[huridocs-tech] WSIS: Women's GlobalNet #240: Civil Society Addresses WSIS Issues

IWTC Women's GlobalNet
Activities and Initiatives of Women Worldwide

December 12, 2003

Sent by Anne S. Walker and Yasna Uberoi representing IWTC at the World
Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, December 10-12, 2003

Civil Society Addresses Issues for WSIS
by Dafne Plou
Europe and North America WomenAction (ENAWA) Media Team at WSIS

The WSIS Civil Society Plenary unanimously adopted the Civil Society
Declaration to the World Summit on the Information Society this week.
The document "Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs" sets a
landmark in the type of consensus-building that envisions the priorities
to which civil society should commit to in order to develop a
people-centred and an inclusive approach to the Information Society.
Civil society representatives came together to produce this declaration
in order to overcome the narrow understanding that Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) mean telecommunications and the
internet, marginalising key issues of knowledge and technology
development.

The civil society content and theme group of the WSIS process took a
first step some weeks ago by producing a list of essential benchmarks.
In them, civil society bases its inclusive approach on the respect of
human rights principles and development priorities. This was done with
the conviction that these principles and priorities should be embedded
throughout the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Action Plan. Civil
society plans to assess the outcomes of the WSIS process against these
benchmarks.

The benchmarks start by establishing that the WSIS Declaration of
Principles and Plan of Action should take the international human rights
framework as their foundations. This implies the full integration and
concrete application of civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights, including labour rights, the right to development and the
principle of non discrimination.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is recognised as
fundamental to the information society. The right to freedom of opinion
and expression and the right to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas regardless of frontiers are central in its development.

The right to development is included among the essential benchmarks. The
need to challenge existing inequalities among and within nations and to
struggle against poverty is considered a top concern that should be a
priority in the WSIS agenda. The document states that "it is not
possible to achieve sustainable development by embracing new
communication technologies without challenging existing inequalities."

The issue of social justice is also strongly presented. Addressing
gender issues, the document considers that "an equitable and inclusive
Information Society must be based on gender justice and be particularly
guided by the interpretation of principles of gender equality,
non-discrimination and women's empowerment", as stated in the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Disability, labour rights and indigenous rights are also considered with
a social justice perspective.

The benchmarks address internet governance which "must be based on the
values of open participation, inclusiveness, transparency and democratic
accountability." They affirm that "many stakeholders, cooperating in
strict accordance with widely supported rules and procedures, must
define the global agenda". On intellectual property, these principles
recognise human knowledge, including the knowledge of all peoples and
communities, as the heritage of all human kind and the reservoir from
which new knowledge is created. "Limited intellectual monopolies, such
as copyrights or patents, are granted only for the benefit of society,
most notably to encourage creativity and innovation."

Security and the right to privacy are also discussed in the list of
benchmarks. "The power of the private sector and governments over
personal data, including monitoring and surveillance, increases the risk
of abuse, and must be kept to a minimum under clearly, specified, legal
conditions," the document says.

Other issues include: sustainable development; literacy, education and
research; cultural and linguistic diversity; access and infrastructure;
free software; media and community media; access to information in the
public domain; and open access to scientific information.

IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of:

International Women's Tribune Centre
777 United Nations Plaza
3rd  Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel:  (1-212) 687-8633
Fax: (1-212) 661-2704
Email: <iwtc@iwtc.org>
Web: <http://www.iwtc.org>

PLEASE NOTE:
For back issues of IWTC Women's GlobalNet, go to our website at
<www.iwtc.org> and click on either Women's GlobalNet under Resources, or
What's New?


WOMEN, INK.
For quality, cutting-edge publications on women and development by, for and
about women worldwide, write for  Women, Ink's 2002/2003 catalogue, or view
it at : <http://www.womenink.org>.

Contact Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017,
USA.  Tel: Yasna Uberoi (1-212) 687-8633 ext 212 or Mary Wong (1-212)
687-8633 ext 204. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. E-mail: <wink@iwtc.org>




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