Re: [hr-wsis] Fwd: sign-on letter: Get de Mello to attend Sept Prepcom!

[Bill McIver <mciver@albany.edu>]

Meryem & Rik,

This is an excellent idea.
I wish to endorse personally  (William J. McIver, Jr.).

Thanks,

WJM

Meryem Marzouki wrote:

> We've received this call for signing a letter in order to get the High 
> Commissioner for HR participate to next WSIS PrepCom. The call comes 
> from Rik Panganiban, World Federalist Movement.
> Please comment and indicate if you would sign. A collective signature 
> from the HR caucus (with list of members) would be good.
>
> Début du message réexpédié :
>
>> WFM MEMO
>>
>> TO:        Meryem Marzouki
>>         Rikke Frank Jorgensen
>>
>> FR:        Rik Panganiban, WFM
>>
>> DATE:    May 12, 2003
>>
>> RE:          Suggested Sign-on Letter on High Commissioner for HR's 
>> Participation at next WSIS PrepCom
>>
>>
>> I am writing to you in your capacity as coordinators of the human 
>> rights thematic group of the WSIS.  I would like to request your 
>> assistance in an effort that I am sure you will support: encouraging 
>> the High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio de Mello to participate 
>> in the September PrepCom of the WSIS.
>>
>> I recently met with someone at the Office of the High Commissioner 
>> for Human Rights who requested that NGOs put pressure on the High 
>> Commissioner to participate in the September WSIS prepcom.  He felt 
>> that without outside pressure, it was possible that the High 
>> Commissioner would not even be in attendance.  There are apparently 
>> several officials within the OHCHR who are dubious about the 
>> relevance of human rights concerns within the WSIS process.  The 
>> official I spoke to noted that the OHCHR was not even invited to 
>> Prepcom II!
>>
>> I suggest the following process:
>>
>> 1)   I submit to you the first draft of a sign-on letter, which is 
>> appended below.  I suggest the letter be forwarded to the members of 
>> the Human Rights thematic group for comment, additions and > 
>> suggestions.
>>
>> 2)  After a couple of rounds of re-drafting online (which I am happy 
>> to facilitate, or you can) the final letter could then be distributed 
>> and opened for signature by all NGOs involved in the WSIS.
>>
>> 3) The final letter could then be sent to the OHCHR, ideally by June.
>>
>> 4) Groups should also be encouraged to communicate directly with the 
>> High Commissioner to increase the impact of the sign-on letter.
>>
>> I hope this email finds you both well.  I look forward to your 
>> response to this request.
>>
>> Rik Panganiban
>> Special Adviser
>> WFM
>>
>> [ Draft sign-on letter]
>>
>> June 2003
>>
>> Sergio Vieira de Mello
>> High Commissioner for Human Rights
>> United Nations
>> Geneva, Switzerland
>>
>> RE: Human Rights and the World Summit on the Information Society
>>
>>
>> Your Excellency Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello:
>>
>> The under-signed civil society organizations strongly encourage your 
>> active participation in the preparatory committee and summit meeting 
>> of the World Summit on the Information Society, taking place in 
>> September and December 2003, respectively.  Human rights are an 
>> essential requirement of the Information Society, as elaborated in 
>> the draft declaration of the WSIS (WSIS/PCIP/DT/1-E):
>>
>>> 10. The essential requirements for the development of an equitable 
>>> Information Society include: The respect for all internationally 
>>> recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. Notably the right 
>>> to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to hold 
>>> opinions without interference and seek to, receive and impart 
>>> information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers 
>>> in accordance with article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of 
>>> Human Rights and to unhindered access by individuals to 
>>> communication media and information sources…
>>
>>
>> As the United Nations highest human rights official, your good 
>> offices are needed to ensure that human rights language in the WSIS 
>> process is comprehensive, strong and consistent with resolutions and 
>> decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and build upon 
>> human rights language developed through the various UN world summits 
>> and conferences.
>>
>> Like all scientific innovations, information communications 
>> technologies in themselves are value-neutral. Civil society 
>> organizations view ICTs as having both tremendous applications that 
>> enhance human rights, such as through the rapid dissemination of 
>> action alerts and instant access to human rights information, and 
>> disturbing capacities to greatly diminish human rights, such as 
>> through enhanced surveillance and monitoring functions of governments 
>> facilitated by ICTs.
>>
>> Only through the active participation of governments, civil society, 
>> and international human rights institutions such as your Office can 
>> these ICTs be best harnessed to maximize the protection of human 
>> rights worldwide.
>>
>> We thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward 
>> to seeing you in September.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>>
>> [under-signed NGOs]
>>
>>
>>
>> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>>  Rik Panganiban             email: rikp@bluewin.ch
>>  Special Adviser            tel: +41 22 734 9774
>>  World Federalist Movement  Fax: +41 22 734 9775
>>  www.wfm.org                Mobile: +41 76 473 3274
>> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
>
>
> -- 
> Putting the "Human Rights in the Information Society" issue on the 
> WSIS Agenda
> Working list of NGOs
> To post a message to the list, send an email to: hr-wsis@iris.sgdg.org
> To subscribe/unsubscribe, send an email to: Meryem.Marzouki@iris.sgdg.org
>

-- 

Bill McIver
Assistant Professor
School of Information Science and Policy
University at Albany, State University of New York
Albany, New York 12222
USA

e-mail: mciver@albany.edu
URL: http://www.albany.edu/~mciver