[WSIS CS-Plenary] Civil society shut out of the drafting groups

[Vittorio Bertola]

Following up to my earlier message on the matter (report from drafting
group III)... today at 1:45pm, at the start of drafting group IV, China
and Brazil, supported by Iran, took the floor and asked the Chair (now
Canada) whether further instructions had been received on civil society
and private sector participation in the drafting groups, and in any case
pointing out that according to phase I procedures and instructions given
at the governmental bureau meeting, non-gov persons should have been sent
out of the room after making an initial statement, and that it was highly
inappropriate for the Chair not to have managed to get proper instructions
from Amb. Khan to this extent.

The Chair repeatedly proposed to keep the compromise reached in the
morning, to let non-gov persons assist silently and respond if asked. US,
UK/EU and Australia spoke in favour of keeping this procedure, and in
general noted that non-gov participation is highly beneficial, and no
actual conclusion had been reached, not even at the bureau.

In the end, the Chair asked Brazil and China how serious they were; Brazil
said that it could live with the Chair's compromise; China however
insisted. Thus, the Chair asked the people from civil society and private
sector to give a brief statement and then leave. Ralf courteously
protested the decision before giving the statement and leaving.

I can say that the Italian delegation is absolutely unhappy with the
Chair's decision, and that the issue will likely brought up at the EU
Coordination meeting tonight at 6pm. In the meantime, civil society should
decide whether and how to react.
-- 
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