[WSIS CS-Plenary] WSIS 2 Prepcom 1 - CS Statement No 1

[Steve Buckley]

Statement to the Plenary Session on Prepcom 1, WSIS Phase 2, Hammammet, 25 
June 2004 - presented by George Christensen, AMARC-Africa

Civil society organisations, participating in the World Summit on the 
Information Society believe a just and equitable information society must 
be people-centred, based on respect for fundamental human rights and giving 
priority to the reduction of poverty and the implementation of sustainable 
development.

During the Geneva phase of the Summit, civil society organisations played a 
full and active role. Despite significant constraints on dialogue and 
communication within the process itself, civil society organisations 
contributed extensively and with good effect.

At the completion of the Geneva Summit we can acknowledge three outcomes: 
two intergovernmental documents  the Declaration of Principles and the Plan 
of Action, and one civil society document  a declaration titled "Shaping 
Information Societies for Human Needs" that was presented to governments at 
the final plenary in Geneva.

Although there are several points on which the civil society position is 
different from that of the governments we propose the Declaration of 
Principles should not be re-opened.

They key principles in the intergovernmental Declaration - on sustainable 
development and the millennium development goals, and on human rights and 
freedom of expression - should form the measures against which actions in 
the second phase are judged.

On the other hand, the Plan of Action, is not a document we can accept to 
work with. It was hastily drafted in the final stages of the Geneva Summit, 
with little input from civil society. In certain important respects it is 
in contradiction with the Declaration of principles and it does not 
adequately provide a basis for action and implementation.

We recommend this be reviewed to establish a new and measurable basis for 
action.

As we commence the second phase of the World Summit on the Information 
Society we would like to re-state our commitment to the priorities set out 
in the civil society declaration presented in Geneva  copies are available 
here today.

We also wish to remind government that the role of civil society is not 
simply one of assisting with implementation but also of observation, 
monitoring and holding of governments to account. During the second phase 
of the Summit we will continue to provide a constructive but critical input 
to the process. We ask for the best conditions to do so in the firm belief 
that our contribution will assist in achieving a better outcome.








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            steve at commedia.org.uk
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         http://www.commedia.org.uk
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