AW: [WSIS CS-Plenary] CSTD Monday session on WSIS

Mon Jul 17 19:48:36 BST 2006

Dear Francis,

thanks for the detailed report. It keeps all of us informed and we feel the strange astmosphere in the conference hall. 

The conflict does not come as a surprise. The multistakeholder debate of WSIS never went beyond Geneva and WSIS. In NY, the Cardozo report was moved after a short discussion from the agenda. Insofar it can be seen as an achievement that ECOSOC and CSTD are discussing at length the subject.

I fully support your idea to formalize the stakeholder interaction and to amend the rules of procedure or at least to refer diplomatically to the "WSIS practicice", which in fact was in contrast to the language of Rule 55 of the WSIS Rules of Procedures, adopted during PrepCom1 in 2002 (and undermined step by step until Tunis). 

I also support your idea to take the IGF (WGIG) as a model and to push for similar designs in CSTD activities. One concrete proposal could be to launch a "sub-group on multistakeholderism" which could come with some more precise ideas how the interaction among the stakeholders could be organized and formalized.  Remember that also the WGIG report did not propose any concrete mechanism for interaction among stakehooders but did define - and this can be taken as a starter - the specific "roles and responsibilities" which are complementary indeed. 

Such a subgroup would have to have members from all stakeholder groups. The group could report back to the next CSTD meeting. There is no need to be in a hurry, but this is, as you have pointed out so clearly, a matter of principle. 

Best wishes

wolfgang.    

________________________________

Von: Dr. Francis MUGUET [mailto:muguet at mdpi.org]
Gesendet: Mo 17.07.2006 19:25
An: plenary at wsis-cs.org
Betreff: [WSIS CS-Plenary] CSTD Monday session on WSIS

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Hello,

The session started with full suspense.
Karklins told us that South Africa was still maintaining
its position.
Karklins started the meeting with a very vague sentence
alluding that those who are attending
"are allowed to stay there according
to rules of procedures".
Then some states asked for clarification, and Karklins
asked a secretary of ECOSOC to explain the rules of procedure.
She came five minutes later.
She said that observers could be allowed to stay in ECOSOC
sessions if attending governements allow it.
The situation is quite diverse and she quoted examples
of CS participation.
Then Australia took the floor supporting the presense of CS,
but at least being silent observers.
EU supported Australia,  US supported Australia.
Then Chile intervened calling for a more active participation of
Civil Society, suggesting a preliminary statement.
Mexico supported.
Then the South African/G77 delegate intervened ,
  he thanked the chair for the clarification, and
rather hypocritically, he said
he always supported Civil Society presence.
Morroco asked what was the exact status of the talks.
Karklins answered they were informal consultation towards
negotiations.
Then South African/G77 intervened again asking what was then
the meaning of a "closed" meeting on the schedules ?
( the argument he told us repeatdly during our conversations
is that the meeting was "closed" ).
The ECOSOC secretary answered is was simply an indication to the
press, :-) !
meaning that the Press was not allowed in closed meetings.
No more objection from South Africa !

This ended the procedural controversy
to the advantage of CS, but we lost
the right to make short suggestions during the discussion,
which is still a big loss.

Renate made a general statement (and she left
some time after as she had to chair other conferences,
while Alejandra staid.
  I guessed there will be a
  CONGO report  of the session soon by Alejandra.
Being not able to make any short suggestion is very frustrating.
I went to a library upstair to make printouts of language
propositions that I distributed to delegates.
It is disapointing to say that unless you explain orally
each strong points to each person, there is little impact.

Tomorrow, since the paragraph being studied is the paragraph on
Multi-Stakeholders I will ask in my preliminary statement that CS be
allowed to make short interventions  ( less than 3 minutes ) whenever
appropriate during the discussion.
I told the South African delegate about this idea,
and this time, he said nothing,
which would also help regain what we have lost
in terms of informal procedural practises.

An unexpected gain is that US proposed
a new formulation of paragraph
4 c that quoted "established rules of ECOSOC and WSIS"
( I had lobbied very hard the previous to get WSIS added to ECOSOC,
EU and Switzerland suppored it,  but the US and China at that time
opposed it , China was absent today)
This paragraph is almost agreed.

The big point that has NOT been addressed
in my language suggestions so far is
how the multi-stakeholder approach could be reflected in the
reformed CSTD commission.
A multi-stakeholder advisory group like for the IGF ?
Unless some one has a better idea,
( PLEASE DO PROPOSE SOMETHING ASAP )
this what I am going to propose tomorrow.
Howewer with the high proportion of diplomats here who never attended
the WSIS,  the prospects are dim for a MAG.

At the pace the negotiations are going, I don't see how the
negotations could end up tomorrow on Tuesday.
I must leave tomorrow night Geneva.

All the Best

Francis

--
-----------------------------------------------------------
  Francis F. Muguet  Ph.D
  MDPI  Open Access Journals -  Associate Publisher
  http://www.mdpi.org  muguet at mdpi.net

  Knowledge Networks & Information Society Lab. (KNIS)
  http://www.knis.org  http://www.ensta.fr/~muguet
  E.N.S.T.A  32 Boulevard Victor  muguet at ensta.fr
  75739 PARIS CEDEX FRANCE
  (33) 01.45.52.60.19 -- Fax: (33) 01.45.52.52.82

  WSIS  World Summit on the Information Society
  Chair Scientific Information WG http://www.wsis-si.org
  Co-chair Patents & Copyrights WG htt://www.wsis-pct.org

  Multi-Stakeholders UN agency proposal  http://www.unmsp.org

  WTIS World Tour of the Information Society
  http://www.wtis.org  muguet at wtis;org
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