[WSIS CS-Plenary] [ WSIS Thetha] Statement on the role of media in the IS from Highway Africa

[Tracey Naughton]

The following statement will be followed by a Declaration from Highway
Africa. The statement below is specifically designed to support the media
caucus language about media, Article 19 and the information society, as
developed at PrepCom 2.

I hope that you will use this wherever possible.

Regards

Tracey Naughton


September 9th, 2003

 This statement is being sent to:

-      The WSIS Media & Community Media Caucus's

-      The WSIS Africa caucus

-      The WSIS civil society caucus

-      The Civil Society Secretariat for WSIS

We request that this be presented, in plenary, during the civil society
speaking slot and appended to all campaigning and lobbying around the role
of the media.

Statement for PrepCom 3 on the WSIS Language regarding the role of the media
in the information society.
 
Preamble
 

Highway Africa, Africa¹s premier annual gathering of media practitioners
deals with the convergence of journalism and new media. Participants at the
7th Highway Africa, held in Grahamstown South Africa from the 7th ­ 10th
September 2003 wish to send a strong message to PrepCom 3 regarding the
current references in the draft WSIS Declaration to the role of the media in
the information society.

 
Statement
 

The participants of Highway Africa call for the insertion into the
Declaration of the statement submitted by the WSIS media Caucus to PrepCom
2, which asserts:

 

-      That it is inconceivable for any conception of the information
society to not recognise the centrality of the media;

-      That Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be
the guiding principle underpinning freedom of expression and media freedom
in the information society;

-      That traditional media will continue to be the most effective way to
deliver quality information to under-developed contexts in which the
majority of the world¹s people live.

 

Participants at Highway Africa are deeply concerned about the current
wording of paragraph 51 in the Draft Declaration. The text referring to
national legal frameworks has inherent dangers that are worrying to many
Africans who do, or who potentially, live under the anti human rights
stances of oppressive regimes. The paragraph also lacks strength in terms of
the importance of media freedom and diversity to human rights.

 

Highway Africa requests:

 

-      That the original language on media offered by the media caucus be
re-instated to the Declaration;

-      That the WSIS Declaration be underpinned by a human rights framework;

-      That Article 19 is expanded upon  - for purposes of action and
implementation of an information society - to ensure that communication
rights for humanity offered by new media are developed within the principles
of this article.

 


Original text proposed by the Media Caucus at PrepCom 2:

 

WSIS PrepCom 2,

Geneva, Feb. 2003

World Summit on the Information Society

Proposal by the Media Caucus for the WSIS Final Declaration and Action Plan

 

Preamble

 

Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media are central to any conception
of an information society. It is hard to imagine that the WSIS could fail to
acknowledge that strongly in its final Declaration and Action Plan.
Therefore, the undersigned media organizations would like to see the

following points included therein:

 

Statement to be inserted

 

The guiding principle of WSIS on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the
Media should be Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It
should be quoted in full and identified as such. Article 19 needs to be
implemented, for the traditional media as well as for media using new
information technologies, such as Internet and satellite broadcasting.
Security and other considerations should not be allowed to compromise
Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media.

 

The media have a vital role in producing, gathering and distributing diverse
content within an Information Society in which all citizens are included and
can participate. Especially for the developing countries, traditional radio
and television will continue as the most effective ways

to deliver high-quality information.

 

End

 

 

Paragraph 51 of the Current Draft Declaration of Principles, WSIS

 

51. (The existence of free and independent communication media, in
accordance with the legal system of each country, is an essential
requirement for freedom of expression and a guarantee of the plurality of
information. (Consequently, concentration in the ownership of media should
be limited, and unhindered access by individuals and communication media to
information sources shall be ensured and strengthened in order to promote
the existence of vigorous public opinion as a pillar of civil responsibility
in accordance with the UN Declaration of Human Rights and other
international and regional instruments dealing with human rights.)
(Traditional media, such as broadcasting and print, will continue to have an
important role in the Information Society and ICTs should continue to play a
supportive role in this regard.)

 

 

Please note that the email address for Tracey has changed but mail to the
old addresses will be forwarded to the new one. Please update your records
to the new address - t.naughton at iafrica.com

-- 
Tracey Naughton
WSIS Partnership Manager (Southern Africa)
201 Somerset Hall
239 Oxford Road
Illovo  2196
South Africa

Phone/fax:    +27 (011) 880 5030
cell:               +27 (0) 82 821 1771
Email:              t.naughton at iafrica.com





For more information on Thetha - The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum, please contact Eric Muragana, SANGONeT's Media
Coordinator at -mediatec at sangonet.org.za - or visit the
SANGONeT website at - http://www.sangonet.org.za

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