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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hello to all. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Sorry for my silence--but don't worry, I have been reading
all the interesting posts from Paris and after, and have been in fact forwarding
quite a bit of the messages in CSB, CT, and "Plenary" (in quotes now :-), to our
Asia list. (Not all Asian CSO stakeholders are on the aforementioned lists for
some reason or another, and this function is inherent to the articulated role of
the CSB focal points, to facilitate transparency and participation of all
stakeholders.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I am supportive of Sean's articulation (his five
points), based on actual experience as Asian Civil Society convenor in
PrepCom1, Asia Pacific Regional PrepCom (Tokyo), and PrepCom2. I also do so
as one of the two focal points for our Asian Family in the CSB (the other one
being Angela Kuga Thas). As one of the original drafters of the Terms of
Reference of the CSB (during PrepCom2), I am sure that the spirit of the five
points is in the original and subsequent drafts.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>In all of the WSIS related processes I have been involved
with, it has always been my understanding that the CS Plenary, though not
perfect, is the best way in which CSOs can organize themselves and achieve the
best consensus that can be forged. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Thanks.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Al Alegre</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>P.S. Congratulations and thank you to all of you who have
worked hard in Paris. Hopefully, I can come to Geneva for PrepCom3 and
contribute again directly in some way.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:sean@nexus.ie" title=sean@nexus.ie>Sean O Siochru</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A href="mailto:plenary@wsis-cs.org"
title=plenary@wsis-cs.org>plenary@wsis-cs.org</A> ; <A
href="mailto:ct@wsis-cs.org" title=ct@wsis-cs.org>ct@wsis-cs.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A href="mailto:bureau@wsis-cs.org"
title=bureau@wsis-cs.org>bureau@wsis-cs.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, July 24, 2003 8:57
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Bureau] John Gagain's note:
Does Civil Society Plenary not exist?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi everyone <BR><BR>I think John's surprising note, and the
position he takes in it on civil society structures, offers us an opportunity
to remind ourselves of the basic progress we have made so far in civil
society. <B>This note is seeking your support on five basic point below.</B>
<BR><BR>At 15:27 23/07/2003 -0400, <B>John R. Gagain Jr. wrote [my
bold]:<BR><BR></B>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite type="cite"><FONT color=#0000ff face=arial
size=2> Concerning the modalities of the CS mechanisms at the WSIS:
<OL>
<LI>CS Information Session and Debriefing. <B>There does not exist a forum
at the WSIS referred to as "Civil Society Plenary", nor was there ever one
</B>at any other U.N. sponsored Summit in the past. A Plenary
signifies a fixed group of members or member states and the actual
official definition is: <I>1. Complete in all respects, unlimited or full:
a diplomat with plenary powers, 2. Fully attended by all qualified
members: a plenary session of the council.</I> As you can see, Civil
Society does not fulfill this definition or its prerequisites. ....
<LI>[snip] ... , as I mention above,<B> there is no CS Plenary; and
especially not one that makes decisions on behalf of Civil Society.
</B>T</FONT></LI></OL></BLOCKQUOTE>
<OL></OL>In one sense, it is refreshing to hear such definitive,
authoritative, statements about how Civil Society is organised at the
WSIS. (Why didn't someone tell us this two years ago?) <BR><BR>More
seriously, though, I cannot accept that the 'Civil Society Plenary' meetings
that I attended at Prepcom 1 at PrepCom 2, and that were held in Paris, did
not in fact take place as such, and that these meetings had no authority to
take decisions on behalf of civil society at the WSIS. Such a claim,
especially from a member of the Civil Society Bureau, really must be
refuted. As a member of the Bureau myself, this is certainly not an
official view and this is the first time I have heard it aired.
<BR><BR>(By the same token, John could even define the Bureau out of existence
on the basis that one has never previously existed at Un conferences. Even
more, since in reality, the SOLE source of legitimacy for the Bureau is the
Civil Society Plenary, and since the Bureau itself has explicitly agreed it is
subject to the Civil Society Plenary, then surely the Bureau cannot exist!)
<BR><BR>Nice and all as it is to fantasize, there are some important facts and
achievements of civil society in the WSIS process that I think are worth
reaffirming. <BR><BR>1. Civil Society has constituted itself into a
Plenary at every convening of the WSIS, PrepComs, Intercessional, Summits. It
is open to all of civil society members and of course any organisations is
free not to participate. But the great majority have chosen to. It
is the ultimate decision making body of civil society in relation to the
WSIS. <BR><BR>2. It has endorsed the existence of the Bureau, and
the Bureau has agreed explicitly that it is subject to the Civil Society
Plenary Meeting and must report to it regularly. <BR><BR>3. The CS
Plenary Meeting has endorsed the Content and Themes Group, which also reports
to it. And it has endorsed most if not all of the various caucuses,
working groups and so forth. <BR><BR>4. The Civil Society Division of
the Secretariat serves the Civil Society Plenary Meeting and anything the
Plenary sets up, although it can also provide support to any groups who
choose not to associate with the Plenary. <BR><BR>5. Regarding the
(currently important) operation of the CS Plenary between physical meetings,
the following was agreed by the Civil Society Plenary at PrepCom 2 (extract
from the Description of the plenary@wsis-cs.org list) <A
href="http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary"
eudora="autourl">http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary</A>
<DL>
<DD><I>"The Civil Society Plenary Meeting, when convened, is the source of
legitimacy for all civil society activities in the WSIS.
<DD>Between PrepComs a 'Virtual CS Plenary Group' has been created
(plenary@wsis-cs.org), comprising organisations and other entities
accredited and registered at both PrepComs to date, from civil society,
although organisations with a key interest in the issues but that are not
part of the Summit process should also have the opportunity to participate.
<DD>The list will <B>not be a decision-making space,</B> in the sense that
no voting will be called for, but a space to <B>promote greater debate and
transparency </B>in the organisation of Civil Society during the
summit." </I>[my bold] </DD></DL>The CS-Plenary list
(plenary@wsis-cs.org) was subsequently set up and now has over 250 registered,
all of whom in the interests of accountability an transparency have registered
their names when joining the list. Thus, the CS-Plenary list is a space to
promote debate and transparency in civil society overall in between physically
convened Civil Society Plenary groups. I believe all major issues and
proposals should be openly debated there before any decisions are taken by
other groups, such as the Bureau and the Content & Themes Group. I also
believe that many decisions must be reaffirmed at the opening Civil Society
Plenary at PrepCom 3, if there have been widely different views expressed on
it. <BR><BR>This structure may not be perfect, but it is all we have, it has
wide support, and has been endorsed at all major civil meetings and venues at
the WSIS. I really think at this point that we all have to be working
from the same basics. There are too many important issues facing us
right now to run the risk of destroying the structures we have so
painstakingly put together. <BR><BR><B>I am seeking support for the above five
points </B>from those on this list as I believe we cannot be continually
reinventing the past and must move forward. I will also be communicating on
these matters within the Bureau. <BR><BR>Very best<BR><BR>Sean
<BR><BR><BR><X-SIGSEP>
<P></X-SIGSEP>___________________________________________________<BR>Seán Ó
Siochrú<X-TAB> </X-TAB>Central office: tel: +353 1 473 0599
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site: <A href="http://www.iol.ie/nexus"
eudora="autourl">http://www.iol.ie/nexus</A>
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