[WSIS CS-Plenary] Revised GFC draft

[Parminder]

Dear Bertrand, 

 

Thanks for this compilation. 

 

So, instead of heeding opposition to the original changes proposed by the
chair, the draft document is only going from bad to worse. Some countries of
the North, chiefly the US, are able to entirely dictate the terms. And the
countries of the South whose interests are most served by the global policy
spaces that can be opened by an effective follow-up of WSIS are mostly not
assertive enough (except for some countries like Brazil).

 

And the CS's opinion  is of course completely discarded - though, it is
worth noting that the organized private sector's views put forward by
CCBI's on the issue of replacing 'process' by 'outcomes' in para 11 has come
in the new proposed draft. (through its support by the US)

 

There is a single message in all these changes - wrap up the WSIS and
Information Society (IS) talk - there is no need of global policy
engagements on this issue - and let the IS unfold on the terms of the market
- read, organized private sector -  and other entrenched dominant interests
- chiefly from the North. 

 

So all mentions of 'sustaining the process' .. and 'continuous involvement'
etc are not acceptable to these interests. 

 

No real outcomes have been forthcoming from the WSIS - whether from Geneva
or the earlier discussions on financing in the Tunis phase - and any chance
of having sustained new global IS policy spaces are fast receding. In the
circumstances, if the early few days at prepcom 3 show us that the new
implementation text is going to go through, there isn't really much left for
CS to associate with this process any further (except for IG issues) . 

 

CS may want to take a decision at this stage on whether it wants to stay in
or opt out of the negotiations around the implementation issue. The first
task that faces the CS representatives who will attend prepcom 3 from Monday
onwards is to develop a clear CS strategy on this issue. 

 

Taking a hard stance at this point on this issue, and lobbying with some
more sympathetic government delegations on it, may still be the only chance
even if we are seeking a minimal outcome on some implementation mechanisms,
and some real global policy spaces post-WSIS. 

 

Best regards

 

Parminder 

 

 

_________________________________________________

Parminder Jeet Singh

IT for Change

Bridging Development Realities and Technological Possibilities 

91-80-26654134

 <http://www.ITforChange.net> www.ITforChange.net 

  _____  

From: plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org] On Behalf
Of Bertrand de La Chapelle
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2005 6:27 PM
To: plenary at wsis-cs.org
Subject: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Revised GFC draft : what are the modifications ?

 

Dear all,

 

The PrepCom President has transmitted for consideration at PrepCom3 a
slightly revised version of his input paper prepared for the 7th GFC meeting
on Sept 6. Modifications are hard to spot without really getting the two
texts side by side, but as you will see below, they all point in the same
direction. To facilitate discussion, I have outlined in the attached
document the differences between the two texts : the Sept 6 version and the
more recent one, dated Sept 8). New or modified text is in bold, deleted
text is crossed. Brief explanatory comments in italic. 

In a nutshell, the main modifications are : 

-         the transformation of "the sustainability of the WSIS process"
into "the sustainability of progress towards the outcomes of WSIS" in para
11, 

-         the systematic deletion of the expression "full and effective"
before any mention of the participation of non-governmental stakeholders
(para 12, 13 c, 29) ; 

-         the introduction of a reference to UNGA Resolution 57/270 B in
para 14 B

-         the transformation of the annual report on WSIS implementation
requested from the UN SG into a mere section of his general report to UNGA /
ECOSOC (para 33) 

-         the transformation in para 35 of the "continuous involvement of
all stakeholders in policy discussions after the Tunis Summit" into a mere
"participation of all stakeholders in policy discussions". 

 

Looking forward to discussing these points with you all during PrepCom3. 

 

Best

 

Bertrand

 



 

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