[WSIS CS-Plenary] update on CS emergency plenary

[Robert Guerra]

Upon reading Andy's latest dispatch - I must say that it's quite 
disappointing to hear what happened, but not unexpected.

My earlier visit to Tunis in March, and comments made to this list 
and to many of you in private did indicate that we needed to have a 
tight process in place, with set structures to avoid something along 
the line which happened earlier today.

in essence, what's clear is that the Tunis phase is in fact quite 
different - with different players, that act in ways very different 
then in phase I (Geneva). What we can't be is Naive. We have to, we 
must not allow something like this to happen again - for it would be 
shame that  all our hard work, all of our energy, time and gains be 
lost by those who have as their agenda one to - basically - be 
disruptive.

Signs that disruptive behavior from certain Tunisian representatives 
occurred at the recent meeting of the European WSIS CS group in 
Berlin (June 13th), something which should have alerted us to act and 
implement proactive measures before the PrepCom.

Measures such as collecting background information (name, country and 
name of accredited organization) from the participants well ahead of 
- yes, our meeting - would have alerted us to the possibility that 
there would be differences of opinion that had to be dealt with.  We 
should have consulted and obtained advice from colleagues who have 
participated in other UN processes where this happens all the time, 
for perhaps - they could have told us how, if at all, disruptive 
behaviour can be contained as much as possible.


To think that - no disruption - was going to happen , was a naive 
view. So let's be positive, let's have the discussion we should have 
had MONTHS ago on how we can be more proactive, more effective, and 
more realistic that from this point on we have a new set of people to 
deal with.

personally,  More than ever, i believe we need an effective , and yes 
- neutral coordinating body , like the CS bureau, to help facilitate 
discussions,  and create the dialogue between  - the differently 
minded groups which exist.


those are my comments for now - keen to hear from the rest of you.

regards

Robert


At 9:09 AM -0400 6/25/04, Andy Carvin wrote:
>Following the suspension of the plenary session, civil society delegates
>met in the Didon Theatre to try to solve the impasse that had been reached
>over the human rights caucus statement. Saida Agrebi of Tunisia said the
>statement should say that all participating countries respect human rights
>rather than singling out Tunisia, and emphasized the need for an African to
>represent the caucus during the plenary. Other Tunisians concurred, with
>many of them dominating the first half of the discussion.

-- 
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Robert Guerra <rguerra at privaterra.org>
Privaterra - <http://www.privaterra.org>