[WSIS CS-Plenary] CS participation in WIPO and WTO

[William Drake]

Hi Vittorio,

WTO has reasonably broad interaction with civil society orgs at the staff
level, allows us to participate in various symposia and at the ministerial
meetings, and accepts written position papers, which are posted to its
website.  However, all decision making meetings are strictly off limits,
purely intergovernmental.  Bottom line, CS has multiple opportunities to
express its views, just not in forums that matter.

Have a look around http://www.wto.org/english/forums_e/ngo_e/ngo_e.htm

Best,

Bill



> -----Original Message-----
> From: plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org]On
> Behalf Of Vittorio Bertola
> Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 6:26 PM
> To: WSIS Plenary
> Subject: [WSIS CS-Plenary] CS participation in WIPO and WTO
>
>
> All,
>
> while reviewing some draft WGIG documents that assess the responsiveness
> to civil society by intergovernmental organizations, I stepped into this
> sentence:
>
> "Some organizations that traditionally were seen as closed to or
> uninterested in civil society and its concerns have instituted outreach
> programs and encouraged non-governmental organizations to get involved
> in their work (e.g. WTO and WIPO)."
>
> I'm only a little familiar with WIPO and not at all with WTO, but it
> seems to me that it is in fact the opposite. Does anyone have any idea
> about what "outreach programs" this sentence might be referring to,
> and/or can give me factual examples pro or against this assessment? (I
> remember the WIPO accreditation story from a few weeks ago, for
> example.)
>
> Thanks,
> --
> vb.             [Vittorio Bertola - v.bertola [a] bertola.eu.org]<-----
> http://bertola.eu.org/  <- Prima o poi...
>
>