The following statement was released by the civil society delegation at
the third planning meeting (prepcom) for the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS), which ended yesterday in Geneva. -andy
Civil Society Statement on the Decision to Exclude Non-governmental
stakeholders from Drafting Groups
1. The decision to exclude non-governmental stakeholders from meaningful
participation in the drafting groups is a matter of principle. The WSIS
and the WGIG (working group on internet governance) have affirmed that
governance of the Internet must be based on real partnerships with the
participation of all stakeholders in an open, inclusive and transparent
manner. These principles are central to the Geneva documents.
The decision to exclude non-governmental stakeholders from meaningful
participation in the groups breaks these conditions and will undermine
the legitimacy of all outcomes of the WSIS. The sincerity of commitments
made by governments to these principles is now open to question.
2. The decision to exclude non-governmental stakeholders from the
drafting groups is not about rules and procedure – it is a matter of
political courage and principle. You have a choice to be inclusive or
exclusive, to work in partnership, transparency and openness. Or not. Do
not hide behind rules and procedures.
3. The Internet is the creation of the multi-stakeholder cooperation of
academia, civil society, governments, private sector and technologists.
There has never been a more successful multi-stakeholder partnership
than the one that has created and nurtured the Internet. Governments in
Geneva are now jeapordising this partnership. The Tunis declaration will
be meaningless if it is not seen as legitimate to all those involved in
the creation and evolution of the Internet, its applications, services
and content.
4. The WGIG process demonstrated that civil society organizations
contribute positively. Our exclusion will deprive the prepcom of
valuable knowledge, expertise and perspectives. Civil society has been,
and will continue to be, the main force for promoting capacity building
and development of the Internet in developing countries. Civil society
understands what is needed in order to continue that work, and exclusion
from the drafting groups will only make it more difficult for us to
continue that work effectively.
5. The WSIS Plan of Action cannot be implemented by governments alone:
the active engagement of civil society actors is needed in the follow-up
stage; our exclusion today will discourage many from engaging after
Tunis and will therefore reduce the chances of effectively implementing
the ambitious objectives of Geneva.
6.We strongly protest your decision to exclude non-governmental
observers from the drafting groups. Civil Society should be able to make
statements on the same basis as we do in subcommittee, to remain in the
room as observers for the entire session and to further contribute at
the discretion of the chair. Again, the Tunis declaration will be
meaningless if it is not seen as legitimate to all those involved in the
creation and evolution of the Internet, its applications, services and
content.
--
--------------------------------
Andy Carvin
Program Director
EDC Center for Media & Community
acarvin @ edc . org
http://www.digitaldivide.net
Blog: http://www.andycarvin.com
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