[WSIS CS-Plenary] CSB Meeting - 23 Sept. 2005

[CONGO - Philippe Dam]

Dear all, 

 

For your information, please find below a summary of the CSB meeting on
Friday 23 September. 

 

Best, 

 

Ph.

 

 

====

 

 

Civil Society Agenda

Friday 23rd September 2005

 

1.	Follow up meeting with Tunisian Ambassador / WSIS Executive
Secretariat
2.	Mediation  / Working Methods discussion forum Tunisian
representatives & HR Caucus
3.	Overpass Criteria

 

Owing to events in Plenary this morning the Bureau was not able to follow
the agenda and instead discussed the debate around the HRIC statement.

 


Civil Society Bureau Minutes


Friday 23rd September 2005

 

The following points summarise the discussion at the CSB and are offered as
opinion and advice to facilitate wider debate.

 

1.	It is acknowledged that the Plenary Chairs managed the morning
meeting in the best way they were able to in the absence of clear written
guidelines on procedure, approved by Plenary.

 

2.	The precedent regarding the role of the Plenary is based on evolving
practice, as is Content and Themes. In phase 1 Plenary did take decisions.
In Phase 2, the Plenary has been an information-sharing forum. This practice
evolved as a result of the breakdown in co-operation that occurred at
PrepCom 1, Phase 2.

 

3.	The precedent in Phase 1 when petitions and statements were
developed and called for signatures was to raise the petition in Plenary and
place the petition or statement outside the civil society meeting room for
endorsement by willing and accredited organisations.

 

4.	The Working Group on Working Methods (WGWM) was tasked with
developing procedures to be placed before the Plenary in a meeting where it
would be convened to take a decision on the proposed procedures. The CSB has
previously expressed concern that the working group is moving slowly but
understands that any group can only move as fast as it's participants. It
was also noted that this work has been left to a few people, despite
continuous calls for participation.

 

5.	On advice from one of the Coordinators of the WGWM, that both
charters are nearing completion, it was decided to circulate to Plenary the
Draft Civil Society Bureau Charter and the Draft Plenary Charter, as soon as
possible, for discussion. These documents will exist as WSIS contributions
to evolving practise in multi-stakeholder UN processes.

 

6.	It is noted that an option for the Plenary meeting on Friday 23rd
could have been to use the 'straw poll' technique that has been used this
week in Content & Themes, to asses the level of agreement & disagreement
with the statement on HRIC. This however, could only have been an internal
indication to guide the Plenary and Human Rights Caucus, authors of the
statement and does not solve the need for a clear process around statements
that call for endorsement. 

 

7.	The CSB believes that based on previous practice the Statement on
HRIC should have been raised, even read and that a call for endorsements
could then have been made, along with a statement as to where organisations
could sign up.

 

 

8.	The CSB is concerned about the positioning of the Human Rights
Caucus within the working mechanisms of WSIS Civil Society. The Caucus has
often been asked to join the CSB where operational matters could be
discussed, but has declined. This invitation is extended again. While the
prerogative to not participate is certainly not questioned, we note that the
Human Rights Caucus has never presented a consensus agreement from the
caucus on the reasons for declining. 

 

It is further noted that the strategies deployed by the Human Rights Caucus
have consistently resulted in a raising of the temperature within civil
society but have not been accompanied by a mechanism to allow for discussion
around the debates. One aspect of this that has been especially apparent in
Phase 2 of WSIS, is the limited time allowed in Human Rights meetings for
people from the nations being criticised to respond. This in turn causes
further tension and limits understanding of the various perspectives. The
CSB raises this concern since it is procedural and there are other process
options that could result in greater understanding. The CSB has attempted to
create forums where open debate would have been able to unfold, but the
Human Rights Caucus has not been willing to participate. The CSB finds
itself with limited options to deal with this matter but places on record
that initiatives have been attempted. 

 

 

Philippe Dam
CONGO - WSIS CS Secretariat 
11, Avenue de la Paix
CH-1202 Geneva
Tel: +41 22 301 1000
Fax: +41 22 301 2000
E-mail:  <mailto:wsis at ngocongo.org> wsis at ngocongo.org
Website:  <BLOCKED::http://www.ngocongo.org> www.ngocongo.org 

 

The Conference of NGOs (CONGO) is an international, membership association
that facilitates the participation of NGOs in United Nations debates and
decisions. Founded in 1948, CONGO's major objective is to ensure the
presence of NGOs in exchanges among the world's governments and United
Nations agencies on issues of global concern.  For more information see our
website at www.ngocongo.org <BLOCKED::http://www.ngocongo.org/> 

 

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