[WSIS CS-Plenary] Re: [WSIS-CT] Final version: Civil Society press release

[Monthian Buntan]

Dear all:

I'm deeply saddened by the fact that persons with disabilities, which 
constitute up to 10% of the whole world population, still continue to be 
invisible minority groups even in this document.

Regards,

Thian

At 05:33 AM 9/26/2003 -0500, Valeria Betancourt wrote:
>Text of press release
>27 September 2003
>
>WSIS process at PrepCom III
>
>Civil Society announces today that if governments continue to exclude
>our principles, we will not lend legitimacy to the final official
>WSIS documents.
>
>Civil society is already shaping information societies to achieve
>social, cultural, educational, political, and economic benefits for
>all. Communication rights are part of human rights. Human rights must
>be the framework for information societies. Without this, the WSIS
>vision of "an information society" is meaningless.
>
>In the WSIS process, we have seen that, thus far, our main principles
>are not reflected in the results. Even though the process has been
>frustrating and inconsistent, with civil society included and
>excluded at the whim of governments, our experience has been one of
>closer engagement than has been the case at other United Nations
>conferences.  We hope that this is an experience that can be built on
>to ensure much closer involvement of civil society in the design and
>development of information societies.
>
>While the spirit of the documents is market focused, civil society
>and some governments, especially from the south, will continue to
>support the rights of citizenship and promote the concept of
>cooperation instead of competition.
>Even if the outcomes of the WSIS do not reflect, at the end of the
>process, our principles, visions and perspectives, we will continue
>to be key actors in the definition of the nature and direction of
>information societies, one whose focus would be people's rights. We
>will insist that the proposal of the WSIS includes our priorities
>such as development and justice for the south, human rights, gender
>equity, community media, education, public goods, free software and
>open access to scientific and technological information, privacy,
>democratic and transparent internet governance, cultural and
>linguistic diversity, excluded minorities, indigenous people, etc.
>
>We now have a stronger position, because as the days have progressed
>meaningful communication has emerged. But much remains to be done.
>For our part, civil society, we are now in the process of drafting a
>framework document that will lay down our vision of inclusive,
>participatory, sustainable, equitable and just information societies.
>
>
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>Content & Themes Documents:
>http://bscw.fit.fraunhofer.de/pub/bscw.cgi/0/42953798