Website update, UN Special Rapporteur, and best wishes !

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

Hi all,

The Human Rights caucus website has been updated, and now you can find 
all the documents from the caucus, as contributions to the WSIS first 
phase process. Some nice pictures are still missing, but they'll be 
online soon.
http://www.iris.sgdg.org/action/smsi/hr-wsis

After the holidays, we should start the discussion on how we, as a 
caucus, can follow-up towards WSIS second phase. One of the first 
things we should do at that time is to start contacts with the UN 
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, not only relating to the 
caucus demands as included in the CS Declaration, but also as a follow 
up to the comments he made on WSIS (reproduced hereafter).

In the mean time, I wish you all a happy new year.

Best regards,
Meryem
=======
UNITED NATIONS
Press Release
17 December 2003

xxxxxxxxxx RIGHTS EXPERT SAYS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION LARGELY NEGLECTED AT
WORLD INFORMATION SUMMIT xxxxxxxxxx


The following statement was issued today by the Special Rapporteur on 
the
Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights:

The Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the right to
Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, welcomed the adoption 
of
the Draft Declaration of Principles and the Draft Plan of Action by the
first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, held in 
Geneva
from 10 to 12 December 2003.

However, the Special Rapporteur wishes to note that, in spite of the
efforts of many participants in the Summit, human rights issues,
especially the right to freedom of opinion and expression, were largely
neglected. The Special Rapporteur underlines that fundamental human 
rights
such as the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion
and expression and other basic human rights, should be a constituent 
part
of any declaration on the right to information.

In the view of the Special Rapporteur, the mere reiteration of a few
well-established principles and commitments on human rights is not
sufficient; human rights concepts should be integrated meaningfully in 
the
Draft Declaration. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur also observes that 
the
Draft Plan of Action appears deprived of any human rights strategy. The
absence of an in-depth analysis of a number of crucial matters like 
media
concentration, safeguards to press freedom on the Internet and obstacles
to accessing it, may gravely hamper the good work done so far by
international institutions and non-governmental organizations on these 
key
documents.

The Special Rapporteur hopes that the second phase of the World Summit 
on
the Information Society, to be held in Tunis in 2005, will take remedial
action on this shortcoming and human rights organizations working on
freedom of opinion and expression are fully implicated in the 
preparation
of the second phase of the Summit. The Special Rapporteur remains at the
disposal of the information community so as to provide a substantive
contribution and further advice.
============