Civil society organisations submission to the 7th meeting of the WSIS GFC
Joint submission to the 7th meeting of the WSIS GFC by civil society organisations and individuals on the proposed draft text for paragraphs 10, 11 and 29 of the operational part of the Tunis document.
The undersigned organisations and individuals from the civil society strongly oppose the move to make the proposed changes in paragraphs 10, 11 and 29 of the operational part of the Tunis document, as per the new input document circulated by the President of the PrepCom. These changes do not represent the contributions of the various stakeholders to the existing text, and their acceptance will defeat the stated purpose of the Tunis summit, described as the ‘summit of solutions’, to make some real headway in implementing the promises of the Geneva summit.
We suggest that implementation and follow-up mechanisms for WSIS are based on multi-stakeholder teams around action lines with a well-defined overall co-ordination body, as contained in the existing paragraphs 10, 11 and 29. The text of these paragraphs should be further improved and elaborated through a multi stakeholder consultative process in order to ensure that an adequate post-WSIS structure is in place. The purpose of such a structure will not only be to implement the outcomes of WSIS but also to take up information society issues as they emerge.
1. William Drake for Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
2. Wolfgang Kleinwächter, University of Aarhus.
3. Adam Peake for Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM)
4. Richard Jordan
5. Karen Banks for Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
6. Chantal Peyer for Bread For All
7. Jean-Louis Fullsack for CSDPTT
8. Divina Meigs for Education, Academia and Research Taskforce
9. Guillaume Chenevière for World Radio and Television Council
10. Tracey Naughton, Information Society Institute, Cape Peninsula University of
Technology
11. Marianne Seger for EURAG
12. Ralf Bendrath for Netzwerk Neue Medien
13. Pablo Accuosto for Instituto del Tercer Mundo (ITeM)
14. Parminder Jeet Singh for IT for Change
Civil society groups active in the WSIS have voiced their protest against a serious development related to the Tunis summit outcomes. The latest draft for the summit document on implementation and follow-up are lacking a meaningful commitment to implementation, and they also are a serious setback for the multi-stakeholder approach.
As there is no definitive structure of implementing the information society Plan of Action (PoA) in place, IT for Change has started advocating for creating an implementing mechanism in PrepCom III. PDF format.
Input Document of Ambassador Janis Karklins, President of PrepCom of the Tunis Phase of the WSIS, for discussion at the 7th GFC Meeting on 5th September 2005. PDF format.
Comments of the African Civil Society Caucus to the proposed modified draft of the Group of the Friends of the Chair on chapter 1 on the follow-up mechanisms of Geneva and Tunis summits. The caucus strongly regrets the fact that in comparison to the earlier text, this new one does not foresee the establishment of a implementation mechanism of the Geneva and Tunis Action Plans on one hand, and the establishment of an ad hoc coordination structure for the follow-up of the Geneva and Tunis action Plans on the other in a strong and compelling manner. PDF format.
The Informal Coalition on Financing ICTD strongly objects to the replacement of the original text of paragraphs 10, 11 and 29
regarding a well defined implementation and follow-up structure with vague and weaker proposals. The Coalition states that "The changes to these paragraps have completely removed the specific implementation structures consisting of multi-stakeholder teams around various action lines,wit overall co-ordination by a ‘well-defined co-ordination body ’ as suggested in the initial text". PDF format.
The WSIS Youth Caucus expresses in this declaration its deeply concern of the relegation of a commitment to “establish an implementation mechanism for the Geneva and Tunis Plans of Action ” (refer to 11 January 2005 version of Para.10) to simply “a process of follow-up ” (refer to Para.11 of the 16 August 2005 Possible Revised Draft) PDF format.
