[WSIS CS-Plenary] Slow Info Summit progress frustrates Swiss

[Rik Panganiban]

Ralf, et al,

The Swiss proposal for a "Paper on the Implementation of the Geneva 
Plan of Action" is available only in English and only as a PDF at :

	http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs2/pc2/contributions/co21.pdf

Rik Panganiban

On Feb 26, 2005, at 5:42 PM, Ralf Bendrath wrote:

> Interesting - not only we are frustrated about the state of 
> negotiations.
> See also the document the Swiss government had distributed on Friday, 
> and my report on http://www.worldsummit2003.de/en/web/732.htm, which 
> also reflects on this.
> The Siwss document is not on the official WSIS site yet, but I asked 
> Mr Furrer and Mr Stauffacher to send it to the ITU web-team. (The 
> Swiss don't have an official WSIS site anymore...)
>
> Ralf
>
>
> <http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=106&sid=5564907>
>
> Slow Info Summit progress frustrates Swiss
>
> swissinfo
> 	
> February 26, 2005 11:58 AM
>
> Marc Furrer says WSIS delegates should move on to more pressing issues 
> (Keystone Archive)
> 		
> Switzerland says too much talk and not enough action are hindering 
> preparations for an upcoming Information Summit in Tunisia.
>
> The head of the Swiss delegation, Marc Furrer, told swissinfo that the 
> process was being bogged down by unnecessary debate over issues 
> already resolved.
>
> Over the past ten days, around 1,700 international experts have been 
> meeting in Geneva to prepare for the second phase of the World Summit 
> on the Information Society (WSIS), which will take place in Tunis in 
> November.
>
> The first part of the WSIS, held in Geneva in 2003, resulted in an 
> ambitious action plan to bridge the digital divide between rich and 
> poor nations.
>
> Since then, Furrer says delegates have made slow progress towards 
> achieving the summit’s goals.
>
> swissinfo: How satisfied is Switzerland with this latest round of 
> preparatory talks in Geneva?
>
> Marc Furrer: We are not very happy. We saw points in the action plan 
> and declaration, which were already agreed upon back in 2003, 
> re-opened for debate. We shouldn’t be discussing what has already been 
> decided.
>
> We also need to be demonstrating our successes in areas such as 
> e-health, e-education and freedom of the media.
>
> The citizens of Switzerland and other countries will begin to ask what 
> we achieved. We need to be moving towards implementation of our plans 
> because it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money to sit around and talk 
> without taking action.
>
> swissinfo: Has any progress been made at all, especially on the issue 
> of financing the development of information and communication 
> technology infrastructures in poor countries?
>
> M.F.: Delegates welcomed the creation of a "digital solidarity fund" 
> and that’s a concrete example of progress. We agreed that it would be 
> a voluntary fund and just one of many financial mechanisms aimed at 
> bridging the digital divide. In 2003, this was one of the biggest 
> obstacles we faced, so reaching an agreement represents a big step 
> forward.
>
> The downside of the financial discussions is that the wording remains 
> too technical and dissenting opinions remain... so delegates need to 
> change their attitude and stop being so technocratic.
>
> swissinfo: The World Bank says the technology gap between developing 
> and industrialised countries is rapidly closing. Are the summit and 
> the UN’s costly campaign to bridge the digital divide still relevant?
>
> M.F.: The World Bank is absolutely right that countries like India, 
> Morocco, Egypt, Argentina and Venezuela are catching up fast when it 
> comes to telecom access. It’s likely that they’ll even leapfrog and 
> surpass Switzerland someday.
>
> So yes, the digital divide is narrowing fast. But when we talk about 
> digital solidarity, we’re talking about the world’s 50 poorest 
> countries, where there is still a major lack of electricity and access 
> to phones.
>
> How many telephones are there in Madagascar, Nepal or Bhutan compared 
> with Switzerland, France or Germany? There is truth in what the World 
> Bank says, but the digital divide is very real in many places.
>
> swissinfo: Another lingering issue is internet governance. Was any 
> progress made on deciding who should be responsible for policing the 
> World Wide Web?
>
> M.F.: I think we’re on the right track... we just can’t expect a 
> revolution. The important thing is that the internet works and is 
> independent from governments. But if it isn’t broken, we shouldn’t be 
> trying to fix it.
>
> swissinfo: At the start of the conference last week, civil society 
> groups criticised Tunisia’s human rights record and said it was no 
> place for a summit dealing with freedom of expression.
>
> M.F.: I have always expected the Tunisian government to play by the 
> UN’s rules and allow all journalists and civil society groups to 
> participate in the summit process.
>
> If I listen to the Tunisians, they say they’re open to this. But the 
> proof will be in the pudding and we’ll only know the answer in 
> November. If this isn’t an open and fair process, Tunis will be a 
> disaster.
>
> swissinfo-interview: Anna Nelson in Geneva
> URL of this story
> http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5564907
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===============================================
RIK PANGANIBAN       Communications Coordinator
Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations 
(CONGO)
web: http://www.ngocongo.org
email: rik.panganiban at ngocongo.org
mobile: (+1) 917-710-5524
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