<P>Sorry for the delay of my message</P>
<P>CSDPTT, french NGO active mainly in connecting remote villages and communities in Western Africa, supports the Women's statement on tunesian HR situation and signs the document.</P>
<P>Jean-Louis Fullsack</P>
<P>President CSDPTT<BR><BR><BR><BR></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #ff0000 2px solid">> Message du 15/11/05 20:22<BR>> De : "Jac" <JAC@APCWOMEN.ORG><BR>> A : mavic@iwtc.org, chat@apcwomen.org, vickisemler@aol.com, annewalker@iwtc.org, graciela_isabel_sanchez@yahoo.com, feanywhere@yahoo.co.uk, lettiel@gmail.com, kazajudy@yahoo.com, maseger@t-online.de, kutomaj@yahoo.com, wsis-gc@genderwsis.org, plenary@wsis-cs.org, jensen@BOELL.DE, dr.heike.jensen@web.de, mujeralc@yahoo.com, maria@radiofeminista.net, poolb10@dgroups.org, haifa@unifem.org.jo, jbrodman@edc.org, jac@apcwomen.org, daphne@apcwomen.org<BR>> Copie à : <BR>> Objet : [WSIS CS-Plenary] Women's Statement on Tunisian HR Situation<BR>> <BR>> [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 http://wsis.funredes.org/plenary/ to access automatic translation of this message!<BR>> _______________________________________<BR>> <BR>> Dear all,<BR>> <BR>> We have prepared this statement which we hope to circulate by tomorrow morning.<BR>> This is the women's statement on the Tunisian HR situation. Please write to:<BR>> jac@apcwomen.org AND mavic@iwtc.org if you want to endorse the statement<BR>> (whether as an individual or organisation or network). <BR>> <BR>> Please feel free to pass it on to your network. <BR>> <BR>> If you have changes, please email it by tonight, midnight. <BR>> <BR>> Thank you!<BR>> Mavic (IWTC & AMARC) + Jac (APC WNSP & KRYSS)<BR>> <BR>> ----<BR>> We, womens organisations, individuals and networks gathered in Tunis for Phase<BR>> II of the World Summit on the Information Society, denounce blatant violations<BR>> of human rights, freedom of expression, access to information and freedom of<BR>> assembly by the Tunisian government. <BR>> <BR>> On November 12th 2005, correspondent Christophe Boltanski of the French daily<BR>> Libération who previously reported the on-going hunger strike of Tunisian<BR>> political prisoners, was beaten and stabbed by four unidentified assailants<BR>> near his hotel in Tunis, in the presence of police officers who did not take<BR>> any action to stop the attack. <BR>> <BR>> Preparations for a Citizens Summit on the Information Society have been<BR>> continuously disrupted and prevented from happening. On November 14th 2005,<BR>> Tunisian authorities blocked access to the preparatory meeting site, Goethe<BR>> Institute, and physically forced people away from the building. During this<BR>> process, several people were insulted and beaten. On the same day, a journalist<BR>> from Belgium who was covering the event had his camera confiscated. When the<BR>> camera was returned later, the film was missing. <BR>> <BR>> These incidents form part of the serious deterioration of freedom of expression<BR>> and assembly in Tunisia. <BR>> <BR>> The Tunisia Monitoring Group, a coalition of 14 organisations monitoring freedom<BR>> of expression in Tunisia, reported that since January 2005, harassments of<BR>> journalists and dissidents, imprisonment of those who articulate criticisms<BR>> against the Tunisian government have persisted, and in some cases, escalated.<BR>> The independence of judiciary has also been compromised. Essai Belhassen,<BR>> Coordinator of the Association of Tunisian Democratic Women (Association<BR>> Tunisienne des Femmes Democrates, ATFD), has been consistently obstructed from<BR>> participating in WSIS-related meetings and events. Further, information sites<BR>> covering WSIS from civil society perspectives, especially those maintained by<BR>> Tunisians, have been censored and blocked. <BR>> <BR>> Freedoms of expression, access to information and freedom of assembly are<BR>> integral to the principles of gender equality and womens human rights. Human<BR>> rights and freedoms, of which women's human rights and freedoms are a central<BR>> part, must be located at the core of the information society.<BR>> <BR>> As articulated in Paragraph 4 of the WSIS Declaration, to which the Tunisian<BR>> government is a signatory, and as outlined in Article 19 of the Universal<BR>> Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and<BR>> expression; that this right includes freedom to hold opinions without<BR>> interference. We call on the Tunisian government and the international<BR>> community to protect and uphold these rights. <BR>> <BR>> We urge a real commitment to the Geneva Declaration of Principles in building an<BR>> Information Society that is people-centred, inclusive, participatory, democratic<BR>> and development-oriented. <BR>> <BR>> We are outraged and gravely concerned by the impunity demonstrated by the<BR>> Tunisian authorities in curtailing the freedoms of expression, access to<BR>> information and freedom of assembly. <BR>> <BR>> We demand the Tunisian government to put an end to the human rights violations.<BR>> It is intolerable that we are experiencing serious violations of basic human<BR>> rights even as we gather here to shape a just and equitable Information<BR>> Society. <BR>> <BR>> 15 November 2005<BR>> Signed:<BR>> World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) Womens<BR>> International Network<BR>> Association of Progressive Communications, Womens Networking Support Programme<BR>> (APC WNSP)<BR>> International Womens Tribune Centre<BR>> European Federation of Older Persons (EURAG) Europe<BR>> Knowledge & Rights with Young People through Safer Spaces (KRYSS)<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> ----------------------------------------------------------------<BR>> This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.<BR>> _______________________________________________<BR>> Plenary mailing list<BR>> Plenary@wsis-cs.org<BR>> http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/plenary<BR>> <BR>> </BLOCKQUOTE>