[hr-wsis] First draft of civil soc doc for Prepcom 2

[Meryem Marzouki <marzouki@ras.eu.org>]

Here is the first draft of the document, in text format, provided by the 
CS subcommittee on content and themes. I'll synthesize any comments 
members of the human rights in the information society may have, and 
provide them as feeback to the subcommittee.

Meryem
=======
First draft.  Deadline for comments: Monday December 2.  Where possible, 
please make specific (and concise) input to the text rather than vague 
suggestions.
Send comments to <sburch@alainet.org> and <mciver@ALBANY.EDU>.

World Summit on the Information Society

Document [number]
[date]
Original: English

Civil Society Statement to Prepcom 2  (DRAFT)

[Title]

Proposed by Civil Society Sub-committee on Content and Themes
November 26 2002

1.  OUR VISION OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

The undersigned civil society organisations, are contributing the 
following statement to Prepcom-2 on the vision, principles, themes and 
process for the World Summit on the Information Society

Our vision: an Information Society based on human rights and human 
development

Our vision is of an Information Society based on recognition of the 
inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all human 
beings as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 
goals of such an Information Society should be based on principles of 
social, political and economic justice and the pursuit of sustainable 
human development.

The Information Society must have a development orientation with a focus 
on fundamental human needs and clear social and economic goals with 
priority given to the reduction of poverty in all its dimensions. It 
should build on and contribute to the United Nations Millennium 
Development Goals. In doing so it must explore the full range of tools, 
strategies and perspectives for achieving sustainable development.

Human knowledge, values, communication and organisation are core 
elements and processes of the Information Society. The aim of the WSIS, 
"to develop a common vision and understanding of the Information 
Society", and the methods to achieve such a vision, requires shared 
communication values including equal access to the means of 
communication, respect for the freedom of opinion and expression, and a 
commitment to transparency and accountability.

The Information Society must ensure that it is people-centred and 
inclusive, taking account of the different stakeholders, recognising the 
necessity of ensuring gender equality, enabling the engagement of young 
people and ensuring the involvement of diverse social and linguistic 
groups and cultures, particularly those most exposed to exclusion, 
discrimination and disadvantage.

The goals of the Information Society must determine the most appropriate 
communication tools and applications including traditional 
communications media and community-based initiatives as well as new 
information and communication technologies. Measures in pursuit of the 
goals must be based on the involvement of all stakeholders as 
participants and decision makers in shaping Information Society policies 
and frameworks.


2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The following principles should guide the strategies for developing an 
information and communication society that responds to this vision.

2.1 Human rights and human development at the centre

Human Rights and human development are a fundamental basis for all 
developments in an information and communication society. United Nations 
Millennium Declaration principles, and specially those stated in its 
section V (Human rights, democracy and good governance) constitute both 
the framework and the evaluating criterion of these developments.

The information and communication society must necessarily have people 
at its centre.  Approaching the information and communication society 
from a rights perspective implies putting human dignity, human 
development and our rights as global citizens above technological 
considerations or the commercial producer-consumer relationship. 
Therefore, the goal of the WSIS should be achieved in reference to the 
Human rights framework established by the United Nations, as articulated 
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant 
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All 
Forms of Discrimination against Women, and other documents adopted by 
member states.  In particular, any measures relating to security in the 
information society should be based on respect for human rights.

2.2 Communication as a universal right

Communication - understood as a participative and interactive process 
essential to human coexistence, human formation and citizenship and 
community building - should be recognized as a universal right in the 
information and communication society.  Technology should be at the 
service of communication and information needs, not an end in itself.

Communication is a fundamental human need, indispensable for the 
organization of societies, and therefore must be at the centre of 
definitions for building an information and communication society. 
Facilitating active citizenship through increased possibilities for 
human interaction and the exchange of information should be a priority 
in this process.  The focus should be on people, as citizens, and the 
services they require, rather than on services and their "users" or 
"consumers".  Participation and communication and effective use concepts 
should be affirmed.

2.3 The global information commons

Securing and extending the Global commons is a major way of bridging the 
digital divide and of ensuring the minimal equitable conditions for the 
overall development of intellectual creativity, technological 
innovation, effective technology use and successful participation in the 
information and communication society. These are the necessary 
pre-conditions for realizing the values and principles of Freedom, 
Equality, Solidarity and Shared responsibility adopted in the United 
Nations Millennium Declaration.

Extending the global information commons is a means of achieving both 
the reduction of inequalities and the stimulation of intellectual 
creativity and technological innovation in an Information and 
Communication society. Furthermore, it should be recognized that the 
global commons, that have been developed by means of public funding and 
that derive from our shared physical environment, constitute a public 
resource, which should not be sold for private profit making.

2.4 Access to information and the means of communication

Access to information and the means of communication should be 
participative, universal, inclusive and democratic.

In order for everyone to be able to participate in the benefits and 
achievements of the information society, the digital divide issue should 
be tackled in its broadest understanding. This means addressing both the 
North/South digital divide and the enduring inequities within both 
developed and less developed nations, and generally speaking the 
political and social barriers, along with technical, educational, gender 
and economic ones, that are major causes of marginalization.  It means 
addressing content issues and needs as well as access to infrastructure, 
and encouraging social appropriation of  the technology.  Democratic 
access implies differentiating the needs of different collectivities and 
seeking appropriate solutions.  It also means developing and providing 
the means for the effective use of ICTs by different groups. This 
implies addressing diverse realities of social groups such as indigenous 
people, diasporas and migrants, as well as specific needs of groups such 
as older persons and the disabled.  It also implies giving priority to 
community initiatives, developed in response to local needs and under 
community control.

2.5 Promoting cultural and linguistic diversity

Respect for and promotion of diversity, which is fundamental to human 
conviviality and peace, must be at the centre of the information and 
communication society.

The information and communication society holds a great potential for 
promoting cultural and linguistic diversity and exchange, but also for 
imposing homogeneity.  Culture is alive and evolving, therefore 
linguistic diversity and cultural identity do not only need to be 
preserved, but also actively fostered.

2.6 Incorporating a gender perspective

Gender-based analyses and perspectives must be introduced into all 
proposals, action plans and follow-up programmes, so that gender 
equality can be guaranteed in the information and communication society, 
as enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action.

3.  THEMES
We propose the following categories and issues discussed therein as a 
comprehensive framework for WSIS themes. In recognition of previous 
contributions and to provide continuity to the discussion of themes, we 
have preserved general thematic categories established in earlier WSIS 
documents. In the aggregate, we have attempted to represent in the 
content of each thematic category discussed below the totality of major 
issues articulated by all stakeholders in the WSIS process to this point.

3.1 The Foundations of the Information Society
In this category, the WSIS would develop a shared definition and 
understanding of the information and communication society: what is it, 
who and what purposes it should serve, and on what ethical bases it 
should function. The primary emphasis here would be on defining the role 
of human rights in the information society in the context of the United 
Nations system.  Integral to this, the distinct roles of governments, 
civil society, and the private sector would also be established. The 
diverse realities of different types of communities in the information 
society would also be addressed here.

3.2  Developing a Framework
In this category, the WSIS would establish a shared understanding of how 
the information and communication society should function, be regulated, 
and evolve.  Functional themes would include education, addressing the 
needs of workers, facilitation of technical literacy, and the 
facilitation of commerce.
Regulatory themes would include areas such as: freedom of expression; 
data protection; privacy and network security; privacy in the workplace; 
consumer protection, specially with regards to spamming and profiling; 
intellectual property rights, public domain and fair use, public 
services, the establishment of appropriate policy and market structures 
and regulating media ownership and concentration; and extending rights 
of workers and their trade-unions to the use of the internet and 
intranets of companies for purpose of communications and solidarity: 
defining on-line rights for on-line workers is a necessity which 
includes provisions to protect workers in very intrusive workplaces and 
unprecedented monitoring and surveillance conditions. Finally, given the 
borderless characteristics of ICTs, an appropriate framework for 
establishing the competence of jurisdictions should also be elaborated.
Themes addressing the development of the information and communication 
society would include: policies for autonomous development of national 
and regional information societies; securing and extending the global 
information commons as a major way of bridging the digital divide; 
sustainable and environmentally responsible development of ICTs as well 
as the use of ICTs to enable sustainable and environmentally responsible 
development and conservation efforts worldwide; development of 
alternative and community-based technologies; determining the 
appropriate use of new and traditional ICTs; capacity building in 
governments, civil society, and the private sector; financing and 
deployment of technology; and examination of social and regulatory 
impacts of this framework.
Recognizing participatory design as an indispensable tool for ICT 
development, this category should also establish as an integral part of 
this framework a continuing process for the implementation and review of 
summit themes and principles, and mechanisms for the implementation, 
monitoring and enforcement of rights recognized in the information and 
communication society by the WSIS.

3.3  Knowledge Society
In this category, the WSIS would address themes that recognize the 
creation and management of knowledge as the key benefit to humankind of 
the information society. Such themes would include: educational goals, 
distance learning, facilitating both formal and life-long learning, the 
development of information literacy, access to knowledge, support for 
cultural and linguistic diversity, and the needs of young people in the 
knowledge society. Capacity building in academia to support the 
knowledge society would also be addressed as well as local, indigenous, 
and diverse knowledge systems.


3.4  Rights and Governance
In this category, the WSIS would address the rights of all stakeholders 
in the information and communication society at a level of detail 
greater than that in the Foundations category discussed above, as well 
as the particulars of governing the information society. Themes would 
include: democratic management of international bodies dealing with 
ICTs, including Internet governance, with emphasis on developing and 
securing the global information commons; information and communication 
rights; privacy;; the role of the media;; the use of ICTs for government 
and decentralization; and media ownership and concentration. The main 
emphasis here is to articulate support for the empowerment of citizens 
and the reform and strengthening of democracy through the use of ICTs. 
Orthogonal to all themes in this category would be consideration of 
their social impacts.
3.5  Building the Infrastructure
In this category, the WSIS would focus on the technical aspects of 
evolving the information society from its present state. Themes would 
include: the extension of Internet connectivity, wireless technologies, 
and other advanced ICTs to meet outstanding human needs in all 
societies; infrastructure needed extend participation of the developing 
world in the information society; continuing support for open source 
technologies; better balanced and lower cost international route and hub 
repartition; building bridges between different types of media, 
including radio, television, print and the Internet; addressing the 
needs of rural communities; ICTs need to address emergency situations, 
as articulated in the Tampere Convention; and supporting the deployment 
of community  radio and television broadcasting sectors.

3.6  Contributions of the information and communication society to the 
opportunities for human and social development
As a basis for building a better understanding of the potential and 
risks of the information and communication society, the WSIS would 
examine the particular roles and responsibilities the information and 
communication society has to play in contributing to development and  
would evaluate its social impact. The WSIS would also identify the means 
to ensure the broadest distribution of opportunities for human and 
social development and effective technology use within an information 
and communication society and the emerging technology environment on 
which it is based.  Themes would include: the creation of economic 
opportunities; the role of ICTs in health, agriculture, and other 
life-critical sectors; the role of ICT-based communication for 
development; training workers for the information society; the realities 
and dangers of labor exploitation in ICT-based sectors; the roles and 
impacts of investment and speculation in ICT-based development; and the 
role and limits of E-commerce in development; the impact of ICTs on 
employment and migration.

3.7  Tools, Services and Applications
In this category, the WSIS would examine tools, services, and 
applications in the information society that should be pursued in 
addressing human needs. Major thematic subcategories here would include 
technologies that facilitate active citizenship and improved government; 
support universal access to knowledge and global communication and 
cooperation; and the improvement the standard of living adequate to the 
health and well-being of all citizens. Specific themes include: the 
building of bridges between the media: radio, television, press and 
Internet; ICTs for E-government, including citizen input into political 
processes; support for disaster mitigation and relief operations; 
support for long-term data retention and archiving for cultural 
preservation; and tools to facilitate cross-sector co-operation.

3.8  Opening the Gates / Bridging Divides to the Information Society
In this category, the WSIS would address barriers to citizens and 
countries in accessing the informmation society. Here, the WSIS would 
explicitly recognize a complex of different types of barriers, not the 
proverbial, monolithic “digital divide.” Major emphasis would be placed 
on addressing barriers facing the least developed countries (LDCs). 
Other themes addressed here would include: social, economic, and 
educational barriers; political and social barriers; requirements for 
achieving universal and equitable access; information as a public good, 
with due consideration for intellectual property; freedom of expression 
and of the media; supporting  cultural and linguistic diversity in 
circumventing barriers; and the distinct roles of governments, civil 
society, and the private sector in bridging barriers to the information 
society.

3.9  People, Communities, and Rights
In this category, the WSIS would address themes specific to citizens and 
communities that are not addressed by commercial perspectives on the 
information society. The main emphasis here is, on the one hand, to 
articulate support for people's empowerment and for their full 
participation in their countries and communities; and on the other hand, 
to promote community-driven and community-based enabling initiatives 
including traditional and innovative uses of communication and 
information management and processing tools at the community level.
Major thematic subcategories here include: the creation of an electronic 
commons, free public spaces and technical resources that can be used to 
meet human needs; community control of ICT infrastructures; continuing 
support for open source technologies; capacity building; and the 
multiplicity of dimensions of diversity. Specific themes here would 
include: the empowerment of communities through ICTs; promotion of 
cultural and linguistic diversity; support for oral information and 
cultures; support for independent, community controlled media and other 
forms of communication; the needs of people with disabilities; needs of 
the elderly; support for cross-cultural communications; stemming the 
technological “brain drain” from developing countries; content dumping, 
and geographic-specific themes.

3.10  Gender Perspectives
In accordance with the Millenium Declaration and other instruments 
adopted by the UN, the WSIS must address gender perspectives within the 
information and communication society as a cross-cutting issue in all 
aspects of the agenda. In this category, the WSIS would focus on the 
broad themes of reducing gender discrimination and improving 
participation of women in the information society, capacity building and 
training for women, and the use of ICTs to improve the lives and 
livelihoods of women worldwide. Specific themes would include: 
supporting wide participation by women ICT specialists in policy and 
decision making at all levels in the ICT sector; supporting women’s 
greater access and control over resources necessary for their 
empowerment; encouraging women to explore the convergence and between 
cultural and traditional forms of communication with the technologies 
currently available; enhancing the possibilities of women at all levels 
utilizing ICT tools to transform gender hierarchies in society and to 
challenge stereotyped roles that they are expected to fulfill; using new 
and alternative forms of ICTs to counter the negative portrayal of women 
in the media, examining and addressing old and new forms of exploitation 
and violence against women in the information and communication society.


4.  AN INNOVATIVE  APPROACH TO CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN THE WSIS 
PROCESS

[This section will be sent separately by the working group on civil 
society participation].