Dear Chun and Patcha,
I share your frustration about the current state of the draft Declaration=20
and Plan of Action as well as the processes surrounding them. I think most,=
=20
if not all, civil society actors who have been following up the PrepComs=20
and other preparatory events to the WSIS are feeling this way. We in the=20
Gender Strategies Working Group for example are deeply concerned that=20
Paragraph 9 on gender for example is back to its disempowering and=20
patronising tone. The same with the Community media group--all references=20
to community media were deleted.
While I also agree that there are already numerous documents where we have=
=20
put forward our points from the Asia-Pacific perspectives, I think it will=
=20
still be useful to come up with a concise but powerful A-P statement for=20
Prepcom 3A and the actual Summit. In fact, this might well be one of the=20
main reasons--there are so many documents, so many positions, that we need=
=20
to state ours again and again to ensure that they find space in both=20
inter-governmental and civil society discussions.
In terms of our organising for PrepCom 3A and the actual Summit, who is=20
confirmed to come? I suggest we draw up a list as soon as we can. And=20
later, we might want to line up the tasks that we need to accomplish and=20
get commitments from people/organisations. I have one of Chun's point in=20
mind in relation to this: How do want to express our concerns and what are=
=20
our minimum goals in Prepcom 3A and the actual Summit?
Looking forward to hearing from our other AP colleagues.
Mavic
At 04:36 PM 10/21/03 +0900, you wrote:
>Dear Susanna George, Adam Peake and others,
>
>
>Patcha is exactly right.
>I want to clarify his points in different way.
>We have the updated documents of Principle Declaration and Action Plan.
>With regard to what Susanna and Adam addressed as Asian non-negotiables,
>we have relevant paragraphs. And there we can confirm what remains
>as options in the current documents or what civil society proposals are.
>And also we should know that new sentence would no longer be added or
>paraphrased. What we can do in PrepCom IIIA is just simply to choose
>whether some squre bracketed parts should be taken out or not. I will
>describe it more concretely item by item.
>
>I also think that we can talk about what could be top priorities in Asian
>region again, but my point is that we should correctly understand where we
>are. And at this stage, even after our musts could be partly reflected in
>the current document - although I never believe it, I don't think that we
>could endorse this kind of meaningless document. Accordigly, first, we
>should clarify what should be done in PrepCom IIIA and How we would
>express our concern and what could be our minimum goal to be achieved.
>
>
>* Communication Rights (pa.4 and 19)
>
>The notion of communication rights have not been accepted. And the words
>like the right to communicate and the right to access information have
>already disappered. Unfortunately, the debate is just taking place
>regarding whether we will accept Article 29 would be added or not in the
>current text.(limiting human rights depending each country's situation)
>
>----------------------------------------------
>4. [1A. Communication is a fundamental social process, a basic human need
>and the foundation of all social organization. It is central to the
>information society. Everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to
>participate and no one should be excluded from the benefits the
>information society offers. [Freedom of expression and freedom of opinion,
>the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas regardless of
>frontiers [as enshrined in Article 19 [and 29] of the Universal
>Declaration of Human Rights] are the necessary premise of the information
>society.]]
>
>19. [21-22] Freedom of expression and freedom of opinion, the right to
>seek, receive and impart information and ideas regardless of frontiers [as
>enshrined in Article 19 [and 29] of the Universal Declaration of Human
>Rights] are the necessary premise of the information society. In building
>such an information society, the ability for all to access and contribute
>their information, ideas and knowledge is essential.
>
>
>* Rights to Development
>
>With regard to rights to development, we have already had two options.
>Civil society has already supported two options and other two extended
>square bracketed paragraphs and requested to take out 3bis part.
>
>--------------------------------------------
>3. We reaffirm the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and
>interrelation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, [OPTION A:
>including the right to development] and their ties to the principles of a
>democratic society, good governance, the rule of law at national and
>international level and sustainable development, [upholding the sovereign
>equality of all States]. [OPTION B: We are committed to making the right
>of development a reality for everyone and freeing the entire human race
>from want.]
>
>[The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair
>and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis. While
>the significance of national and regional particularities and various
>historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it
>is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and
>cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental
>freedoms.]
>
>[Our challenge is to harness the potential of the information technology
>to promote the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of
>universal primary education; promotion of gender equality and empowerment
>of women; reduction of child mortality; improvement maternal health; to
>combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; the ensuring of environmental
>sustainability; and in development of a global partnership for development
>for the attainment of a more peaceful just and prosperous world.]
>
>[3bis The information society based on ethics, moral values and human
>rights and should be an environment where dignity of humankind is
>comprehensively respected and fostered. The widest possible protection and
>assistance shall be accorded to the family which is the natural and most
>fundamental unit of our society. The information society creates an
>environment where all national sovereignties, religious, cultural, social
>and linguistic interest, without any discrimination are respected and
>protected.]
>
>
>* People with disabilities
>
>I remember this part of paragraph 9 is fully reflecting those languages
>which women caucus of civil society had suggested. Civil society group
>also proposed to change the word - the disabled into "people with
>disabilities" in accepting 9bis as one added sentence. Then, could women's
>group and disability group be satisfied at those paragraphs?
>
>--------------------------------------
>9. We affirm that development of ICTs provides enormous opportunities for
>women, who must be an integral part of and are key actors in the
>information society. We are committed to ensuring that the information
>society enables women=A1=AFs empowerment and their full participation on=
the
>basis of equality in all spheres of society and decision- making
>processes. [, and to ensuring that they are portrayed fairly and
>respectfully].
>
>9bis In building the information society, particular attention should be
>paid to marginalized and vulnerable groups of society, including migrants
>and refugees, unemployed and under-privileged people, the elderly(elder
>people), the disabled(people with disabilities), minorities, and those
>living in remote and rural areas.
>
>
>* Internet Governance
>
>Now, the most debating paragraph is neither 14 nor 39. As Adam Peake said
>it correctly, the hot point is paragraph 42.(ingergovernmental or
>international or governments and other interested parties) Civil society
>is arguing to use the word of "global public good" or "global facility
>available to the public". But the word of "public good" had been squre
>bracketed in previous version. Now such a notion would never be accepted
>because it has already disappered after long debate among governments.
>
>-----------------------------------
>14. [27] All stakeholders - governments, as well as private sector, civil
>society organizations and UN and other international organizations - have
>an important role and responsibility in the development of the Information
>Society and, as appropriate, in decision-making processes. The Internet
>has evolved into a global [public] [infrastructure]/[resource] (global
>public good or 'global facility available to the public') and its
>governance should constitute a core issue of the Information Society
>agenda. Building a people-centred Information Society is a joint effort
>which requires cooperation and partnership between all stakeholders.
>
>39. [44.]The Internet has evolved into a global public
>[infrastructure]/[resource] (global public good or 'global facility
>available to the public') and its governance should constitute a core
>issue of the Information Society agenda. The international management of
>the Internet should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the
>full involvement of governments, the private sector, civil society and
>international organizations. It should ensure an equitable distribution of
>resources, facilitate access for all and ensure a stable and secure
>functioning of the Internet, taking into account multilingualism.
>
>
>* Community Media or Community based communication
>
>Civil society, particularly Asia caucus suggested to add the notion of
>"community media" or "community-based communication". But still in the
>current document, such words has completely disappered.
>
>----------------------------------
>13. We are resolute in our quest to ensure that everyone can benefit from
>the opportunities that ICTs can offer. We agree that to meet these
>challenges, all stakeholders have to work together to increase access to
>information and communication infrastructure and technologies, as well as
>to information and knowledge, build capacity and trust, increase
>confidence and security in the use of ICTs, create an enabling environment
>at all levels, develop and widen ICT applications, foster and respect
>cultural diversity, (support community-based communications), promote
>media development, address the ethical dimension of the information
>society, and encourage international and regional cooperation. We agree
>that these are the key principles for building an inclusive information
>society.
>
>47. [51] The existence of [independent pluralistic and free] media [in
>accordance with the legal system of each country and] based on the
>Universal Declaration of Human Rights [particularly on Articles 19 and 29]
>is crucial to any conception of the Information Society. [Individuals and
>media should have access to available information]/[Freedom of access to
>and use of information for the creation, accumulation and dissemination of
>knowledge are important principles of the Information Society.] [Pluralism
>of information and diversity of media ownership should be encouraged].
>Traditional media (including public service broadcasting and community
>media) in all its forms will continue to have an important role in the
>Information Society and ICTs should play a supportive role in this regard.
>[Formulation of professional and ethical standards in journalism is the
>responsibility of media professionals.]
>
>
>* Intellectual Property Rights and Open/Free Software
>
>Paragraph 33 is breaking up the balance between user's right and IPR.
>It is remarkably emphasizing the importance of the protection of IPR.
>33a is the proposal of civil society, but no echo from governments.
>In the paragraph referring to open source software, at the last moment of
>PrepCom III, "free software" had been added. But as Richard Stallman had
>pointed out appropriately, the whole paragraph 22 is reflecting the trick
>of Microsoft so that some governmental policy to support open source s/w
>could be accused as a discriminative policy in trade.
>
>----------------------------------
>33. [40C] Intellectual property protection is essential to encour age the
>innovation and creativity in the Information Society. However, striking a
>fair balance between protection of intellectual property, one the one
>hand, and its use, and knowledge sharing, on the other, is essential to
>the Information Society. This balance is reflected by protection and
>flexibilities included in existing Intellectual Property agreements which
>should be maintained. Facilitating meaningful participation by all in
>intellectual property issues through awareness, capacity building and
>development of legal framework is a fundamental part of an inclusive
>Information Society.
>
>(33a.[new paragraph] A balance between copyright, and forms of fair use
>and the sharing of information is essential for the Information society.)
>
>22. 24A. The growth of an information society should be encouraged through
>the adoption of open source strategies for software applications as they
>contribute to increase access and enhance diversity for software users.
>Multiple software models exist which promotes the principle of technology
>neutrality, these include open source, free and proprietary software, and
>are valuable model that supports more affordable access to ICTs.
>
>
>* Privacy Protection and Surveillance
>
>There is no one independent paragraph regarding privacy protection rights
>in declaration. So, civil society proposed one additional paragraph 27a.,
>but it has not yet been echoed from any country. And there is no word of
>"survellance" in that document.
>
>--------------------------------------
>(27a. [new paragraph] The right to privacy is a human right and is
>essential for self-determined human development in regard to civic,
>political, social, economic, and cultural activities. It must be protected
>online, offline, in public spaces, at home and in the workplace. Every
>person must have the right to decide freely whether and in what manner he
>or she wants to receive information and communicate with others. The
>possibility of communicating anonymously must be ensured for everyone. The
>collection, retention, use and disclosure of personal data, no matter by
>whom, should remain under the control of and determined by the individual
>concerned.)
>
>
>regards,
>
>Chun
>------------------------------------------------------------
>Chun Eung Hwi
>General Secretary, PeaceNet | phone: (+82) 2-2166-2205
>Seoul Yangchun P.O.Box 81 | pcs: (+82) 019-259-2667
>Seoul, 158-600, Korea | eMail: chun@peacenet.or.kr
>------------------------------------------------------------