[WSIS CS-Plenary] accreditation of Human Rights in China

[Milton Mueller]

Carlos:
My words were not clear. Let me clarify.

Of course every CS organization at some point or another criticizes
some state policy. However, the minds of governmental and
inter-governmental people work somewhat differently. They see an
organization specifically targeted at a particular state as somehow
calling into question the legitimacy of the entire state, and since the
UN is a "club" of recognized states they may not be as receptive to this
case as they might otherwise be. 

I wish to make it clear that I do NOT share or endorse that attitude, I
am simply saying that it is there, esp in developing countries. (I ran
into this attitude several times yesterday in discussing the HRIC
incident with people from IOs and other states.) To make the statement
convincing you may need to keep in mind that those attitudes are in the
minds of many of the people who will be reading the statement. If you
don't address them in some way they may not be convinced or moved. That
is all. 

I hope no one in CS uses this warning as an opportunity to strike a
"holier than thou" posture. Let's not waste time on that. It should be
easy for us to agree that the treatment afforded HRIC was discriminatory
and inappropriate. If these warnings of mine get in the way of that then
ignore them. 

>>> ca at rits.org.br 09/20/05 6:17 AM >>>
The fact is that in the list of requirements there is no restriction
regarding organizations which criticize state policy -- otherwise most
of us would not have been accredited :) -- so I do not think we should

"recognize this problem" in our statement.

frt rgds

--c.a.


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