
- the UN for choosing a flagrant violator of human rights as the host of a UN summit
- wealthier governments which insist that financing for ICT for
development should be voluntary only
- the vague language on internet oversight
- the fact that WSIS follow-up will probably be assigned to
technology-focused specialist committee
see here
-- ON THE ISSUES: FINANCING OF ICT4D --
[Guest blog] > Africa in internet governance and financing the information society By Eric M.K Osiakwan ? 17/11/2005 19:55 ? [Internet governance, WSIS implementation]
Africa stands at a very unusual threshold of the Information Society
because it is the least developed continent and seeking to use
Information Communication Technology (ICTs) to advance its developmental cause but at the same time caught in the web of ideas taking position on not only Internet Governance but financing of the Information Society.
[Guest blog] Open access and financing principles for the information
society By Eric M.K Osiakwan ? 17/11/2005 19:45 ? [Internet governance]
The second priority from the Geneva phases of the World Summit on
Information Society (WSIS) was the financing of the Information Society but the Internet Governance debate has overshadowed this. Given that I have made a submission on the later I feel obliged to contribute my 50 cents to the former - for me financing the information society should take more precedence over the Internet Governance debate.
Africa: divide within the divide
By Michel Lambert ? 18/11/2005 19:06 ? [ICT for development]
Only 11% of African people have a fixed line telephone, 12% of African
people questioned have a mobile telephone, less than 3% have an email
address... Although one of the WSIS's main objectives is to decrease the digital divide, 80% of African people today do not have access to any form of communication service. A shocking statistic is that 15% of
African people who were questioned would have preferred to buy a
cellular telephone than a refrigerator! In Francophone African
countries, the statistics, with the exception of Senegal, are worse.
Funding ICTs: where will the money come from?
By Brenda Zulu for GenderIT.org ? 18/11/2005 19:36 ?
Looking back at the roots of the Digital Solidarity Fund, the responses it evoked, and the linked story of missed opportunities and promises that can still be worked out.
World Bank, Alcatel point of view....
By FN ? 17/11/2005 05:35 ?
infoDev and Alcatel have issued a joint report on Promoting Private
Sector Investment and Innovation: Addressing the Communication Needs of the Poor which is also available here. These are billion-dollar players; they can change the face of telecom and computing, if they so choose. So, what are we all waiting for?
-- ON THE ISSUES: HUMAN RIGHTS IN TUNISIA --
Human rights takes centre stage at the Tunis Summit
By APCNews ? 17/11/2005 09:35 ? [Human rights]
Wednesday afternoon, November 17, the Tunisian Human Rights League
(LTDH) invited the press and NGOs for what was to become a marathon of
explicit talks challenging the Tunisian government on its human rights
record. While heads of states' speeches present at the World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS) were pouring in on all TV channels,
revolution was just around the corner in another district of Tunis.
US slams Tunisia on human rights
By Pavelan ? 18/11/2005 08:46 ? [Access, Censorship, Civil society
participation, Communication rights, Human rights, WSIS implementation]
The US delegation to WSIS expressed disappointment with Tunisia's
failure to secure rights of expression and assembly.
Updated list of censored sites
By Neila Charchour Hachicha ? 17/11/2005 20:12 ? [Censorship]
This is an update on an earlier story about Tunisian websites that are
currently blocked in Tunis. Please see the list below of additional
sites. Once again it is not a complete list but it is a very significant
one.
-- ON THE ISSUES: INTERNET GOVERNANCE --
The Tunis Commitment almost signed [By APCNews]
APCNews writing from TUNIS, Tunisia, 16/11/2005 09:15 -- By 10 pm
Tuesday, the chairperson, ambassador Khan, had concluded negotiations on chapter 3 on internet governance and received a standing ovation from all attending delegates. The outcome of the internet governance process is to have a forum that will take up broad public policy issues on the one hand, and a process of cooperation on the narrow principles that relate to domain name, numbers and the root zone file on the other.
"This outcome has to be evaluated in terms of the balance of power in
the community of nations," said Willie Currie, APC's Communications and Information Policy Programme Manager. "The U.S. clearly saw that its strategic interest with regard to the war on terror and its dominant role in the global economy meant that it had to retain its oversight over the primary form of communications in the world, which today is the internet," Currie added.
WSIS deal... and internet rights
APCNews ? 18/11/2005 08:17 ? [Internet governance, Communication rights]
What actually brought about the WSIS deal on internet governance, in the way it evolved? An explanation from Canada... And, from Italy, a demand from the Greens for a Charter of Web Rights.
Overview of gender-related language in WSIS documents
By Jac sm Kee ? 18/11/2005 17:05 ? [Gender & ICTs]
The WSIS process is almost over, and I am wondering about what we have
achieved in terms of integrating gender as a relevant dimension into the building of an 'information society' after seven years. What do we have?
The same old strangers
By Dafne Plou, APC women's programme ? 17/11/2005 23:05 ? [Communication
rights, Human rights]
Why is that plain-clothes cops look the same the whole world round? Why do they cut their hair and comb it the same way? Why do they use the same black glasses and same gold chains? Why do they like those tropical shirts that in the long run become a uniform? In Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Tegucigalpa or Tunisia, you can spot them a mile away.
$100 laptop: hope or hype?
By FN ? 18/11/2005 08:49 ? [Access, Training & education, ICT for
development]
Prototypes for a $100 laptop for Third World schools are out... what
does it look like? What can it do? Is there a catch? And, hang on, there is still discussion on whether the internet is a friend or foe of education....
-- SNAPSHOTS FROM WSIS --
Continuing our short on-the-sport interviews with a variety of
participants in Tunisia.
Felix (Bolivia)
"It is nice to see so many technologies here, but I don't think we will ever have this in Bolivia, much less in our communities (pause) This summit is incommunicado, in Bolivia people go to telecentres and connect to the internet there. Here everyone has a laptop and connects that way. Those of us that don't have one cannot connect and send information to our radio stations -- which is my case. On the other hand, here everyone speaks English, so language is another limitation."
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2508911
Snapshot: Jose Jara (Peru)
"Internet for personal development, that should be the key axis of the
debate. In Peru, there is still many people who have no access... having a laptop like this one is a luxury for most people there..." This Peruvian TV journalist finds the debate to be too general, and without practical outcomes. There should be less discourse and more action, he feels. "Rich countries should state clearly how they will facilitate the access of the poor to the internet."
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2487715
Snapshot: Taurai Maduna (Zimbabwe)
"I am not that interested in what governments came to say. They come
with messages that are not negotiable. On the contrary, it is great to
listen to people from the NGOs and exchange ideas with them."
http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml?x=2481459
Posted by shade at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2005
Statement from Sen. Mac Harb for Canada to WSIS
SECOND PHASE OF WSIS, 16-18 NOVEMBER, TUNIS
STATEMENT FROM CANADA
Statement delivered by The Honourable Mac Harb, Senator
before the World Summit on the Information Society
Tunis, November 17, 2005
Mr. President, it is a privilege to address this distinguished audience today on behalf of the government and people of Canada.
All of us have come to Tunis to reflect on the positive role this Summit can play by developing a vision of the future for our societies ñ a vision of an information and knowledge-based society.
The mere existence of advanced communication systems does not, by itself, ensure progress. Our vision must have people at its centre. Unless we set out, with purpose, to harness the benefits of the information age for the betterment of our people, we cannot expect to reach our development goals. As the Canadian scholar, Marshall McLuhan, once said, "There are no passengers on spaceship Earth. We are all crew."
In a rapidly-changing technological field, we can rely on one thing to remain constant: human creativity and innovation. ICTs have developed as a direct result of our collective innovation. We humans are innately driven to express ourselves. That is why, Mr. President, the information society that we aim to build must be rooted in respect for the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media, and regardless of frontiers.
Restricting these freedoms is contrary to the obligations all countries represented here entered into the day they signed the UN Charter. Restricting the freedom of opinion and expression impoverishes a society. It deprives it of the vitality, creativity and diversity it needs to thrive. It should be clear, Mr. President that, here, I am not talking about the responsibility of states to fight against the use of ICTs to promote racial hatred, child pornography and trafficking in humans.
Throughout the Summit process we have stressed the importance of involving all stakeholders in an integrated process. Without participation from civil society, including the private sector, this Summit could not have achieved its goals. The same is true for the information society. We are pleased that the documents before us for adoption further enshrine cooperation between the UN system and civil society.
In Geneva, we agreed on an outline for the Information Society we envisage as set forth in the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action. In Tunis, we pledge our determination to see the commitments of the Summit implemented well beyond this Summit. We will do so working together with all the stakeholders within an integrated process. We have also ensured the continued stability and security of the Internet, while at the same time we have committed to evolving and improving how we, as governments, deal with Internet-related public policy issues. The way we will do that is through an expanded process involving international institutions, governments, and civil society including the private sector.
Our challenge as a world community is ìto harness the potential of knowledge and technologyî to achieve the Millennium Development goals. How do we put this potential to work to alleviate poverty? Building on our own national experience in developing an information society strategy and on the work of existing "ICT for development" initiatives, Canada has proposed a number of guiding principles accepted this Summit: an enabling environment; development of human capacity; mainstreaming ICTs for development; and access for all.
Canada is fortunate to have a diverse population. Fostering the creation and preservation of local content has built Canadian excellence in this field. Canadaís linguistic heritage includes English, French and Indigenous languages. We are proud of the three Canadian recipients of the Tunis World Summit Awards in the categories of e-government, e-inclusion and e-health.
Today, Canada is one of the most connected countries in the world. We are global leaders in connecting schools, communities and governments in every part of our vast land. We have pledged to ensure that high-speed or broadband services are available in every Canadian community, including Canadaís remote areas and northern regions.
This goal can only be reached through multi-stakeholder partnerships: government, the private sector and civil society ñ all working together. Such partnerships enhance grassroots involvement and help to empower communities. We are pleased that the WSIS has set an example of how such partnerships can work in the UN system.
Civil society provides real-world perspective on the possible uses and applications of ICTs. The views of Indigenous peoples, the disabled, youth and the academic and scientific communities, to name but a few, must be heard.
The Government of Canada has worked with non-profit organisations, such as the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, to ensure that civil society representatives from across Canada could provide feedback on our WSIS preparations.
Through out the Summit process, Canada has been happy to partner with the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples and aboriginal communities to bring their perspectives to the WSIS, and to lay the groundwork for developing an international indigenous portal.
Canada recognizes the need to engage young people as the future stakeholders in the information society. We have supported youth participation at the Geneva and Tunis summits through the WSIS youth caucus and, in this instance, through SchoolNet Africa. We applaud the dynamism of the youth groups and the Summit awareness campaigns which they mustered in close to 30 countries.
For a sense of our approach to the uses of technology for development, I encourage all delegates to visit Canadaís pavilion at the ICT 4 All Exhibition and to spend some time with Canadaís International Development Research Centre, along with the other departments and agencies represented there
The Canadian International Development Research Centre has done pioneering work with researchers from the South. A unique $21 million public/private partnership has been forged between IDRC, the Microsoft Corporation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to support the telecentre.org initiative for building capacity of local telecentre operators around the world.
In addition, the Canadian e-Policy Resource Centre, Canadaís contribution to the Global ePolicy Network (ePol-NET), serves as the focal point for consolidating Canadian expertise and resources to support the efforts of African countries to develop national e-strategies and policy. The Canada Fund for Africa is contributing $10 million over three years.
The global ìPartnership on Measuring ICT for Developmentî was established in June 2004. Since then it has produced methodologies and provide resources for ICT statistics relevant for development. Canada is a key contributor to the partnership. We warmly welcome the recent release of the publication, ìFrom the Digital Divide to Digital Opportunities: Measuring Infostates for Development.î
Over the last few days it has been exciting to discover many success stories. Stories of success in building a diversity of information societies, and stories of commitments made to help close the global digital divide. In spite of these achievements, our task has barely begun.
Achieving our vision of an information and knowledge-based society will require unprecedented levels of commitment, imagination and above all partnership. Let us all pledge to work together to achieve the noble goal of building an inclusive information society that supports freedom and opportunity for all.
Posted by shade at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda
Tunis Commitment, November 18, 2005.
1. We, the representatives of the peoples of the world, have gathered in Tunis from 16-18 November 2005 for this second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to reiterate our unequivocal support for the Geneva Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action adopted at the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in December 2003.
2. We reaffirm our desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, premised on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and multilateralism, and respecting fully and upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so that people everywhere can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge, to achieve their full potential and to attain the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.
3. We reaffirm the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, as enshrined in the Vienna Declaration. We also reaffirm that democracy, sustainable development, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as good governance at all levels are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. We further resolve to strengthen respect for the rule of law in international as in national affairs.
4. We reaffirm paragraphs 4, 5 and 55 of the Geneva Declaration of Principles. We recognise that freedom of expression and the free flow of information, ideas, and knowledge, are essential for the Information Society and beneficial to development.
5. The Tunis Summit represents a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can bring to humanity and the manner in which they can transform people’s activities, interaction and lives and thus, increase confidence in the future.
6. This Summit is an important stepping-stone in the world’s efforts to eradicate poverty and to attain the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals. By the Geneva decisions, we established a coherent long-term link between the WSIS process, and other relevant major United Nations conferences and summits. We call upon governments, private sector, civil society and international organisations to join together to implement the commitments set forth in the Geneva Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action. In this context, the outcomes of the recently concluded 2005 World Summit on the review of the implementation of the Millennium Declaration are of special relevance.
7. We reaffirm the commitments made in Geneva and build on them in Tunis by focusing on financial mechanisms for bridging the digital divide, on Internet governance and related issues, as well as on follow-up and implementation of the Geneva and Tunis decisions, as referenced in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.
8. While reaffirming the important roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders as outlined in paragraph 3 of the Geneva Plan of Action, we acknowledge the key role and responsibilities of governments in the WSIS process.
9. We reaffirm our resolution in the quest to ensure that everyone can benefit from the opportunities that ICTs can offer, by recalling that governments, as well as private sector, civil society and the United Nations and other international organisations, should work together to: improve access to information and communication infrastructure and technologies as well as to information and knowledge; build capacity; increase confidence and security in the use of ICTs; create an enabling environment at all levels; develop and widen ICT applications; foster and respect cultural diversity; recognise the role of the media; address the ethical dimensions of the Information Society; and encourage international and regional cooperation. We confirm that these are the key principles for building an inclusive Information Society, the elaboration of which is found in the Geneva Declaration of Principles.
10. We recognise that access to information and sharing and creation of knowledge contributes significantly to strengthening economic, social and cultural development, thus helping all countries to reach the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals. This process can be enhanced by removing barriers to universal, ubiquitous, equitable and affordable access to information. We underline the importance of removing barriers to bridging the digital divide, particularly those that hinder the full achievement of the economic, social and cultural development of countries and the welfare of their people, in particular, in developing countries.
11. Furthermore, ICTs are making it possible for a vastly larger population than at any time in the past to join in sharing and expanding the base of human knowledge, and contributing to its further growth in all spheres of human endeavour as well as its application to education, health and science. ICTs have enormous potential to expand access to quality education, to boost literacy and universal primary education, and to facilitate the learning process itself, thus laying the groundwork for the establishment of a fully-inclusive and development-oriented Information Society and knowledge economy which respects cultural and linguistic diversity.
12. We emphasise that the adoption of ICTs by enterprises plays a fundamental role in economic growth. The growth and productivity enhancing effects of well-implemented investments in ICTs can lead to increased trade and to more and better employment. For this reason, both enterprise development and labour market policies play a fundamental role in the adoption of ICTs. We invite governments and the private sector to enhance the capacity of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), since they furnish the greatest number of jobs in most economies. We shall work together, with all stakeholders, to put in place the necessary policy, legal and regulatory frameworks that foster entrepreneurship, particularly for SMMEs.
13. We also recognise that the ICT revolution can have a tremendous positive impact as an instrument of sustainable development. In addition, an appropriate enabling environment at national and international levels could prevent increasing social and economic divisions, and the widening of the gap between rich and poor countries, regions, and individuals—including between men and women.
14. We also recognise that in addition to building ICT infrastructure, there should be adequate emphasis on developing human capacity and creating ICT applications and digital content in local language, where appropriate, so as to ensure a comprehensive approach to building a global Information Society.
15. Recognising the principles of universal and non-discriminatory access to ICTs for all nations, the need to take into account the level of social and economic development of each country, and respecting the development-oriented aspects of the Information Society, we underscore that ICTs are effective tools to promote peace, security and stability, to enhance democracy, social cohesion, good governance and the rule of law, at national, regional and international levels. ICTs can be used to promote economic growth and enterprise development. Infrastructure development, human capacity building, information security and network security are critical to achieve these goals. We further recognise the need to effectively confront challenges and threats resulting from use of ICTs for purposes that are inconsistent with objectives of maintaining international stability and security and may adversely affect the integrity of the infrastructure within States, to the detriment of their security. It is necessary to prevent the abuse of information resources and technologies for criminal and terrorist purposes, while respecting human rights.
16. We further commit ourselves to evaluate and follow up progress in bridging the digital divide, taking into account different levels of development, so as to reach internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals, and to assess the effectiveness of investment and international cooperation efforts in building the Information Society.
17. We urge governments, using the potential of ICTs, to create public systems of information on laws and regulations, envisaging a wider development of public access points and supporting the broad availability of this information.
18. We shall strive unremittingly, therefore, to promote universal, ubiquitous, equitable and affordable access to ICTs, including universal design and assistive technologies, for all people, especially those with disabilities, everywhere, to ensure that the benefits are more evenly distributed between and within societies, and to bridge the digital divide in order to create digital opportunities for all and benefit from the potential offered by ICTs for development.
19. The international community should take necessary measures to ensure that all countries of the world have equitable and affordable access to ICTs, so that their benefits in the fields of socio-economic development and bridging the digital divide are truly inclusive.
20. To that end, we shall pay particular attention to the special needs of marginalised and vulnerable groups of society including migrants, internally displaced persons and refugees, unemployed and underprivileged people, minorities and nomadic people, older persons and persons with disabilities.
21. To that end, we shall pay special attention to the particular needs of people of developing countries, countries with economies in transition, Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, Landlocked Developing Countries, Highly Indebted Poor Countries, countries and territories under occupation, and countries recovering from conflict or natural disasters.
22. In the evolution of the Information Society, particular attention must be given to the special situation of indigenous peoples, as well as to the preservation of their heritage and their cultural legacy.
23. We recognise that a gender divide exists as part of the digital divide in society and we reaffirm our commitment to women’s empowerment and to a gender equality perspective, so that we can overcome this divide. We further acknowledge that the full participation of women in the Information Society is necessary to ensure the inclusiveness and respect for human rights within the Information Society. We encourage all stakeholders to support women’s participation in decision-making processes and to contribute to shaping all spheres of the Information Society at international, regional and national levels.
24. We recognise the role of ICTs in the protection of children and in enhancing the development of children. We will strengthen action to protect children from abuse and defend their rights in the context of ICTs. In that context, we emphasise that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration.
25. We reaffirm our commitment to empowering young people as key contributors to building an inclusive Information Society. We will actively engage youth in innovative ICT-based development programmes and widen opportunities for youth to be involved in e-strategy processes.
26. We recognise the importance of creative content and applications to overcome the digital divide and to contribute to the achievement of the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.
27. We recognise that equitable and sustainable access to information requires the implementation of strategies for the long-term preservation of the digital information that is being created.
28. We reaffirm our desire to build ICT networks and develop applications, in partnership with the private sector, based on open or interoperable standards that are affordable and accessible to all, available anywhere and anytime, to anyone and on any device, leading to a ubiquitous network.
29. Our conviction is that governments, the private sector, civil society, the scientific and academic community, and users can utilise various technologies and licensing models, including those developed under proprietary schemes and those developed under open-source and free modalities, in accordance with their interests and with the need to have reliable services and implement effective programmes for their people. Taking into account the importance of proprietary software in the markets of the countries, we reiterate the need to encourage and foster collaborative development, inter-operative platforms and free and open source software, in ways that reflect the possibilities of different software models, notably for education, science and digital inclusion programmes.
30. Recognising that disaster mitigation can significantly support efforts to bring about sustainable development and help in poverty reduction, we reaffirm our commitment to leveraging ICT capabilities and potential through fostering and strengthening cooperation at the national, regional, and international levels.
31. We commit ourselves to work together towards the implementation of the digital solidarity agenda, as agreed in paragraph 27 of the Geneva Plan of Action. The full and quick implementation of that agenda, observing good governance at all levels, requires in particular a timely, effective, comprehensive and durable solution to the debt problems of developing countries where appropriate, a universal, rule-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system, that can also stimulate development worldwide, benefiting countries at all stages of development, as well as, to seek and effectively implement concrete international approaches and mechanisms to increase international cooperation and assistance to bridge the digital divide.
32. We further commit ourselves to promote the inclusion of all peoples in the Information Society through the development and use of local and/or indigenous languages in ICTs. We will continue our efforts to protect and promote cultural diversity, as well as cultural identities, within the Information Society.
33. We acknowledge that, while technical cooperation can help, capacity building at all levels is needed to ensure that the required institutional and individual expertise is available.
34. We recognise the need for, and strive to mobilise resources, both human and financial, in accordance with chapter two of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, to enable us to increase the use of ICT for development and realise the short, medium and long-term plans dedicated to building the Information Society as follow-up and implementation of the outcomes of WSIS.
35. We recognise the central role of public policy in setting the framework in which resource mobilisation can take place.
36. We value the potential of ICTs to promote peace and to prevent conflict which, inter alia, negatively affects achieving development goals. ICTs can be used for identifying conflict situations through early warning systems preventing conflicts, promoting their peaceful resolution, supporting humanitarian action, including protection of civilians in armed conflicts, facilitating peacekeeping missions, and assisting post conflict peace-building and reconstruction.
37. We are convinced that our goals can be accomplished through the involvement, cooperation and partnership of governments and other stakeholders, i.e. the private sector, civil society and international organisations, and that international cooperation and solidarity at all levels are indispensable if the fruits of the Information Society are to benefit all.
38. Our efforts should not stop with the conclusion of the Summit. The emergence of the global Information Society to which we all contribute provides increasing opportunities for all our peoples and for an inclusive global community that were unimaginable only a few years ago. We must harness these opportunities today and support their further development and progress.
39. We reaffirm our strong resolve to develop and implement an effective and sustainable response to the challenges and opportunities of building a truly global Information Society that benefits all our peoples.
40. We strongly believe in the full and timely implementation of the decisions we took in Geneva and Tunis, as outlined in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.
Posted by shade at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)
Media Coverage of Tunis WSIS related to Tunisia and freedom of expression
> CBC Radio, Bob Carty, Who Owns the Internet November 15 2005
We started this segment with one of our producers, Bob Carty in an audio attachment he sent to our documentary editor Dick Miller about the situation in Tunisia. Bob's there to cover a major UN conference, the World Summit on the Information Society. But it seems Tunisian authorities are keen to keep some information from getting out. We aired more of what happened to Bob Carty and others covering the conference.
Tomorrow the nations of the world are gathering in that North African
country to try to bridge the so-called "digital divide" - the gap between rich and poor countries - in particular, when it comes to information technology. They'll be discussing who really controls the Internet. And---as you just heard---they'll talk about how to ensure a new information society will respect free speech for all.
Bob Carty has been following these issues for several years as a producer for The Current, and also as a director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. He was in Tunis this morning.
Libertion...
On reporter Christophe Boltanski:
Notre envoyé spécial raconte son passage à tabac vendredi soir à Tunis. «Les agresseurs semblaient avoir tout leur temps», par Johana SABROUX.
Militants agressés, reporters molestés, les réactions d'indignation se multiplient. Atteintes aux libertés: Tunis persiste, Paris dans l'embarras, par Christophe AYAD
Un fiasco pour Ben Ali, par Christophe ALIX et Christophe AYAD
Reporters sans frontières: Agression de l’envoyé spécial de Libération à Tunis : Reporters sans frontières dénonce une intimidation très grave.
CSIS press conference becomes major human rights gathering from Heinrich Boll Foundation.
Robert Ménard : «La violence de cette agression m'a surpris»
Posted by shade at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)
Tunisia Monitoring Group Statement on freedom of expression
NEWS RELEASE
Tunis, 18 November 2005
Never again, say freedom of expression groups
Media and freedom of expression groups today, at the conclusion of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, called for a full investigation by the United Nations into attacks on human rights and freedom of expression that took place in Tunisia on the eve of and during the World Summit on the Information Society.
Steve Buckley, President of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and Chair of the Tunisian Monitoring Group of freedom of expression organisations said:
Never again should a United Nations World Summit be held in a country that does not respect its international commitments to human rights and freedom of expression.
This week in Tunis, both inside and outside the official Summit, we have witnessed serious attacks on the right to freedom of expression including harassment of delegates, attacks on Tunisian and international journalists and human rights defenders, denial of entry to the country, the blocking of websites, the censorship of documents and speeches, and the prevention and disruption of meetings.
In the face of these attacks, it is with relief that we acknowledge the reaffirmation of human rights principles and the right to freedom of expression that is contained in the Tunis Commitment of the World Summit on the Information Society.
On 30 September 2005, 37 governments called on Tunisia to make the WSIS a Summit in Tunisia, not a Summit on Tunisia?. This week?s events have put the spotlight not only on Tunisia but also on the central importance of human rights and freedom of expression in the information society throughout the world.
We call on all stakeholders to ensure that human rights and freedom of expression is mainstreamed into all follow-up mechanisms including the Internet Governance Forum and we commit ourselves to working towards that objective.
This week has also reminded us of the importance of being constantly vigilant and of the courage of those who speak out in the face of repression and censorship. In this respect we welcome the decision of the Tunisian human rights defenders who agreed today to end their hunger strike. We commit ourselves to working with them and other brave defenders of human rights to continue to monitor freedom of expression in Tunisia.
-ends-
For more information, please contact: Steve Buckley: + 216 95 703 827 or Alexis Krikorian: + 41 79 214 55 30 and see: http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg
Note to editors:
The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) is a coalition of 14 organisations set up in 2004 to monitor freedom of expression in Tunisia in the run up to and following the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The 14 organisations are all members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), a global network of 64 national, regional and international organizations committed to defending the right to freedom of expression.
Members of the TMG are: Article 19, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), International Publishers Association (IPA), Index on Censorship, PEN Norway, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Journalistes en Danger (JED), Media Institute of South Africa (MISA), World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
Contact details:
Tunisia Monitoring Group
c/o IFEX Clearing House
489 College Street, Suite 403
Toronto, Ontario M6G 1A5
Canada
Tel: +1 416 515 9622
Email: ifex@ifex.org
Posted by shade at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2005
What About Gender Issues in the Information Society?
What About Gender Issues in the Information Society by Dafne Sabanes Plou, in Communicating in the Information Society, ed. Bruce Girard, Seán Ó Siochrú. UNRISD, 2003.
Posted by shade at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)
Vision Impossible?
Vision Impossible: The World Summit on the Information Society
By Marita Moll and Leslie Regan Shade
…pp. 45-80 in Seeking Convergence in Policy and Practice: Communications In the Public Interest, Vol. 2. Co-Edited with Marita Moll. (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives), 2004.
Posted by shade at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
Youth Reach Out for WSIS
From the CRIS Info list:
Do you have something to say about cultural diversity, access to information, or creating gender equality through information and communications technology (ICT)?
Would you like to reach an international audience? If you think you've got something worth saying, then 'reach out'!
reach out aims to bring young Arabic and English speaking people together online, and then face-to-face in Tunisia to discuss important issues on a global scale as part of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
How do you get involved?
Register online and join the discussion forums to share your views on topics such as cultural diversity, access to information and creating gender equality through ICTs.
Go to Tunis. If you are among the best online contributors you will be selected to continue your discussions face-to-face in Tunis and video conference with a group from the UK at Caf? Informatique International. You'll also have the opportunity to meet government representatives from around the world and share your views with them.
Run your own project. You'll no doubt be inspired to act on what you've learned at WSIS. So you'll then have the opportunity with your new colleagues to identify a project and work together to make it happen.
Interested? Then register here .
reach out is a British Council initiative linked to the United Nation's World Summit on the Information Society. Its aim is to connect young people and encourage debate on culturally important issues.
Posted by shade at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)
CRIS Newsroom
The Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) campaign has a newsroom with some excellent resources.
Posted by shade at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2005
WSIS-Prepcom3-Tunisian Human Rights
WSIS Preparatory committee 3
Second phase, Tunis
Geneva, 19-30 September 2005
Statement
Delivered by Canada
Mr. Chairman,
I take the floor on behalf of the 25 member states of the European
Union as well as Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro,
Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Monaco, Australia, the
United States of America and Canada in order to emphasize that our
governments are dedicated to achieving a successful World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS), as demonstrated by our active
involvement in the first phase and our continued engagement in the
preparations for the second phase in Tunis.
We believe that the subject matter of the Summit is key to
development for all members of the United Nations, whether developing
or developed. Therefore, we wish to work closely with Tunisia, as
host of the Summit in November, to ensure a successful outcome.
We find it necessary to make this statement because of several
incidents which occurred during the Preparatory Committee, raising
concerns about the participatory nature of the summit.
Our Governments expect the Governments, Institutions and non-State
actors taking part in the WSIS process to respect fully the
Declaration of Principles agreed on the 10 to 12 December 2003.
The Geneva Declaration reaffirms the right to freedom of opinion and
expression, including the right to hold opinions without interference
and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any
media regardless of frontiers. These rights must be upheld in all
countries in order to promote the building of the global information
society and ensure a successful second phase of the World Summit. We
expect Tunisia, as host of this UN Summit, to demonstrate that it
strongly upholds and promotes these rights.
As the Government of Tunisia will know, the Summit envisages and
important and inclusive role for the Private sector, civil society,
international organizations, institutions of knowledge production and
of editorially independent media both for the preparations and in the
final summit itself. We expect Tunisia,as host country, to do all it
can to eliminate any grounds for concern and to ensure that
arrangements for the Summit take account of and guarantee the
unhindered participation of Non Governmental Organizations and their
members.
This is the only way to make sure that this will be a Summit in
Tunisia, not a Summit on Tunisia.
See also Robert Guerra's blog for September 29, Growing Concerns About Summit Host Country Tunisia
Posted by shade at 01:08 PM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2005
From Crisinfo: deterioration of rights in Tunisia pre WSIS
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 12:00:02 -0400
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Today's Topics:
1. deterioration of rights in Tunisia pre WSIS
[English/Francais] (Bruce Girard)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2005 18:23:23 -0300
From: Bruce Girard
Subject: [CRIS Info] deterioration of rights in Tunisia pre WSIS
[English/Francais]
To: crisinfo@comunica.org
Message-ID: <4321FD4B.6070900@comunica.org>
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Communique
NGOs protest deterioration of rights in Tunisia two months ahead of World Summit
TUNIS, Sept 9, 2005 -- International and Tunisian non-governmental
organisations express their outrage at the rapid deterioration of the human rights situation in Tunisia just two months prior to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held in Tunis, November 15-18, 2005.
After prohibiting the founding congress of the Tunisian Journalists? Union (SJT) on September 7, authorities prevented the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) from holding its 6th Congress, scheduled to begin today.
This drastic decision, targeting the oldest human rights? organisation in the Arab World and Africa, aims to stifle the most important organisation for the defence of human rights in Tunisia.
While processed through formal legal channels, this decision illustrates the manipulation of the law by authorities. Another victim, the Association of Tunisian Judges (AMT) itself, was locked out of their offices for taking a public position in favour of the independence of the judiciary.
This dark week for Tunisian human rights is part of an ongoing attack on fundamental freedoms which has included police surrounding the offices of human rights defenders, physical and verbal aggression, libellous campaigns and harassment.
These provocative policies do not augur well for a successful Summit. It is unconscionable to hold a summit in such dire circumstances, with the LTDH, pillar of independent civil society, under attack.
We call upon the Tunisian government to respect its commitments on human rights, particularly freedom of expression and association guaranteed by international treaties ratified by the Tunisian Government and re-affirmed in December 2003 during the first phase of the WSIS.
We call upon the governments which will meet in Tunis in November 2005 to fully recognize the severity of the situation and to bring pressure to bear on the Tunisian authorities to respect their international obligations.
International Association to Support Political Prisoners (AISPP)
League for Free Writers (LEL)
National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT)
Observatory of the Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creativity (OLPEC)
Raid-ATTAC Tunisia
Tunisian Association for the Struggle Against Torture (ALTT)
Tunisian Centre for the Independence of Justice (CIJT)
Tunisian Committee for the Respect of Human Rights (CRDHT)
Tunisian Journalists? Syndicate (SJT)
Tunisian League of Human Rights (LTDH)
ARTICLE 19
Association des Journalistes Transfrontaliers (AJT)
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)
Comite pour le Respect des Libert?s et des Droits de l?Homme en Tunisie
(RLDHT)
Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
Comunica-ch (Swiss coalition for WSIS)
Deutscher Journalisten-Verband
Egyptian Organisation of Human Rights
Euromed Network
Index on Censorship
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions/Free
Access to
Information and Freedom of Expression (IFLA/FAIFE)
International PEN
International PEN - Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC)
International Publishers? Association (IPA)
Journalistes en Danger (JED)
Ligue fran?aise des Droits de l?Homme et du Citoyen (LDH)
Ligue Tunisienne des Droits de l?Homme (LTDH)
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
PEN Norway
Rights and Democracy
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
World Association of Newspapers (WAN)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
World Press Freedom Committee
Communiqu?
Les ONG d?noncent la d?gradation des libert?s en Tunisie ? deux mois du
Sommet Mondial de la Soci?t? de l?Information
TUNIS, le 9 septembre 2005 -- Les ONG internationales et tunisiennes
s?indignent de la d?gradation rapide du climat g?n?ral des libert?s en
Tunisie ? deux mois du Sommet Mondial de la Soci?t? de l?Information (SMSI,
15-18 novembre 2005). Apr?s l?interdiction du congr?s constitutif du
Syndicat des Journalistes Tunisiens (SJT) le 7 septembre, les autorit?s ont
d?cid? d?interdire le 6? congr?s de la Ligue Tunisienne des Droits de
l?Homme (LTDH) qui devait avoir aujourd?hui.
Cette grave d?cision qui cible la plus ancienne ligue des droits de l?Homme
du monde arabe et du continent africain vise en r?alit? ? asphyxier la
principale organisation de d?fense des droits humains en Tunisie.
Prise dans le cadre apparent de l?Etat de droit, cette d?cision illustre
l?instrumentalisation de la Justice dont m?me les magistrats sont les
victimes. En effet, l?Association des Magistrats Tunisiens (AMT) s?est vue
interdire l?acc?s ? ses propres locaux pour avoir revendiqu? publiquement
un statut garantissant l?ind?pendance de la Justice.
Cette semaine noire s?inscrit dans un contexte de recrudescence des
atteintes aux libert?s: encerclement policier des locaux associatifs,
agressions verbales et physiques, campagnes de diffamation, harc?lement des
d?fenseurs des droits de l?Homme.
Cette politique d?lib?r?e augure mal d?un Sommet r?ussi. Il est m?me
inconcevable que le Sommet se tienne ? Tunis avec un bilan aussi d?plorable
en mati?re de libert? et avec une ligue, pilier de la soci?t? civile
tunisienne ind?pendante, paralys?e.
Nous appelons le gouvernement tunisien ? respecter ses promesses relatives
aux libert?s fondamentales, notamment la libert? d?expression, garanties
par les instruments internationaux ratifi?s par la Tunisie, ? nouveau
formul?es lors de la premi?re phase du SMSI en d?cembre 2003.
Par ailleurs, nous appelons les gouvernements qui se r?uniront ? Tunis en
novembre 2005 pour la deuxi?me phase du Sommet ? reconna?tre la gravit? de
la situation et ? agir pour que le gouvernement tunisien respecte enfin ses
engagements internationaux.
Association Internationale de Soutien aux Prisonniers Politiques (AISPP)
Association de Lutte contre la Torture en Tunisie (ALTT)
Centre pour l?Ind?pendance de la Justice en Tunisie (CIJT)
Comit? pour le Respect des Droits de l?Homme en Tunisie (CRDHT)
Conseil National pour les Libert?s en Tunisie (CNLT)
Ligue des Ecrivains Libres (LEL)
Ligue Tunisienne des Droits de l?Homme (LTDH)
Observatoire pour la Libert? de la Presse, de l??dition et de la cr?ation
(OLPEC)
Raid-ATTAC Tunisie
Syndicat des Journalistes Tunisiens (SJT)
Article 19
Association des Journalistes Transfrontaliers (AJT)
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Association Mondiale des Journaux (AMJ)
Association Mondiale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires (AMARC)
Comite pour le Respect des Libert?s et des Droits de l?Homme en Tunisie
(RLDHT)
Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
Comunica-ch (coalition Suisse pour le SMSI)
Deutscher Journalisten-Verband
Droits et D?mocratie
F?d?ration Internationale des Journalistes (FIJ)
F?d?ration Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l?Homme (FIDH)
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions/Free
Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (IFLA/FAIFE)
Journalistes canadiens pour la libert? d?expression (CJFE)
Journalistes en Danger (JED)
Ligue fran?aise des Droits de l?Homme et du Citoyen (LDH)
Ligue Tunisienne des Droits de l?Homme (LTDH)
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Organisation Egyptienne des droits de l?Homme
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
PEN International
PEN International - Comit? des Ecrivains en Prison
PEN Norv?ge
Reseau Euromediterranean des Droite de l?Homme
Union Internationale des Editeurs (UIE)
World Press Freedom Committee
--
Bruce Girard | www.comunica.org
tel: +598 2 410.2979 | mobile: +598 99 189.652
Dr. Pablo de Mar?a 1036 | Montevideo 11200 | Uruguay
Posted by shade at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2005
CRACIN Executive Position Statement - Paving the Road to Tunis WSIS II”
Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation & Networking (CRACIN)
CRACIN Executive Position Statement*
“Paving the Road to Tunis WSIS II”
Winnipeg, May 13-15, 2005
Andrew Clement, University of Toronto
Michael Gurstein, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Christie Hurrell, CRACIN
Graham Longford, University of Toronto
Marita Moll, Telecommunities Canada
Leslie Regan Shade, Concordia University
Who We Are:
We are members of Executive Committee of the Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking (CRACIN), a three-year partnership between community informatics researchers, community networking practitioners and federal government policy specialists, funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). CRACIN brings together researchers and practitioners from across Canada, and internationally, to conduct case studies and thematic research on community networking, and to investigate the main Canadian government programs promoting the development and public accessibility of internet services. The views expressed in this statement represent those of the CRACIN Executive, and are not necessarily endorsed by all members and partner organizations of the Alliance. For more information, visit the CRACIN web site at: www.cracin.ca
Introduction:
Since 1995, the government of Canada has presented itself as a global leader in developing solutions to the ‘digital divide’ and equipping individuals and communities with the infrastructure, skills, knowledge and governance structures necessary to thrive in an information society, both in Canada and abroad. For their part, individual Canadians, communities, voluntary organizations, the educational and healthcare sectors, and private industry have responded in positive and innovative ways to both the opportunities, and the challenges, posed by the accompanying societal transformations.
As community informatics researchers and practitioners, we have witnessed and begun to document the fruits of these efforts over the last decade. We believe that important strides have been made towards realizing the goal of building an inclusive, prosperous, democratic and culturally diverse information society in Canada. The citizens and government of Canada have an enviable record of public investment and collective initiative in achieving internet access for the majority of Canadians within the span of a decade. But access to technical infrastructures, in the form of computers and internet connections, is only the beginning, and not the end in itself. Broad socio-economic barriers continue to inhibit genuine access to and effective use of network technologies. Canadians require more profound and ambitious conceptions of access and use than those embodied in current government policy and practice to take full advantage of their potential.
As the government of Canada approaches Phase II of the WSIS process, we wish to call attention to a number of concerns on behalf of researchers and practitioners involved in building and observing Canada’s information society in the field. Chief among these is that, while we applaud Canada’s leading role in promoting ICT for development abroad, we believe that the task of building the kind of information society that Canadians want and deserve here at home remains incomplete. At the same time, governments’ interest in ensuring universal access to network technologies, along with related policies and programs to support their effective use, is rapidly waning. Flagging government commitment to completing the job of connecting Canadians in a meaningful way threatens to halt, and even undo, the progress made in the last decade. Failure to maintain our commitments at home will also endanger our credibility abroad as a world leader in ICT for development.
The following position statement seeks to reinvigorate public discussion about building the kind of information society we want in Canada, to reflect on where we are, based on existing research, and to offer an agenda for action spelling out some of the necessary steps to realizing the goal of a progressive, socially inclusive and democratic society in the information age.
Reality Check: From Policy and Practice to Research and Reflection:
Much has been accomplished through Canada’s national ICT strategy over the last decade to narrow the digital divide, foster the development of new digital content and services, and adapt the legal and regulatory framework governing digital technologies, content and services. A sampling of recent statistics, legislative developments, and existing research bear this out:
∑ over two-thirds of Canadian households use the internet regularly, with the majority enjoying broadband access;
∑ a network of roughly 9,000 community access sites provide free internet access to millions of Canadians;
∑ internet access and computer equipment has been installed in thousands of schools across the country;
∑ Canada consistently ranks among the world’s top nations in the development of e-government;
∑ in 2000, the government of Canada enacted the Personal Information Privacy and Electronic Documents Act;
∑ $500 million have been invested in the Connecting Canadians initiative;
∑ accessing health, employment and government information online has become routine for many Canadians;
∑ tele-medicine and e-learning pilot programs are showing promise in rural and remote communities;
As impressive as these achievements appear, we must however be wary of the glorification of “technical connectedness” when it comes to assessing the results of Canada’s national ICT strategy. Indeed, the work of CRACIN and other researchers has shown that Canada’s national ICT strategy has fallen short of its own modest goals, and has been undermined by, among other things: short term funding and program horizons; narrowly-defined and “access” oriented program goals; misaligned departmental boundaries and programs; lack of adequate public consultation; and a half-hearted commitment to public interest concerns regarding the ICT agenda. To be more specific, we put forth the following as evidence of the need for renewed action and resources to complete the work of “connecting Canadians” in a meaningful way:
∑ while digital divides have been narrowed significantly, research shows that these persist and that new “divides” (for example access to Broadband) are emerging. Internet access among low income households, for example, remains at just 30 percent,
∑ a majority of non-internet users (roughly 25 percent of the population) see little benefit from going on-line, or lack the knowledge and/or confidence to do so;
∑ one quarter of Canadian municipalities remain without broadband access, and some of these lack even dial-up access;
∑ underlying socio-economic barriers to access, such as poverty, illiteracy, and disability, persist and, in some cases, have worsened due to recent government policies and fiscal restraint;
∑ recent gains in closing the digital divide are fragile. The community initiatives and organizations on the front lines of public internet access provision are extremely vulnerable and highly dependent on government funding. An estimated 2000 CAP sites have closed in recent years, and a recent Industry Canada report suggests that at least one third of remaining sites would reduce service or close altogether without continued government funding;
∑ the lack of long-term, stable government funding for community-based ICT initiatives inhibits the long-term development and planning of community networking organizations as a basis for community innovation and development;
∑ the lack of a holistic approach to government ICT program funding, implementation and administration has often had the effect of placing the burdens, of unfunded expenses for equipment maintenance and up-grading and training programs for users and staff on community organizations;
∑ the pursuit of “access” too narrowly-defined has resulted in an emphasis on technical connectedness at the expense of full spectrum universal access and effective use. The result is an under-development of social integration and the beneficial appropriation of ICT applications.
Just as the need for completing the job of Connecting Canadians as a means to effective use and socioeconomic participation is becoming ever more critical, the government of Canada has announced the closure or scaling back of core Connecting Canadians programs, including SchoolNet, CAP and BRAND, while persisting with a legislative agenda in such areas as telecommunications regulation, intellectual property and lawful access that favour corporate over broad public interests and threaten the preservation of cyberspace as an informational and communicative commons. Indeed, the very concept of a national ICT strategy, a fixture of federal Throne and Budget Speeches over the last decade, appears to have fallen off the federal policy agenda. Such recent policy and program developments threaten to halt and even undermine the progress made in recent years, and to jeopardize the ability of millions of Canadians to access and take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the information society.
Principles of Universal Access and Effective Use
As community informatics researchers and practitioners, we maintain that, as the use of network technologies becomes an increasingly routine and yet vital part of everyday life, Canada’s national ICT infrastructure must reflect the following principles and considerations to ensure universal access and effective use by Canadians citizens:
∑ Universally available and affordable access to network technologies for all Canadians who wish to use them, including those in rural and remote regions;
∑ Appropriate programs and policies responding to the diversity of access needs within Canada’s multicultural population (i.e. First Nations, francophones, immigrants, women, youth)
∑ The incorporation of affordability and usability considerations into the design criteria of network technologies and devices such as computers and software;
∑ Digital content and applications responding to the opportunities and needs of Canadians for everyday public service applications of network technologies in such areas as mail, health services, government information and services, emergency response, training and employment, active citizenship;
∑ An intellectual property regime that fosters broad-based contributions and widespread knowledge sharing;
∑ Support for sustainable community-based ICT-enabled social and economic innovation;
∑ Design of Canada’s digital information and communications infrastructure as a public resource and commons while ensuring robust protection of personal information and privacy;
∑ Support for digital literacy (i.e. basic, technical, information and media literacy) as the basis of genuine access and effective use;
∑ A meaningful role in ICT policy making for Canadian Civil Society;
∑ A democratic, transparent and participatory design and governance of Canada’s information and communications infrastructure.
Action Agenda:
In light of existing research demonstrating the need for continued public support for community networking initiatives, and in light of flagging government interest in ensuring universal access to and meaningful use of networking technologies, we, the Executive of CRACIN, urge the government of Canada to take the following steps:
∑ provide stable, long-term funding to community networking and public access programs and organizations;
∑ commit to ensuring that all Canadians have broadband access within the next five years, particularly rural and remote communities;
∑ provide a single, suitable organizational home within the federal government for coordinating all programs and policy development related to providing and supporting universal internet access and use;
∑ increase the capacity for research and evaluation, both within and outside government, to document and assess the results of ICTs programs and community-based initiatives;
∑ support and nurture community-based ICT initiatives and innovations, including community learning networks, telemedicine,