[CS Bureau] B2B text for your response

[Tracey Naughton]

Dear Bureau Members

As discussed in today's meeting - here is a re-draft of the text for  
tomorrows meeting. It will require another polish, but I cannot do  
more before tomorrow morning. In the meantime please do send your  
comments - please suggest specific text changes.

Anyone off site - this not is for the Intergovernmental Bureau and  
does not address issues that need to be raised with other bodies,  
including the WSIS Executive Secretariat.

thanks

Tracey


Civil Society Discussion Points
Tunis Summit Preparations & the WSIS Implementation Phase

Presented at PrepCom 3, September 2005
to the WSIS Inter-Governmental Bureau

This note follows and builds on the document submitted to the Inter- 
Governmental Bureau shortly after PrepCom 2.


1.  Mutli-Stakholder Approach


We appreciate the interaction at Bureau level, which is enabled in  
the context of PrepComs, and want to encourage this to be continued  
beyond the WSIS process, within the framework of any post WSIS  
mechanisms. We look forward to being informed of Government Bureau  
decisions and to future meaningful interaction.

We previously requested active engagement in the decision thinking  
and decision making stages of preparation for the Summit. Although we  
acknowledge that our input has been received, considered and in  
several aspects, acted upon, we strongly submit that we have  
expertise and a complementary perspective that has not been fully  
realised through face-to-face participation. We reiterate this  
request and offer an assurance that Civil Society has the capacity to  
self organise appropriate and highly skilled representation in this  
regard.



Having said that, Civil Society is concerned that there is an erosion  
of commitment to the much-lauded multi-stakeholder approach for which  
WSIS has been acclaimed. Although the spirit remains in the WSIS  
process, we are concerned that it is gradually and subtly being  
eroded in practise and in texts. There is as yet, no clear commitment  
to its continuation within WSIS follow up. Multi-stakeholder process  
is a significant achievement within WSIS, and is a model for other UN  
negotiations. We ask that the Inter-governmental Bureau will promote  
it in WSIS related formats and more broadly as a mechanism for global  
governance.


2. Connectivity at WSIS, Tunis



Internet Access:



We appreciate that Internet access will be available at the Summit.  
Internet access is a basic tool of work for civil society, indeed for  
the Information and knowledge societies that we are constructing. The  
high cost of connectivity at the Geneva Summit was a severe  
impediment to the work of civil society. The travel and accommodation  
costs of participation for civil society members are already high and  
we ask for your support in minimising additional costs.


Virtual Participation and Meeting Spaces:


There is a high level of interest in virtual participation that we  
believe must be catered for. We reiterate our request for all key  
meetings and events to be organised to enable virtual participation  
by interested parties who will not be able to attend the Summit in  
person.










3. Documentation and Press Conferences



Press conferences:


We bring to your attention the allocation of daily press conference  
time at the Summit, for civil society. This is an indication that  
different actors in the WSIS process are implementing the spirit of  
multi-stakeholder process.


4. Final Documents



Summit documents:



Civil Society seeks a Summit outcome document that reflects the views  
of all parties to the negotiations. Any other outcome would diminish  
the climate of multi-stakeholder process. We note that some of our  
ideas have been included in texts to date, and that we have not taken  
a decision to develop a separate text. However, we also reserve the  
possibility, that should our input not be clearly reflected in a  
multi-stakeholder document, of issuing a separate document. In this  
event, we would like such a document to be appended, as in Phase 1 of  
WSIS, to the Summit Declaration. Additionally, in the event of a  
separate document from Civil Society being produced, we request a  
specific time to present this to the Government plenary at the Summit.



5. Financing of Civil Society



The matter of financing Civil Society participation needs to be  
planned and catered for with adequate time to prepare quality  
outcomes. Civil Society participants seek assistance in advance on  
two levels – that of fellowships for attendance and participation and  
for events and projects that will enable innovation in the exhibition  
and parallel event platforms. We ask that neutral institutions such  
as UN-NGLS distribute all funding for civil society.



In particular civil society requests information on the commitment by  
the Tunisian Government of 400,000 Dinars for civil society  
participation. We applaud this allocation but call for urgent  
information on how this fund will be used in relation to travel,  
accommodation and subsistence and how it will be announced and  
distributed. We understand this fund will be targeted to support  
participants from least developed countries and young people and call  
for it to include support for people in developing nations who have  
been active in the WSIS process.



We call also upon other governments to follow the lead of the  
Tunisian Government and make complementary allocations to civil  
society participation.



7. Regional Follow up to WSIS



We ask the Inter-governmental Bureau to call upon Governments to  
facilitate and support future regional Information and knowledge  
societies events that arise from the WSIS process. We ask that the  
right of freedom of assembly be ensured before, during and after the  
Tunis Summit.



8. Liaison with WSIS Executive Secretariat



Civil Society has additional items to raise that relate to the  
logistics of the Summit. These include matters of visas, document  
importation and immunity, which we anticipate will be covered by the  
host country agreement. We appreciate and acknowledge the positive co- 
operation between civil society and the Executive Secretariat and its  
commitment to informing civil society about the host country  
agreement, which it is anticipated, will be signed during PrepCom 3.



  
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