<div>Having Ms. Shirin Ebadi as opening speaker for Civil Society in Tunis would present obvious advantages and her nomination could be forwarded to the Secretariat after a simple endorsement process described below.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Main advantages</strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>1) It would of course put human rights and gender balance at the forefront of the building of inclusive information societies, uderlining that the WSIS process is not only about technology, and that appropriate "enabling environments" also mean freedom of expression and access to information, and "capacity building" also means equal opportunities for men and women, including access to education.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>2) She comes from a country that is very vocal during the WSIS process and the last PrepCom in Internet Governance and Follow-up discussions : in the first domain, the iranian national representative strongly advocates that Internet Governance should be "transparent and democratic, with full linvolvement of all stakeholders"; and in the second one, that follow-up at all levels should be done with the participation of all stakeholders.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>If properly briefed on the status of discussions on the draft Tunis Declaration and the written commitments that governments plan to make in WSIS II, she would be in an ideal position to take governments at their own words and describe in plain language how far from these commitments actual practice in some countries really is. This is the opportunity to point the often too large gap between what governments say in international arenas and what they indeed practice at home.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The WSIS has introduced something new in the international negociation process : witnesses. Civil Society's participation was not what it should have been; but enough organizations were nonetheless present during the process to hear government representatives make commitments they now can be held accountable for.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Summits are not traditional bilateral negociations where secret is the natural rule. Summit processes are the closest thing to a world Parliament (far from it I know, but still the closest thing), where general principles for our global community (Polity) are elaborated. The first absolute rule of representative democracy is the publicity of debates.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>The ironic situation where citizens of countries (as CS actors) are not even allowed by the rules of procedure to simply listen to what representatives of their own government are saying on their behalf is totally contradictory with the notion of democracy and the transparency principle.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>3) Finally, Shirin Ebadi was, if I understand well, the first woman judge in Iran. In most countries, the judiciary is a branch of the State and rightly so. Therefore, she is now a Civil Society actor with a past in the governmental sector, as are today many ex-ministers, presidents, parlementarians and civil servants. This brings an interesting light to the discussion that recently emerged around Adama or some "senators".
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Civil society is and should indeed be open to all individuals that, irrespective of their past functions, engage in governance processes as peers with all other actors, relinquishing whatever privilege they may still have and accepting to be evaluated on their sole "capacity to contribute", rather than the traditional intergovernmental rule of "equal right to oppose" (which is, ultimately, the basic foundation of the UN system under the expression "equal sovereignty of States").
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Choosing Shirin Ebadi is therefore also a symbol of the inclusiveness of Civil Society.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>_______________</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Endorsement process</strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Key question is now : if, as it seems from initial reactions, there is a general agreement on her being the favorite CS choice for the opening ceremony, how can this be secured ? </div>
<div> </div>
<div>1) The principle that Civil society actors accredited to the Summit process should - at least - have the right to choose who is going to speak on behalf of civil society for the opening ceremony must be strongly reaffirmed; this is a "make or break" principle.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>2) For obvious reasons, there is no way an absolute consensus can be achieved on the Plenary list and we should not waste time trying to obtain it. We are therefore in the typical situation where rough consensus (as practiced in the internet community) is the only way out. :
<div>- there is a need to take a decision (only one slot and a real deadline)</div>
<div>- absolute consensus cannot be achieved</div>
<div>- a large majority seems to emerge on a specific name</div>
<div>- dissenting opinions do not seem to be able to provide an alternative that would be accepted by all</div></div>
<div> </div>
<div>3) A two-fold process (taking inspiration from the notion of rough consensus) could therefore be established :</div>
<div>- a general call on the Plenary list would ask individuals or accredited entities to express support and a formal nomination paper would be transmitted to the Secretariat and Amb. Karklins with an attachment listing accredited entities and individuals supporting the nomination
</div>
<div>- the call would simultaneously invite actors who might still have objections to the nomination (if any) to indicate so and allow them to submit a separate motion (sort of dissenting opinion) with : their name, all potential connexions with participating governments (as a matter of transparency) and - possibly - an alternative speaker they agree upon.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The second element, that would allow the expression of minority positions, is essential to make the process fully legitimate. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>4) On a separate basis, CS actors with particular connexions with their governments could make them aware of the ongoing process and ask them to support publicly or more privately to the Secretariat the right of civil society to choose its opening speaker, outlining the bad press the Summit would get if the name of Shirin Ebadi were to be voluntarily refused.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I hope this will help move forward on this good idea.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Bertrand</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div></div>
<div> </div>
<div><br><br> </div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 10/14/05, <b class="gmail_sendername"><a href="mailto:maseger@t-online.de">maseger@t-online.de</a></b> <<a href="mailto:maseger@t-online.de">maseger@t-online.de</a>> wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">[Please note that by using 'REPLY', your response goes to the entire list. Kindly use individual addresses for responses intended for specific people]
<br><br>Click <a href="http://wsis.funredes.org/plenary/">http://wsis.funredes.org/plenary/</a> to access automatic translation of this message!<br>_______________________________________<br><br>Hallo, Meryem! & Friends!
<br><br>On behalf of my (European umbrella-)Organisation<br>I fully support the nomination of Mrs. Shirin Ebadi<br>(2003 peace Nobel prize winner) as a keynote speaker<br>for CS at the WSIS II Summit, TUNIS.<br><br>And I thank Renata for her decision to step aside.
<br><br>MARIANNE<br>(Gender Caucus and European Caucus)<br><br>Marianne Seger<br>permament European NGO observer<br>at the U.N. New York and Geneva<br>for<br>EURAG European Federation of Older Persons<br>GRAZ/AUSTRIA<br>(
<a href="http://www.eurag-europe.org">www.eurag-europe.org</a>)<br><br>---------------------------------------------------<br>> On behalf of the small organization which I<br>> represent, I wish to say that we most strongly
<br>> support the nomination of Ms. Ebadi as a keynote<br>> speaker for CS at the Tunis Summit, especially<br>> under the circumstances and regardless of how<br>> much solidarity Adama Samassékou feels with CS
<br>> (sorry Tracey--but we just don't believe that<br>> he's an appropriate CS representative).<br>><br>> Regards,<br>><br>> Lisa<br>> Union for Democratic Communications<br>>------------------------------------------------------------------------
<br><br>> >Dear Amir,<br>> ><br>> >This is to confirm that Ms. Ebadi has finally managed to make herself<br>> >available for the Tunis Summit, despite her busy agenda. We have got<br>> >the news very late, that is the reason why I posted only yesterday the
<br>> >message and have sent yesterday also the letters to Mr Utsumi and to<br>> >Amb. Karklins.<br>> >The Human Rights caucus is in contact with her, through one of its<br>> >members. Her participation is entirely confirmed.
<br>> >We would be happy to include the West-Asia Family in the list of CS<br>> >entities proposing Ms. Ebadi as a speaker for WSIS opening.<br>> ><br>> >Kind regards,<br>> >Meryem<br>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
<br>> Lisa McLaughlin, Ph.D.<br>> Associate Professor, Mass Communication & Women's Studies<br>> Editor, Feminist Media Studies<br>> Director of Graduate Studies, M.A. Program in Mass Communication<br>> Union for Democratic Communications Representative,
<br>> World Summit on the Information Society (<a href="http://www.udc.org">http://www.udc.org</a>)<br>><br>> Mass Communication<br>> Williams Hall<br>> Miami University-Ohio<br>> Oxford, OH 45056<br>> USA
<br>> Tele: 513-529-3547<br>> Fax: 513-529-1835<br><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Plenary mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Plenary@wsis-cs.org">Plenary@wsis-cs.org</a><br><a href="http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary">
http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary</a><br></blockquote></div><br>