[huridocs-tech] WSIS: APC critiques draft declaration

APC and APC WNSP Critique the Draft Declaration and Action Plan Prepared
for the UN "World Summit on the Information Society"

Critical issues are not addressed sufficiently, if at all

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 2 2003 -- In detailed documents
submitted to the secretariat of the United Nations' World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS), APC and the APC Women's Programme recognised
the efforts of the WSIS drafting committee to include the concerns and
interests of the many governments, private sector and civil society
stakeholders taking part in the process which will culminate in the
first ever UN Summit dedicated to communications in Geneva in December.
However, say the ICT activists, "there are critical issues [that] are
not addressed sufficiently, if at all".

APC and WNSP criticised the draft documents - which include a
declaration and action plan - for:
- their reluctance to explicitly confront the fact that fundamental
political, social and economic inequalities shape our world
- a lack of acknowledgment that gender inequality is central in broader
social inequality
- not acknowledging that without greater access to power and
decision-making and equitable redistribution of available resources, we
are unlikely to reduce the gap between the powerful and the powerless
- lacking awareness on proposals around the 'information security
agenda' that threaten to further harm already weakened human rights in
areas such as privacy and data protection
- their scant reference to the impacts on the environment in the
information society resulting from new technologies and infrastructure
- their insufficient acknowledgement of the negative impact of
Intellectual Property Rights on access to information and knowledge, and
on technological innovation.

Read full article: http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=12235
APC Comments: http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=12209
APC WNSP Comments: http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=12233

Links to original WSIS documents and all submitted comments:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/listing-all.asp?lang=en&c_event=pci|1&c_type=all|
(there are currently some errors in the attribution of articles)

To contact APC or APC WNSP about the World Summit on the Information
Society: Write to Karen Banks karenb@gn.apc.org



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