RE: [hr-wsis] Draft HR caucus document

["Alain Ambrosi" <ambrosia@web.ca>]

Hi everybody, 
Yes it is a shame that nothing have been done before now - two days before the deadline. 
As Meryem says everybody is very busy so we can consider ourselves happy enough with this last minute proposal.. 
Bravo Meryem and Rikke for this first draft.
My reaction is one of a non professional. I am not a jurist as you will notice.  I think however it is important to have a more participative and interdisciplinary approach to these issues. Many of my professional friends would agree on that.  That's how things advance (in Law as in all disciplines )and that's why we have formed this kind of caucuses at the WSIS. 

 

My remarks are at two levels:
1)Introduce a general principle concerning the information and communication as a public common good.

" Acknowledge and declare information as a public common good towards which each social actor (governements, corporations,civil society) have rights and responsabilities to manage with equity, respect of cultural diversity  and in a perspective of sustainable development according to the Millenium declaration..."
2)An addendum to the respect and strenghtenning of the right to freedom of expression

"- Recognizing that respect for, and strengthening of, the right to 
freedom of expression and access with active participation to information flux is crucial for creating a democratic information society."

3)A tentative definition of this very debated Right to Communication that is based on previous discussions.  

Generally speaking  to keep to the general introduction principles, it is important to deal with Rights and not "freedoms" which open to all kind of different interpretations and debates.  We speak of the right to education, why not the right to freedom of expression,to communication, etc  

Right to communication or Right to communicate (Kofi Anan recently used on purpose the expression R. to Communicate to stress the difference between passive information and proactive participation in the "society of knowledge ". Evidently the only use of this expression is still very sensitive in some milieux but it is simply a question of definition. At a recent meeting of the "three linguistic spaces" (francophone, hispanophone, lusophone) in Mexico a definition of the right to communicate has been proposed. It goes more or less (because of my translation) like this:  

"The right to communicate should be understood as a cluster (ensemble) of rights which , based on the fundamental rights to information and communication of the human rights charter (specifically art.19) and the different covenants, ensure full and effective access to knowledge. This rights comprehend:
The rights that ensure the political, economical, cultural and educational conditions for an effective access and participation to information and communication;
The rights that ensure individual privacy;
The rights that ensure civic participation in governance."

I hope that will at least launch a discussion.
You will excuse my poor english..

Alain Ambrosi