The long and winding road towards Tunis
Source: Heinrich Böll Foundation
Kofi Annan answer to open letter from Civil Society. He states that the holding of the Summit in Tunis offers a good opportunity for the Government of Tunisia to address various human rights concerns, including those related to freedom of opinion and expression. October 2005 [see more]
 
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World Summit on the Information Society II - November 2005
The second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), a global event aimed to improve access by all countries to information, and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote development, will take place in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005.


The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) sprang into being as an instance of global decision-making aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). According to the political statements of governments, the main purpose of this event is to create and implement common action frameworks for building a new equitable and integrating information society aimed at development.

The third meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom-3) of the second phase of the WSIS took place between September 19-30 in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the last meeting scheduled prior to the second phase of the Summit to be held in Tunis from November 16 to 28, 2005. The discussion on possible modifications to the current model of "Internet governance" was placed among the core issues to be analysed on the agenda, together with the decisions on specific mechanisms aimed at ensuring the implementation and follow-up to agreements reached in the two phases of the WSIS. The main input to discussions were the final report of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), presented in July 2005 (see the report "Internet governance: Everybody's business in the Information Society") and the text issued by the Group of Friends of the Chair (GFC), proposed as a basis for negotiation on WSIS implementation and follow-up.

Regarding the results of PrepCom-3, no one can be really satisfied - except those who would want the WSIS process to come to an end without firm and specific commitments. Although some progress has been made in drawing up Tunis documents, no relevant consensus was reached regarding the core issues under discussion. In the case of Internet governance, for example, a strong divergence of opinion was evidenced between those who aim at a deep reform of the current system - dominated by the ICANN and, therefore, with preeminence of only one government over Internet’s common resources - and those who aim at maintaining this system, with minor modifications.

With respect to the establishment of specific mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the WSIS consensus and their evaluation, no agreement was reached between developed and developing countries. The latter consider it unreasonable to end up such a long and complex negotiation process without clear mandates to UN system organizations, which are essential to ensure the implementation of commitments undertaken by governments.

Upon the impossibility to reach consensus on these issues and, therefore, to close the documents to be signed by Heads of State and Government in Tunis, the PrepCom entered into a pause, with the decision to continue negotiations during the remaining period prior to the Summit. For this purpose, two additional intergovernmental sessions will take place in Geneva between October 24-28 and the PrepCom was called to continue sessions in Tunis between November 13-15.

The procedures established in the first phase of WSIS provided for the participation of multilple stakeholders involved in information, communication and development issues, including not only governments but also the private sector and civil society. However, the process was characterized by the lack of openness in terms of participation of non-governmental stakeholders, which ended up excluding civil society and the private sector from key negotiation instances such as the drafting groups created to solve particularly conflictive issues. Nor the participation of these stakeholders in the WSIS final instances is clear, thus questioning the strength of goodwill statements included throughout the documents with respect to building a information society with broad participation of all relevant actors.

The PrepCom-3 was also characterized by an increased number of proposals about the critical human rights situation evidenced in Tunisia, host country of the second phase of the Summit. Civil society organizations expressed, in an open letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, their "profound concern" about the attacks on the freedom of expression registered in the country.

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News
Up-to-date current affairs information.
Mon Oct 17 2005
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Fri Oct 14 2005
Details on final negotiations before the Summit

Fri Oct 14 2005
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Mon Oct 10 2005
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Detailed reports on key issues
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ICTD within the framework of the MDGs
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World Summit on the Information Society - WSIS
An opportunity to build an equitable information society.
NGOs
NGO web sites
Association for Progressive Communications - APC
International Internet Community for Environment, Human Rights, Development and Peace. APC is a major CSO worldwide network in advocating for and facilitating the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by civil society.
 

Civil Society participation

Statement of civil society at closing plenary (APC Africa ICT Policy Monitor)

Reintroducing Cultural Diversity in the WSIS Process (WSIS Cultural Diversity Caucus)

Civil Society statement on the decision to exclude non-governmental stakeholders from drafting groups ( Choike)

WSIS Gender Caucus Briefing Paper for PrepCom-3 ( WSIS Gender Caucus)

Civil Society issues stong protest against exclusion (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

Activists denounce "erosion" of NGO participation in Summit (IPS)

Decision on closed drafting groups delayed (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

Key issues: Internet governance

Debate over Internet governance gets to the core (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

Internet governance proposals at PrepCom-3 (ITU)

PrepCom 3: Coalition on Financing ICTD reacts to major Internet governance document (APC)

Africa civil society issues statement on Internet governance (APC Africa ICT Policy Monitor)

Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) (WGIG)

Internet governance: A review in the context of the WSIS process ( WSIS Papers)

WSIS Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus (WSIS Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus)

Internet governance: Everybody's business in the Information Society (Wsis Papers)

Key issues: Implementation and follow-up

Grassroot practitioner community sign-on letter on WSIS follow -up (WSIS CS Plenary)

Working Group on implementation and follow-up of United Nations Conferences and Summits (United Nations)

Governments drop serious commitments to implementation (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

CS Working Group on Follow-up contribution to the PrepCom 3 (CS Working Group on Follow-up)

Statement to PrepComm-3 on behalf of Civil society Working group on WSIS Implementation and Follow-up (WSIS Cs Plenary)

Implementation and follow-up proposals at PrepCom-3 (ITU)

Civil society organisations submission to the 7th meeting of the WSIS GFC (Choike)

After Tunis: A summit without implementation and civil society? (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

Beyond WSIS - Is there any hope for a global IS policy forum? (OneWorld South Asia)

Discussions on implementation and follow-up after WSIS (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

WSIS Stocktaking (ITU)

Human rights issues

United Nations share concerns about human rights in Tunisia (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

Use the information summit to pressure the Tunisian authorities (The Daily Star)

Tunisia: on eve of information summit, UN rights expert calls for prisoner release (U.N)

World Summit on the Information Society PrepComm-3: Civil Society letter to Kofi Annan (AMARC - WFPC)

Open Statement from the Human Rights Caucus (APC)

Freedom of expression experts question credibility of UN World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia ( IFEX)

Human Rights at the Information Society Summit (IPS)

NGOs protest deterioration of rights in Tunisia two months ahead of WSIS (IFEX)

WSIS host country again threatens journalists (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

The state of human rights in Tunisia, host of the next WSIS (APC)

Tunisia and the World Summit on Information Society (International Federation for Human Rights)

After PrepCom: Towards Tunis

Intersessional work and resumed PrepCom-3 ( ITU)

Road to Tunis paved with questions (IPS)

PrepCom closes in disarray (Heinrich Böll Foundation)

Tunis ‘summit of solutions’ now in sight ( ITU)

General information on PrepCom-3

Gender IT coverage of Prepcom-3 (Gender IT)

PrepCom-3 official website ( ITU)

General report on Prepcom-3 (CONGO (Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations))

WSIS PrepCom-3, Tunis Phase (Heinrich Böll Foundation)


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