[CS Bureau] consultations on WSIS implementation

Mon Apr 25 17:09:14 BST 2005

Dear Tracey, Dear all :

This invitation raises concerns. All the more so that the 
issue is very important : implementation mechanisms 
for the WSIS Action Plan will be a key outcome of Tunis. 
Choices made will impact the "pecking order" of the 
international organizations dealing with Information Society 
issues (including the future of the ITU) but also will 
determine for many years the role of Civil society in these 
processes. 

MAJOR CONCERNS

While we could welcome this apparent effort of openness from 
the ITU, the modalities and context of this invitation 
raise deep concerns.

1) this invitation emanates from the ITU and not from the 
President of the PrepCom; 
2) it is a consultation held for a few hours, with les than 
three weeks notice, which means it is only accessible for 
people already in Geneva : no one will come from far away 
for a three hour meeting;
3) the consultation is intended to get "the views of a 
representative sample of WSIS stakeholders" (ie a 
predetermination of representativity) with a vague mention 
that the meeting is open and no indication on the 
participation of government representatives
4) nothing in the format indicates the type of interaction 
expected and the nature of the discussion : "reviewing 
comments" can mean a very open debate or a simple collation 
of successive interventions.  

In this context, there is a great risk for such a meeting to 
be a weak opportunity for civil society to be heard but be 
later identified during PrepCom3 as "consultations with 
civil society and private sector stakeholders", serving as 
an alibi for not holding other consultations.

NOT UP TO THE TASK

This is not the participatory process that civil society, in 
numerous interventions, has requested to address this 
essential topic.

As early as July 2003, during the Paris intersessional 
meeting of the first phase, Civil Society outlined the need 
for multi-stakeholder consultations on this issue
(translation form my intervention in french) :

"Governments cannot implement the WSIS Plan of Action 
alone : active participation form civil society, the private 
sector and international organizations is essential.[] Any 
follow-up mechanism should be multi-stakeholder.[] But 
discussion on its structure and mandate can only be fruitful 
if it is conducted in a format that associates all 
categories of stakeholders, including civil society."

After the long hibernation of the WSIS process in 2004, the 
issue has only been briefly addresssed during PrepCom2 last 
February. Again, in a Plenary intervention on February 21st, 
2005, civil society has strongly reiterated its demands for 
a true multi-stakeholder interaction :

"The ambitious Geneva Plan of Action cannot be implemented 
by governments alone : civil society and private sector 
engagement is indispensable; but these actors will only 
engage if they have been associated early on in the very 
definition of the mechanisms to be put in place in Tunis.
[]
The period between now and PrepCom3 should not be wasted but 
used to conduct the open and inclusive consultations 
required by the importance of the issue. This should be done 
in a multi-stakeholder format, at the initiative of the 
PrepCom Chairman. 
[]
We reiterate our proposal – or should I say our strong 
request -  for the rapid establishment, at the initiative of 
the PrepCom Chairman, of a structured dialogue among all 
stakeholders on this important issue."

So far, 16 months after the Geneva Summit and less than six 
months before the key discussions of PrepCom3, the present 
ITU invitation seems unfortunately the only framework 
proposed to conduct this needed consultation. It is not up 
to the importance of the task.

AN OCCASION TO REITERATE OUR REQUEST FOR A MORE STRUCTURED 
DEBATE

This invitation was extended to Civil Society through the 
CSB. But the CSB cannot handle this issue alone, nor should 
only CSB members attend this meeting - we should distinguish 
process, participation and substance. 

On process, CSB is legitimate to take position. I have 
drafted two letters and your comments are welcome : 
- the first one to Yuri Grin, Chairman of the ITU 
WSIS Group, thanking him for the invitation but underling 
the various points above and CS demands for a more 
structured interaction (letter ccd to Amb Karklins, Charles 
Geiger and M. Utsumi)
- the second one to Amb. Karklins, with similar content as 
above and requesting that an open consultation be held on 
the substance of the issue on the occasion of the next 
meeting of the WGIG in Geneva in June and on the occasion of 
the presentation of the WGIG report in July, in order to 
optimize travel costs for the CS actors who would like to 
participate. 

On participation, it is good that some CS actors can be 
there. (I probably won't be there) But it is important that 
they are not only from CSB. My suggestion is to circulate 
the invitation to the wider Plenary with the mention of the 
position taken by the CSB on procedure (and attached leeters 
if agreed). Interventions during this meeting should be 
focussing on principles, reiteration of the basic positions 
agreed so far and the request for more structured 
interaction. 

On substance, this meeting on May 2 is an opportunity to 
refine further the previous positions of Civil Society on 
follow-up and continue the discussion started at PrepCom2 
through the dedicated Working Group on Follow-up and 
Inmplementation that was created there. I will recirculate 
the existing draft positions and activate the followup 
mailing list.

Attached : the two draft letters in a single Word file

I hope you will find this useful. It is an important moment 
and CS should not be used as an alibi. 

Best

Bertrand 

---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 21:43:03 +0300
>From: Tracey Naughton <tracey at traceynaughton.com>  
>Subject: [CS Bureau] consultations on WSIS implementation  
>To: bureau at wsis-cs.org
>
>Hello All
>
>I have received the attached invitation. Are any of the CSB 
members 
>nearer to the scene able to attend? There is no offer to 
support 
>participation which may mean limited participation from 
countries with 
>the greatest digital divide issues. That's a problem, but 
it would 
>still be great to have some CSB people there.
>
>Please let us know if you can participate, via this list.
>
>Tracey
>
>
>________________
>WG-WSIS consultations 2 May.doc 306k bytes
>________________
>
>
>Tracey Naughton
>NYAKA
>Communication for Development Consultant
>201 Somerset Hall
>239 Oxford Road
>Illovo     2196
>South Africa
>
>landline & fax:	+27 (0) 11 880 5030
>cell / mobile:	+27 (0) 82 821 1771
>email:		tracey at traceynaughton.com
>skype:		tracey_naughton
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