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----- Original Message -----
From: karen banks <karenb@gn.apc.org>
To: <mission.un-gen@mfa.gov.lv>
Cc: Natasha Primo <natasha@womensnet.org.za>; Renata Bloem
<rbloem@ngocongo.org>; <bureau@wsis-cs.org>; <charles.geiger@itu.int>
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 11:44 PM
Subject: [CS Bureau] Iranian authorities ban West Asia and Middle East WSIS
CivilSociety meeting on Kish Island (Iran) - Statement and Call to Action
> Dear Ambassador Karklins,
>
> Please find below a statement that has been written and endorsed by a
> coalition of Civil Society organisations who were involved in the WSIS
> Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East
> and West Asia, scheduled for August 24th to 26th.
>
> As the statement attests, the banning of the meeting, according to the
> current understanding of events, contravenes the core spirit and principles
> of the WSIS process.
>
> We would request that, in your role as President of the PrepCom, and not
> withstanding and appreciating the enourmous load you have to carry at this
> time, that appropriate enquiries be made and an explanation be sought from
> the relevant authorities, as to how such an action came to be.
>
> regards
> Karen Banks
> APC Networking and Advocacy Coordinator
> ---------
>
> To: plenary@wsis-cs.org, africa@wsis-cs.org
>
> FYI. Please use the text below to register your protest against the Iranian
> authorities' banning of a West Asia and Middle East regional meeting of
> civil society representatives that was scheduled for 24-256 August 2005 to
> discuss issues pertaining to the information society.
>
> APC will be sending the document to the key figures involved in the WSIS.
> We hereby call on all activists to lobby their governments for positive
> action in inter-governmental fora - and at home - protect human rights,
> particularly those pertaining to communication rights.
>
> To show solidarity and support, please disseminate this statement and call
> to action to (i) your government officials involved in the WSIS process,
> (ii) official representation of he Iranian government in your country, and
> (iii) international and national development partners.
>
> **************************
> *
>
> *Kish** Statement - **August 25, 2005***
> /
>
> /
>
> /IRAN//: Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the
> file://Middle East// and file://West Asia// unexpectedly banned by government
> authorities./
>
>
> Iranian authorities this week banned a regional civil society forum in
> Iran, grouping 40 Iranian and international delegates to talk about the
> Internet and information society a few hours before the start of the event.
>
> The second Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the
> Middle East and West Asia was to take place in the free trade zone of Kish
> Island, Iran on August 23-25. The Forum was organized by Volunteer Actors,
> an Iranian NGO which also serves as the civil society focal point for the
> WSIS for the Middle East and West Asia. The United Nations, the World Bank,
> UNESCO and the WSIS secretariat collaborated in the planning of the event.
> The Forum was designed to form recommendations from the region on the
> Internet and information policy to take to the UN-sponsored WSIS-2 summit
> scheduled for Tunisia in November, which all national governments and major
> international organizations will attend. Civil Society organizations have
> been an integral part of the WSIS process since its inception and have
> actively been engaged in drafting declarations.
>
> We, the international organizations present, strongly regret the decision
> of the Iranian authorities to ban the civil society forum, which was to
> discuss the issues of access to information, freedom of expression on the
> Internet, and to build the capacities of civil society organizations and
> women's NGOs through a series of ICT related training programs.
>
> An Iranian governmental delegation attended the WSIS-1 summit in 2003 and
> Iran is an active participant and signatory to the WSIS Declaration and
> Plan of Action. It committed itself to the spirit and ambitions of the
> Summit and information society, which include the wide participation of
> government, private and NGO sector actors.
>
> A similar conference to prepare for WSIS-1 was also held at Kish in August
> 2003 with the full acceptance of the authorities.
>
> Canceling the event is in violation of the established goals and principles
> of the WSIS. In Iran, as elsewhere, ICTs play an important part in the
> development of Iran's economy and society, and its role in the region.
>
> We sincerely hope that this decision was due to local administrative error,
> and not a considered policy at a strategic level by the Iranian authorities.
>
> For further information please contact Mary Lawlor (English language),
> director, Front Line, +353 (0)1 212 3750, marylawlor@frontlinedefenders.org
> <mailto:marylawlor@frontlinedefenders.org>, or Gamal Eid (Arabic language)
> +20 2 5249544, info@hrinfo.net <mailto:info@hrinfo.net>
>
> Statement issued by:
>
> · Afghan Computer Science Association (Afghanistan)
>
> · Agency for Public Transformations (Ukraine)
>
> · Association for Progressive Communication (South Africa)
>
> · Front Line (Ireland)
>
> · Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos)
> (Netherlands)
>
> · Internews Europe (France)
>
> · Internews Pakistan (Pakistan)
>
> · The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Egypt)
>
> · Women's Information Center (Georgia)
>
> · Women'sNet (South Africa)
>
> * *
>
> *Call to action:*
>
>
> The Iranian authorities:
>
> · We would request that Iranian authorities clarify the reasons why this
> meeting was cancelled in violation of the spirit of both WSIS and Article 19.
>
> · We would also like to request the cooperation of the government in
> guaranteeing the ability to hold future meetings of civil society
> organizations.
>
> · The Iranian government should live up to its international commitments
> and international human rights instruments.
>
> · The Iranian government should recognize the important role of NGOs and
> CSOs in advancing social and economic development.
>
> To international development partners and UN bodies:
>
> · We would request you to use all networks and channels available to you to
> protest against the decision by the Iranian authorities.
>
> · We also would like to request you to continue your support to Iranian
> CSOs, the strengthening of the Iranian civil society, the WSIS process and
> international human rights.
>
>
> WSIS authorities:
>
> · We would request you to lodge a protest with the Iranian authorities on
> the grounds that their restriction of this conference has contravened their
> own obligations under the WSIS framework, to which they are signatories.
>
> · We also would like to request you to facilitate and monitor the
> participation of Iranian civil society and private sector in all aspects of
> the WSIS process.
>
> National governments, regional and diplomatic communities
>
> · We would request you to lodge a protest with the Iranian authorities on
> the grounds that their restriction of this conference has contravened their
> own obligations under the WSIS framework and the Universal Declaration of
> Human Rights, to which they are signatories.
>
> · We also would like to request you to facilitate and monitor the
> participation of Iranian civil society and private sector in all aspects of
> the WSIS process.
>
>
> *Annex: The events as they unfolded.*
>
> /A month before the meeting:/
>
> 1 Organizers traveled to Kish and met with the Executive Director of the
> Kish Free Trade Zone, Mr. Ghasemi and Kish University to coordinate the
> logistics for the implementation of this meeting in Kish. The meetings were
> followed by official letters to both the University and the Kish Free Trade
> Zone and asking for their cooperation and coordination in convening the
> meeting. There were no problems or objections to convening this meeting
> expressed by the government.
>
>
> /The day before the meeting:/
>
> 1 Officials from the Office of Amaken (Public Spaces) of the Police Force
> requested the organizers to submit to them a list of participants, both
> national and international.
>
> 2 Through telephone conversations the Office of Amaken (Public Spaces) of
> the Police Force informed the organizers that a license was necessary to
> convene the event.
>
> 3 The Office of Foreign Citizens contacted the organizers asking for an
> explanation for the participation of international organizations,
> especially those from outside the region. The organizers explained that the
> international participants are either qualified trainers or working in the
> region.
>
> 4 The organizers attempted to get a permit from the Kish authorities, who
> informed them that these types of meetings do not require a license. But at
> the same time, the organizers were perplexed because the Amaken office was
> requiring a license.
>
> 5 Finally, the Dept. of Social Affairs in Kish agreed to consider the
> organizers request for a license and then would respond promptly. The Dept.
> of Social Affairs convened a Provincial Security Council meeting.
> /
> Day 1 of the meeting (the scheduled opening):/
>
> 6 The authorities informed the organizers that the meeting was cancelled
> because - given the transitional state of the government - the meeting has
> political consequences for the Kish Free Trade Zone
>
> 7 Kish University officials contacted the organizers that they had also
> been contacted by the Kish authorities and told that the meeting was
> officially cancelled.
>
> 8 The organizers contacted the National High Council on ICT, the Iranian
> representative to the United Nations, and the Secretariat of the High
> Council on National Security to lobby for their support and to alter the
> decision. The organizers also contacted the Secretariat for Free Trade
> Zones with responsibility for Kish and other free trade zones in Iran.
>
> 9 These efforts and contacts resulted in a change in the position of local
> authorities which was that the conference could continue but only with
> certain conditions. The stipulations were that:
>
> 1. The conference could not make any comment on Iran.
>
> 2. The organizers should guarantee in writing that they would take
> responsibility for everything discussed at the meeting, including their
> opinions.
>
> Discussion of conditions continued through the day and night of the first
> day of the scheduled conference.
>
> /Day 2 of the meeting (as scheduled):/
>
> 1 The organizers asked for specifics on the terms to see if there steps
> that could be taken to accommodate the conference. At this point the
> conference was officially cancelled.
>
> 2 The officials announced telephonically to the hotel management that
> participants should not gather in groups.
>
> 3 A morning meeting intended to inform participants of the conference of
> the situation was interrupted and disbanded as it was an unsanctioned meeting.
>
> 4 The police arrived to inform hotel officials that conference participants
> are not allowed to gather.
>
> --
> //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\
> Natasha Primo, Executive Director
> Women'sNet
> Physical address: 31 Quinn Street, JOhannesburg 2001, South Africa
> Mailing address: PO Box 62577, Marshalltown 2107, South Africa
> Tel: +27-11-4290000, Fax: +27-11-8389871
> Email: natasha@womensnet.org.za
> URL: http://www.womensnet.org.za
>