[WSIS CS-Plenary] Draft for Content of Themes - Repsonse for drafting groups

[arne]

As someone who cannot be in Geneva right now and who is following the 
Prepcom online, I want to thank the drafting group for this strong and 
clear statement. Especially, it is good to see that the issue of 
legitimacy was introduced, because it is an important strategic point 
for the further process.

In some previous postings, the 'walk-out' option of civil society was 
presented as 'retreat', leading to civil society silencing their own 
voices and diminishing their own influence. I don't agree with this. 
Rather, I think we should see the multistakeholder process as a 
give-and-take game. Civil society wants to see its positions reflected 
in the documents, and to achieve that end it lends legitimacy to the 
summit and its outcomes (in a situation in which, during the past 
years, the legitimacy of present arrangements of global governance has 
been challenged widely). Governments, on the other hand, are trying to 
maintain maximum control over policy processes but need the public 
legitimacy given by civil society participation.

So, participation in summit processes is not a gift given to us, rather 
it's the leverage and the bargaining power we have in negotiating with 
the governments. I don't think governments would be relieved, as Avri 
notes, if civil society withdrew from it's speaking rights -- if this 
withdrawal would seriously challenge the declared multistakeholder 
process of the summit. In fact, when the situation was similar in the 
run-up to WSIS1, two years ago, the contrary happened: When civil 
society declared the multi-stakeholder process to have failed and 
announced a separate civil society declaration, the secretariat and 
many governments were furious and made immense efforts (using both the 
'carrot' and the 'stick') to get civil society back on board and thus 
to secure the success of multi-stakeholderism (and thus of the summit 
itself).

I'm not saying that the situation is the same this time, and I'm not 
saying that civil society should necessarily withdraw. But I hope that 
civil society actors who are in Geneva right now are using their 
leverages and bargaining powers wisely and creatively.

Thanks for all the updates and reports, and good luck for the second 
week!
Arne Hintz

On 25.09.2005, at 20:20, Avri Doria wrote:

> Hi,
>
> The enclosed is the draft produced by the drafting group as agreed at 
> Friday's C&T meeting.  This statement is contingent on the 
> government's deciding on either option 1 or 2, i.e full exclusion or 
> speak and leave.
>
> Adam
> Avri
> Bertran
> Izumi
> Jeanette
> Karen
> Ralf
>
> a.
>
> <draft-exclusion-2.rtf>