[WSIS CS-Plenary] Prepcom 3A opening plenary

[Rik Panganiban]

Thank you, Steve, for clarifying this.  Just to add that all reports on 
Prepcom IIIa posted to the CT list will also be posted to the website 
http://www.prepcom.net/wsis, with a link to that report posted to the 
plenary email list.

Sincerely,

Rik Panganiban

=====================================================
Rik Panganiban
Reports Coordinator

Civil Society News Centre for the WSIS
web: 	http://www.prepcom.net/wsis
email: 	rik.panganiban at ngocongo.org
=====================================================


On Lundi, novembre 10, 2003, at 12:28  PM, Steve Buckley wrote:

> Dear all
>
> At the Prepcom 3A opening plenary this morning there was one speaker 
> slot each for international organisations, business, and civil society 
> to comment on the President's non-paper on the draft Declaration.
>
> Karen Banks spoke on behalf of the Civil Society Content and Themes 
> Group. The presentation was based on the letter from Sally Burch to 
> Samassekou and the CS comments on the non-paper. Below is the text of 
> the presentation.
>
> To avoid continuous duplication this week on the plenary and the 
> content and themes lists, further postings on CS content at Prepcom 3A 
> will be posted to the WSIS-CT list only. If you are not already 
> receiving postings from this list, you can subscribe at 
> http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/ct
>
> Best wishes
>
> Steve Buckley
>
> ///
>
> Civil Society Content and Themes
> 10 November 2003
>
> Prepcom 3A Opening Plenary presentation
> Comments on the President's non-paper
>
> We appreciate the inclusion of several civil society proposals into 
> the President's non-paper on the Draft Declaration. In particular we 
> recognize there has been an openness to strengthening references among 
> other things, to human rights, social inclusion, education and 
> sustainable development, and that the Millennium Development Goals are 
> listed in detail in paragraph 2.
>
> We also welcome the President's commitment to a participative approach 
> and to seek out a satisfactory balance between technological and 
> societal issues. Nonetheless, we are concerned that the declaration 
> still fails to adequately address some fundamental issues of the 
> information society and still has an excessive bias towards 
> technological and market solutions.
>
> Some issues of major concern are:
>
> The "Information Society" on which the World Summit appears to be 
> based continues to reflect, to a large extent, a narrow understanding 
> in which ICTs are generally taken to mean telecommunications and the 
> Internet. This approach tends to marginalise some key issues relating 
> to the development potential inherent in the combination of knowledge 
> and technology and thus conflicts with the broader development mandate 
> given in UNGA Resolution 56/183.
>
> A commitment to a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented 
> Information Society based on respect for human rights should be 
> embedded throughout the Declaration of Principles and the Action Plan. 
> In our view the key challenges of the Information Society are to 
> ensure the benefit of all, including the most marginalised, to extend 
> the global knowledge commons and the public domain and to ensure 
> access for all to the means of information and communication.
>
> Limitations on free access and fair use of knowledge, information and 
> communication systems imposed by legal and technical means must remain 
> the exception, to be applied only where strictly necessary. Free 
> software, open standards in the technical infrastructure, and access 
> to radio spectrum are essential components not adequately reflected in 
> this document.
>
> The draft ignores fundamental differences between intellectual and 
> physical products. Nor does the draft give sufficient recognition to 
> the dangers ICTs can pose to civil rights and liberties, such as the 
> right to privacy, and the need for a strong international commitment 
> to reaffirming and protecting those rights. The draft retains 
> statements that endanger the freedom of expression.
>
> The Declaration mentions the need to address geographical and social 
> divides, but falls short of expressing a strong commitment to creating 
> the mechanisms for redressing them.  It also fails to emphasize and 
> express support for the key role of community initiatives and people's 
> involvement in the decisions that control their lives in the 
> information society. There should be much stronger commitment to 
> community driven solutions including community media.
>
> In short, although we consider that progress has been made, the 
> present draft falls well short of the expectations of civil society 
> and we remain concerned that the many constructive and well informed 
> proposals that we have put forward have not been given adequate 
> attention.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>            steve at commedia.org.uk
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>         http://www.commedia.org.uk
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
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