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

[Amali De Silva <amalidesilva@yahoo.com>]

I agree with Bill

I wish to endorse personally as well

 

Amali De Silva-Mitchell

Bill McIver <mciver@albany.edu> wrote:

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 Pre! pCom
>>
>>
>> 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 n! oted that the OHCHR was not even invited to
>> Prep! com 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 essent! ial 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 right! s 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 th! ank you for your consideration of this request and look forwa! rd
>> 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 YorkAlbany, New York 12222
USA

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


--
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

Amali De Silva AAT(CMABC), BSc(Hons) Econ, PgDip Acc/Fin, MSc Int. Acc/Fin

Tel: 604-736-9012 & Email: amali@amalidesilva.com